After returning from the ATO zone in 2016, veteran Serhiy Svyrydenko founded the Eco Farm “Kozatske Podvirya” in Ivanopil’a village in Donetsk region.
He raised a herd of goats there and made craft meat delicacies and fragrant cheeses. But on February 24th, active hostilities came close to his settlement. The market stopped functioning, and the conditions for raising animals became difficult.
Therefore, the man decided to move a thousand kilometers from home with 150 goats, equipment and machinery.
Until 2014, Serhiy Svyrydenko had lived in Donetsk. Because of Russian “tourists” and “guest performers”, the situation became very tense, and Serhiy’s whole family went to the country house in the Ivanopillia village, Kostiantyniv district, “for two weeks”, which remained on the controlled territory. And it turned out that they had been staying there for 8 years.
When Serhii realized that they would not return home in two weeks, he went to the Military Commissariat. He served in the 54th brigade as an artilleryman for a year and a half. He fought on the Svitlodar Arc. After the demobilization, he founded a goat farm in Ivanopillia.
Serhii Svyridenko says: “What can you do in the village except farming? Everyone has cows, but only a few have goats. Firstly we bought seven ordinary goats. Then we began to learn what and to what. Then we ordered the first elite goat from Germany. And so it all slowly turned around.”
At the same time, the man started making meat delicacies from pork. In 2017, they received a grant from the NGO “Ukrainian Donetsk Kurkul’” and built a mini-cheese factory at a price of 1 million hryvnias. Meat delicacies and cheeses were sold in local shops, fairs and online. Things were going well. For example, in 2021, goods were sold for 4.9 million hryvnias. They were preparing to increase the volume of production and sales.
But on February 24th, a large-scale war began and destroyed all plans. In spring airstrikes occurred in Ivanopillia. Since May, gas has disappeared in the village. And then the Russians shot up the pumping station, so people were also left without water.
Serhiy’s farm had its own well. He says he could survive in the village on his own, but keeping livestock became increasingly difficult due to water and feed shortages.
The man no longer believed that everything would pass in “a couple of weeks”, because he had the experience from 2014. Therefore, Serhiy Svyrydenko decided to leave the village for a more peaceful area. It was not easy to transport such a large herd.
“I had no choice: either the goats will die of hunger in Ivanopillia, or we will move and I will be able to find feed for them. That is why I had been traveling around Ukraine since July, looking for places to move. Somewhere on television there was a program about my farm. Volyn businessman Ivan Bud had watched it. He invited me to his old farm in Volyn,” says the man.
So, at the beginning of September, Serhiy Svyridenko hired a cattle driver. He loaded equipment, a tractor, and machinery onto the first floor, and 150 goats onto the second floor. He took two employees and products ready for sale and set off.
The goats have already settled in the new place. Although it was not easy: a different climate, grass. Serhii says that many animals fell ill, six died. But currently the situation has more or less stabilized. Equipping of the farm is still going.
