KIN DOMAIN
Blagodatnaya Polyana
The Republic of Bashkortostan
This settlement was founded on June 2nd, 2002. It is 17 km from the city of Birsk, in the Republic of Bashkortostan. People were inspired by the lifestyle and communion with nature described by ‘Anastasia’ of Vladimir Nikolayevich
Megre’s "Ringing Cedars of Russia" book series. By evoking life-affirming images, Megre invites us to join in the creative process of self-sufficiency for your family and the creation of a space of love for family and homeland.
About a hundred readers of Vladimir Megre’s books, including teachers, doctors, workers, and housewives, decided to take responsibility for a piece of countryside and decorate it like an artist paints a picture. They filled the
domain with flowers, a variety of trees and shrubs, glades, a small lake, a vegetable garden, and a house with all the facilities for families to live in.
Suddenly, we had our land! The Southwestern slopes are surrounded on three sides by deciduous forest, interspersed with plantations of cedar, larch, spruce and pine. The river Atyshka flows through the forest,and is home to a population
of grayling. There are several springs with crystal clear water, and two lakes – Zhuravlinoe and Lebedinoe – which evaporate in summer. There are a lot of berries, nuts, herbs and mushrooms. The beautiful, deep and fast-flowing
river Bir’ is not far from the settlement (approximately 2 km).
In 2012 we were granted permission to rent 181.3 hectares of agricultural land for 49 years, under the official entity “Consumer Cooperative ‘Blagodatnaya Polyana’”. Now, 36 families reside within a territory of 77 hectares. The
remaining 104.3 hectares are waiting to be occupied by lovely people! The land has been depleted by extensive agriculture which yielded unprofitable harvests. After the disintegration of the farm, it was handed over to us.
We focus on harmonious interaction with nature and with each other, on maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and on organic farming practise. In the long winter evenings, we master a new craft, like basket weaving, ceramics, painting
on wood, landscape design, or we study traditional celebrations and rites.
Together we have created a park with ornamental plantations, a 10- acre long man-made lake, a shallow well and a garden.
Our goals correspond with projects of national concern, such as:
the revitalization and improvement of rural areas
increasing the birth rate
reviving traditional crafts and Russian cultural
heritage
the development and revival of derelict and
abandoned lands and villages
the strengthening of family institutions
the conservation and augmentation of natural heritage of Russia
From 1968 to 2010, 35 settlements ceased to exist in the Birsky district. Ancestral domains were abandoned forever. For many families this is a tragedy.
We are sending out an invitation to all sensitive, creative, hard-working and caring individuals to collaborate with us on the “Blagodatnaya Polyana” project.
Blagodatnaya Polyana, the Republic of Bashkortostan
Alexey Erofeev: Launch of an eternal program
“A person who sets this program in motion will be making a gift of it to his own future generations… He will be returning to them a tiny little part of the Divine economy. ” (V. Megre, book 8.1 “New civilization”)
Readers of Vladimir Megre’s book series “Ringing Cedars of Russia” will remember these words of V. Megre‘s son. When I read about how Volodya was hatching eggs, I decided to repeat this experiment without hatching.
In 2011, I dug a 50m by 20m pond, which kept water for six years. During that time, it was surrounded by shrubs, various willow trees, and marsh plants, but it was heavily covered with algae every year ... the algae that
I found in the pond pushed me to apply the biological method of cleaning the pond. In the winter, I made a house for the ducks from the former building of the old beehive. I cut out a 15cm by 20cm entrance, then hoisted
the house on a foam raft, sheathed with boards 100cm x 50cm.
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In the spring, the whole structure was lowered into the water. It was then anchored to the raft, and a rope was tied to the spherical chunky willow, which comfortably covered the house from birds of prey. Then I nailed
to the raft ladders made of plates for the convenience of entering and exiting for the future ducks. Next, I balanced the house with bars on the sides and then covered the single-pitch removable roof with a large
piece of roofing material with 50cm overhang to the base of the house.
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I got a decoy duck from a friend of mine who was a hunter. The duck’s wings were already clipped, but she could still fly for short distances. I wanted to put her in a house through a removable roof, so that she independently
went out through the entrance. In fact, everything turned out another way; when I opened the cage near the house standing in the water, the duck flew out and flopped into the middle of the pond. I was upset because
I thought that the duck would not go into the house by herself. Fortunately, I was wrong. For two days the duck swam alone in the pond. And by the third day, she was already with a handsome drake who did not even
make an attempt to take off at the sight of me! It swam with the duck for two weeks. And more importantly, they climbed into the house together! I was overwhelmed with joy and pride for the realization of an old
dream.
There were already nine eggs in the nest by the end of May. The drake flew away, then came back a few days later only once, perhaps to say goodbye. And after three weeks, on June 18, to my great joy I saw a string of
small gray lumps swimming near the duck. There were eight of them. They grew up nice and big due to abundance of food, especially their favorite: algae.
We currently have six ducklings. Two of them, probably, were dragged off by a hawk or pecked by gulls during my three-day absence. Now the ducklings are shedding, taking on adult plumage. I regularly feed them with
bread in the evenings, they swim to the shore at the appointed hour, and they respond very well to whistling (roughly the same was with Volodya’s ducks).
Due to the upcoming hunting season, I, as a former hunter (deliberately stopped hunting more than 10 years ago), warned local hunters about my ducklings. They promised not to shoot them on flights to the river. I would
like to believe them...
One thing is certain: my ducks, no matter how many of them are left, will definitely return to their native pond next spring. And I will build one more house for their arrival.
Alexey Erofeev
Kin Domain YAR, Ivanovo region
Dolina Ra, Altai Region
Dolina Ra Kin Domain Settlement is located in the Charyshsky District of Altai Krai. It is situated in the middle point between the villages of Charyshskoe, Svalovka and Borovlyanka (North-East of Charyshskoe, towards Bashchelaka).
The settlement was created for readers of the Ringing Cedars of Russia series by Vladimir Megre and is based on the principles outlined in these books.
There are many forest areas on the territory. There are two 40-year-old pine forests. They are very dense; trees grow a meter and a half from one another. There is also a beautiful forest in the mountains. It consists of birches,
poplars, and firs. The real Taiga begins beyond the mountain pass. It takes 1-2 hours on foot (one must cross the mountains) or half an hour to an hour on horseback.
The nearest major river is the Charysh. It lies 8 km from the settlement border. The small Tabunka river and several streams flow through the territory. They all spring from the settlement grounds. There are numerous springs, some
of which dry up by autumn. All the water is drinkable and clean. Water is precious to us, and we must protect it.
The land in the settlement is splendid. There are wetlands with peat soil, but mostly the land consists of 1-1.5 meters of black, humus-rich soil, with loam and clay further down. The clay is excellent quality, as is the black
earth which is made up of small sods — one couldn’t ask for better. One significant disadvantage is that there are no protective forests in the valley to block the wind.
All kinds of rodents live here, including mice, hares, polecats, gophers, steppe pika, steppe marmot, voles and moles, among others. There are also foxes and deer on the land. Bears live in the forests. There are also various
birds: osprey, black kite, golden eagle, white-tailed eagle, hawks and owls are all found here. Cows and herds of horses graze without herdsman — it’s a common phenomenon in this area.
About 750 hectares are shared between 4 landowners. We plan to divide the land further in 2017-2018. We will give the land to future occupants according to the preliminary contract of purchase and sale — i.e. ownership of the land
will be awarded after a trial period of 2 – 3 years. Currently we are offering the land at its cadastral value.
We are looking for neighbours who will be harmonious with our way of life; both with the land and with the other occupants.
The nearest locality is the district center, Charyshskoe village. From the last houses of the village to the nearest boundary of the settlement the distance is 7 km, approximately 9 km to the settlement center. In Charyshskoe you
can acquire the most important building materials and tools. It has grocery shops, banks, and the regional hospital. According to local standards, it is a very large village with a population of about 7000. The nearest big
city is Barnaul (the capital of Altai Krai). It is located 310 km away from the settlement. The nearest railway junction is in the city of Aleysk.
Dolina Ra Kin Domain Settlement, Altai Krai