creating jobs for IDPs and locals amid warJune 25 2024 2:50 PM7 min readAgronomist Iryna Matsiuk photographed in the greenhouse in Teofipol by Daria ShulzhenkoEditor’s note: This story was sponsored by U-LEAD (Ukraine – Local Empowerment a partnership of the Ukrainian government and the European Union and its member states Germany and Slovenia to support the establishment of a multi-level governance that is transparent accountable and responsive to the needs of the population of Ukraine the town received a grant through an international program and built its first new greenhouse reducing its reliance on other regions' harvests Still, the full-scale invasion has brought challenges to this quiet settlement of over 6,000 people “Since the beginning (of the full-scale invasion) we’ve been welcoming people from all across Ukraine,” says Tenenev “Nearly 8,000 internally displaced persons have passed through our community.” And as talks of a possible food crisis grew in 2022 They received an Hr 1.7 million ($42,000) grant for their food security program from U-LEAD (Ukraine – Local Empowerment a partnership between the Ukrainian government and the European Union and its members Germany “We won a competition and received support and expert consultations," Tenenev said They soon launched the Vegetable Growing Development Hub constructing a 500-square-meter greenhouse and planting the first seeds implied distributing most of the seedlings among the vulnerable groups in the Teofipol community for free The community includes more than 50 villages with Teofipol being the administrative center “We distributed 36,000 seedlings,” Tenenev said people were skeptical (about getting) seedlings for free or they were afraid they might be of poor quality or that all vegetables would be taken away from them.” “We bought high-quality seeds and got high-quality seedlings So when they got the long-awaited result.. that means “the money works here,” says Yurii Melnyk international partners’ support helps to make local communities more resilient by giving them opportunities for development “They do not only provide funds for consumption But they give us support specifically for economic development “This today allows us to sustain our town.” including people with disabilities and IDPs She got help with finding accommodation in Teofipol but getting a job was also crucial for Tarasevych so now I can go out with my children and buy them ice cream Things have gotten better,” Tarasevych said According to Tenenev, 2022 was supposed to be a peak development year for the Teofipol territorial community, which was formed in 2020 under Ukraine’s decentralization reform the reform grants more economic and political freedom to small villages and towns our then-newly established community was just gaining momentum in its development including educational and infrastructural initiatives were set to be implemented that year,” Tenenev said the community’s ambitions to develop have remained and it has already seen other “small victories” apart from the greenhouse project the first chain supermarket opened in Teofipol – before there were only small grocery stores locals celebrated the opening of a modern Diia Center which provides various administrative services under one roof which combines a library and space for holding events (Liza Pyrozhkova / The Kyiv Independent)Residents spend time in the Bibliohub in Teofipol (Liza Pyrozhkova / The Kyiv Independent)Local kids during their after-class activity in Teofipol (Liza Pyrozhkova / The Kyiv Independent)“This is necessary because our bank and social services were in different locations before,” Tenenev said “None of these spaces were accessible for people with disabilities.” The town also established Bibliohub – a hip place for young people Tenenev said it quickly became a “central venue for all events in the community.” Apart from making Teofipol a more convenient place to live in new projects and better infrastructure also motivate locals to stay and continue developing the community instead of moving to bigger cities has recently returned to Teofipol after living in Kyiv for nearly a decade She says she sees her future in her hometown now and enjoys seeing it evolve poses for a photograph in the center on June 6 (Liza Pyrozhkova / The Kyiv Independent)Diia Center in Teofipol (Liza Pyrozhkova / The Kyiv Independent)Inside of the Diia Center in Teofipol (Liza Pyrozhkova / The Kyiv Independent)“Over the past three years grocery and commodity supermarkets have appeared in our community Another chain supermarket is currently being built new housing is being developed,” Tenenev says “All this speaks of the development of our community Daria Shulzhenko is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent She has been a lifestyle reporter at the Kyiv Post until November 2021 She graduated from Kyiv International University with a bachelor’s in linguistics specializing in translation from English and German languages She has previously worked as a freelance writer and researcher We use cookies to improve your experience on our site. 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With the Ukraine’s National Renewable Energy Action Plan focusing on diversifying the energy mix and strengthening production of renewables by 2020 and through 2030 projects based on biogas will help to achieve these goals The project is being financed through a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Clean Technology Fund It is under a program founded to help the agricultural industry of the Ukraine develop renewable energy production from biowaste “Our major focus is high-end service and maintenance enabling biogas operators to increase the efficiency of our customers’ investments,” said Pavel Savenko INNIO’s fuel-flexible Jenbacher J420 biogas engines—which will be installed at the Novomirgorodsky Sugar facility owned by I&U Group in the Kirovohrad region—will have a total capacity of 6 MW and the project includes equipment installation startup and further maintenance for the new plant The Jenbacher gas engines are able to produce power and heat from biogas from beetroot pulp The new combined heat and power plant will be equipped with INNIO’s myPlant ™ Asset Performance Management solution enabling around-the-clock remote monitoring and diagnostics of equipment operation that will help I&U Group reduce downtime and costs The Ukraine is the pilot country for INNIO’s biogas projects in Russia/CIS with the first power plant in the region based on a Jenbacher J312 gas engine commissioned in 2009 It is also home to one of the world’s biggest biogas plant designed and erected by Zorg Biogas AG based on 18 of INNIO’s Jenbacher Type 4 units—15 J420s and three J416s with seven units in production for delivery in the second and third quarters of 2019 In a move to increase renewable energy sources the Ukraine has taken steps to accelerate the deployment of renewables forecasting renewable energy to double from 1.5 GW in 2018 to 3 GW by the end of this year full integration with the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity will be achieved