Through support from the Slovak NGO Fund, the NGO Svatobor is receiving €60 000 in support for a project aimed at renovating and expanding the ecological farm Malinka, located near the village of Rudlov in the eastern part of the country. This it will create at least ten new jobs, and also help secure already existing ones.
Job opportunities
The people working at the farm are all from the area. In the beginning Svatobor worked with Roma people who already had experience with agriculture. As the project progressed, their children and other long-term unemployed who wanted to learn about farming joined as well.
As part of the project, an irrigation system of artificial dams to collect rainwater is being built. This job is being done by a local business that mostly employs Roma.
Seeds
The production of ecological seeds will create revenue for the farm and its employees. In addition, the farm is also growing fruit and vegetables with the goal of becoming as self-sufficient as possible.
Svatobor has a holistic approach to how it can help improve the situation for the Roma in Slovakia, and focuses on sustainability in addition to social and economic development.
“It is necessary to have a long term-perspective and to work systematically to help include marginalised groups like the Roma into society, and we hope that our project can serve as inspiration for other projects in Slovakia,” says the director of Svatobor, Štefan Straka
Click here to read more about our efforts to promote Roma inclusion