Assistance for rural tourism

Where can one learn about the history of their native region? From books, archives, and the memories of local residents.

Where can one learn about the history of their native region? From books, archives, and the memories of local residents. However, sometimes it can take a considerable amount of time to find authentic information, so it is better to seek assistance. For instance, participants of the green route "Land of Yellow Water Lilies and Grey Boulders" and the hosts of agro-tourism estates in the Lepel region were helped in this matter by the staff of the district local history museum. The collected material about the villages was presented to the guests at a seminar held within the framework of the European project "Water, Nature and People in a Disappearing Landscape. Development of Sustainable Rural Tourism in Russia and Belarus".

The museum director, Alina Stelmakh, conducted a thematic excursion. The halls of nature, historical past, the history of the 1920s-1930s, the Great Patriotic War, and victory – the seminar participants examined each exhibit with interest. Following a good tradition, in the nature hall, they tied ribbons to a wishing tree, making their most cherished wishes. Strangely enough, lovers of rural agritourism did not immediately guess the true purpose of the wooden walkers. The guests also immersed themselves in the atmosphere of June 22, 1941, by listening to Levitan's announcement about the start of the war…

The excursion concluded with a visit to the exhibition "Lepel – a District Town". It was in this hall that the presentation of historical and local lore material about the villages of the Lepel district took place.

Susha, Kamen, Selishche, Polsvizh, and six other villages – the choice of these settlements was not accidental. They discussed those that have agro-tourism estates, as well as those that were of most interest to the attendees.

After the ethnographic presentation, the guests were treated to an animation game "Visiting the Lepel Dragon". Here, they had to recall freshwater fish, the depth of Lake Lepel by catching plastic numbers from a basin, and the year of construction of St. George's Church. There were also riddles for quick wit and a captains' competition.

Following the presentation of books published by the local history museum, guests enjoyed a tasting of national cuisine – potato pancakes (kletski). There is a high probability that this particular dish will become a brand of our district and will be served in all food service establishments of the Lepel region. The fact is that preparations are already underway for a new international project "Bella Cuisine: Culinary Heritage," which will launch next year. Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, and several Belarusian districts – Polotsk, Braslav, Verkhnedvinsk, and Lepel – will participate in it. As part of this project, Belarus, and specifically the Vitebsk region, as a contender for the European community in consolidating national culinary traditions, will have to develop a unified product.

For now, within the framework of the project, which began in May 2012, four events have already been held. Participants of the green route restored the "Dobraya Voda" tract and organized an exhibition of the Lepel artist Anatoly Bukharkin in Minsk.

As Olga Makhanenko, the project manager from the Belarusian side, shared, an interesting event took place at the Starolepel school: children visited well-known local individuals, and then presented the collected information about them in a slideshow. An Easter event is currently being prepared, which will take place at the Todor Klyashtorny Library-Museum. In addition, various training seminars are being held as part of the project, including off-site ones. Their geographical reach is wide – Volozhin, Kobryn, Zelva, Svisloch, and Baranovichi districts. Our agro-tourism estates have undergone internships in Poland and the Kaliningrad region.

The Supervisory Board, which will convene in our district in early autumn, will assess the project's performance. All international partners will gather in the Lepel region – the Netherlands, Moscow, and representatives from the Polesye district of the Kaliningrad region. Lepel agro-tourism already has something to surprise with, but many interesting ideas await their realization…

In the photo: Director Alina Stelmakh conducts a museum tour.
Photo by the author.