From Ukraine: Keeping the home fires burning

After more than two years of all-out war, I have heard many incredible stories of people and how they cope, survive and even thrive. At times I think I will be surprised by nothing.

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In some parts of the country, in relatively peaceful regions, some live much as they did before the war. In other places, many sacrifice their lives, businesses and comforts for the sake of victory.

In many cases this applies to farmers, mostly owners of small farms, who went to defend their country in the first days of the war. These people, as employers and significant taxpayers, could legally avoid being drafted into the army. They could even go abroad to a safe place.

But many of these farmers are at war and some of them have been fighting since the beginning, without a break. Of course, this can have a negative effect on their business, because the land and livestock will not wait for them to return home.

Therefore, responsibility and a huge amount of work falls on the shoulders of women. Wives and daughters do the daily work that the family used to do together.

The heroine of this story is Polina Zhovtyak. Not only is her husband fighting, but also her daughter, Kateryna, who became a volunteer soldier. That is why Polina has to develop the business of producing elite cheese and ecological bird eggs, unique for Ukraine, on her own. And she succeeds, but admits it can be struggle.

“Yes, it is not easy, because before the war we did everything together,” she says. “But I do not regret it, because I know very well that it is much more difficult in the trenches. Business is good, but the most important thing today is that we defeat the enemy and that our people return home from the war alive and healthy.”

New farmers

The history of the Zhovtyak family farm began from scratch in 2017. Polina never thought she would be engaged in agriculture, although she grew up in the village where they now farm. She has two diplomas of higher education — education and legal.

Her husband, Serhii, grew up in a big city but from a young age he was interested in veterinary medicine and agronomy. Initially the young couple started a business selling animal feed.

“Step by step, we realized that we want to have our own farm, where we could do what we are interested in,” she says.

Serhii and Polina found an old ruined complex of buildings in the southeastern part of Ukraine, which they bought for relatively little money. The farm is 150 acres, which is considered quite small by Ukrainian standards.

‘We sought to produce truly natural products: milk and bird eggs,” Polina says. “We keep cows, goats and sheep, and from their milk we make almost 30 types of cheese, selling it under our own brand. We also sell organic chicken, quail and guinea fowl eggs. There are plans to breed geese.”

From the beginning, the farm adhered to the concept that animals should feel as comfortable and happy as possible. Livestock and poultry should roam freely in the pasture, Polina says.

“We grow all animal feed ourselves. We make our cheese exclusively according to ancient folk recipes without chemical additives. At the same time, we keep ancient traditional Ukrainian breeds of chickens and geese and want to revive them.”

The farm is a few hours’ drive from the front line. Although this region is considered relatively safe, the large city nearby is regularly shelled by the Russians.

“My husband is a peaceful and kind person, but when the Russians seized Crimea and part of the eastern regions of Ukraine in 2014, Serhii became a military volunteer,” says Polina. “He was trained and went to the front several times. Psychologically, we were ready for a big war even then.”

With that experience, Serhii went to defend Ukraine on the first day of the full-scale invasion, and is now in his third year of fighting. Initially he was in the infantry. Now he leads a flight of combat drones that have inflicted significant damage on the enemy.

The stability of Ukraine’s defense largely depends on experienced soldiers like Serhii. Their term of service is indefinite and they do not know when they will return home. It is very difficult physically and psychologically. And, of course, it negatively affects household chores and work. During the entire past year, Serhii had only one short leave.

“At the same time as my husband, our daughter joined the army,” Polina says. “Before the full-scale war, she had her own bakery. Now she has become a combat medic.”

That leaves Polina in charge of the farm and the business, so she instantly had to learn to run the bakery and operate all facets of the farm. It’s difficult, but not a unique situation during such times.

“Today every Ukrainian must give up his comfort for the sake of victory. After all, this is a war to destroy us all. People are dying and we must stop it,” says Polina.

Communication with Serhii is sketchy and unreliable, and for the most part Polina is left to make her own decisions.

“Before the war, my husband and I had a division of tasks. I was involved in product sales, logistics, accounting and legal affairs. My husband was involved in cheese making, technologies, construction and agricultural machinery.”

Now the farm is a one-woman show. Polina also helps the army and gives food and other help to soldiers at the front.

She dreams of the day the war is over and they can once again improve their operation. She envisions a new cheese factory with gleaming equipment, a new barn for the cows that better meets the needs of the animals, an expansion and investors to fund it.

But for now, she waits.

“Today my biggest dream is victory so that the enemy fled back to himself,” says Polina. “We cannot stand aside because we will lose our country and everything that is dear to us.”