Hi all,
I am a founding member of the European NGO called RebelFarmer working among others towards the sustainable development of European rural regions.
This year Belarus got our attention. Belarus is quite an unknown country, often referred to as "the last dictatorship of Europe", and having one of the few centrally-planned economies left in the world. Although it became independent in 1991, its president still governs the country in a quite authoritarian way BUT thanks to several international initiatives the country is now slowly (in that case we would appreciate the process to go faster! :-) but surely opening to the world.
At RebelFarmer we thus feel it’s our duty to support the population in this objective.
Although rural tourism is still in its infancy in Belarus, its beautiful natural surroundings (the highest biodiversity in Europe!), the hospitality and traditional skills of the population, offer plenty of growth possibilities for the near future. We are working with a number of villages on the so-called GREENWAYS (local nature routes, under the UN flag of Local Agenda 21).
A first attempt to introduce local democracy in Belarus!
We feel that this type of tourism is in line with the Slow Travel principles!
