The project of this family was included in the top six of the All-Russian competition "Far from the Capitals with Google" ...
Even three or four years ago, even many residents of Udmurtia did not know about the existence of the village of Vyatskoye in the Karakulinsky district. And now it is known about him far beyond the borders of the republic. The Shumkov family from Izhevsk gave a second life to the once dying village. In 2014, the spouses Sergei and Lyudmila bought out a bankrupt agricultural enterprise and created the Green Star agro-tourism complex in its place. At the end of last year, he entered the six best travel projects of the All-Russian competition "Far from the capitals with Google".
- It all started when in 2013 I was invited to the anniversary of my native school in the village of Vyatskoye, where I was born and raised. I came and was surprised to find out that there were only 26 students left at the school, whereas during my childhood there were about 300 students, ”recalls Sergey Shumkov. - And here I am sitting at a holiday, and local pensioners share with me their experiences, they say that if the school is closed, there will be no village. Before that, I had walked along my native streets and saw that the village was really dying - many houses were abandoned. Upset, of course. On these emotions, he promised people: "We will decide something." In the morning I woke up and I think: well, I promised, but how to keep the promise? But there was nowhere to go ...
- We were just planning to expand, and then suddenly such an opportunity appeared. The land area of the bankrupt collective farm is 1,600 hectares! There is where to turn around, - the businessman smiles. - I didn't want to engage in livestock breeding, traditional for Udmurtia, to grow grain, all the more so - in our area the lands are infertile, and in Vyatskoye there is even red clay. But for gardening, such soil is the very thing. Then we decided to build gardens there. Moreover, we had no problems with the seedlings.
How agribusinessmen conquered drunkenness
The locals were at first wary of the new owner of the farmland. Although many people remembered Shumkov in Vyatskoye.
“It was unexpected for me,” the farmer admits. - People calmly watched how the collective farm collapsed, how the enterprise was plundered, and when he had an owner, they decided to step aside. Like, let's see, we'll see what you get.
- At first, we could not even find workers in Vyatskoye, although about five hundred people live in the village. We were forced to bring workers from the Izhevsk fruit nursery to the Karakulinsky district! - Lyudmila Shumkova recalls how difficult it all began. - Local men preferred to sit without work and drink. But we soon realized that we came with serious intentions and began to help us.
By the way, the Shumkovs coped with drunkenness, for which the female half of the village is especially grateful to them.
- It used to be like it was: they build something in the village - they invite shabashniki, and the locals are on hand. It turned out that they themselves did not create anything in their native village, they did not leave anything behind. And I decided to entrust the construction to the Vyatka peasants, - Sergei Pavlovich reveals his method of combating drunkenness. - You should have seen with what mood they set to work! Now they do not need to be tested for alcohol either. In general, I consider this procedure humiliating, so we do not have it. But there are no drunks at work either. What's the secret? That Saturday and Sunday are days off. Sowing, not sowing - it doesn't matter. Guys know they have two days to relax.
How to hire ... tourists?
Indeed, it took a lot of construction in Vyatskoye. Firstly, it was necessary to put in order the dilapidated buildings that were inherited. Secondly, the Shumkovs decided to build an agritourism complex - with dwelling houses, a cafe, a bathhouse. They understood that they would have to take care of the fruit trees and shrubs, which they planted on an area of about 35 hectares and over time they plan to increase to 200 hectares, someone would have to take care of them. And then they decided that ... tourists will cope with this work!
- 200-250 people should look after such a huge garden. With all the will, so many workers cannot be found in the village. And gardening is a seasonal affair, which is why we decided to develop agritourism, the Shumkovs say. - The idea is not new: we receive tourists, populate them, feed them, and they work in our farm until lunchtime, the rest go about their business for half a day. And that's all, no one owes any money to anyone. Last year we hosted the first agritourists. This summer, schoolchildren from Moscow will work for us.
Named milk and grass roofs: how the European experience helps to earn more
Sergey Shumkov believes that it is not worth inventing anything in business. You just need to study someone else's experience. Which he does.
- I have been to many European countries, observed how farmers work there, and now I am applying their experience. Take our lands, for example. I could not pass them on "UAZ" - everything was covered with weeds, and we had to clear the site for the construction of the Turkomplex. Then we bought two hundred sheep and drove them out to these lands, and in two weeks they ate everything there. This is exactly what Europe is doing.
What about our grass-roofed campers? We saw this idea in Norway. And how about hand milking? We also have eight dairy cows - this is the experience of German farmers. In Germany, milk that is not produced by a machine costs twice as much. We, of course, do not yet understand this, but cheese and butter from such raw materials are obtained of a completely different quality.
In addition, manual milking allows you to sell “personalized” milk, which is special for each cow. Our regular customers, and these are the residents of Vyatsky and the workers of the fruit nursery, have their own preferences. For example, today we have milk from Raspberries. Help yourself! - offers the farmer and points to the bottle on which the name of the cow is written.
Doing business success? Help others start their own business
No one doubts that Vyatskoye will eventually turn into a village-garden. Apple trees and pears (and also lilacs, cherries, plums, raspberries, currants, grapes and even apricot trees) bloom here in the spring, fogs float over the river - Kama is nearby. Everything is like a song. But the Shumkovs are aiming for more: they want to create an agricultural cluster. The sign at the office has already been hung - a business center.
“The villagers ask what these incomprehensible words mean,” the businessman laughs. - And I explain to them that a cluster in translation from English means "brush" or "bunch", which is more efficient and economical to work together for one goal. No wonder the people say that one is not a warrior in the field.
At the same time, I do not want people to have the feeling that they are plowing for me. I don’t want to be mistaken for a master. The people must understand that entrepreneurship is not easy. How? Work for yourself.
Last summer, two families in Vyatskoye went on such an experiment. We gave them seedlings, covering material, installed drip irrigation, taught them - all this is free, and they grew strawberry seedlings in their gardens. In the autumn they handed it over to us and received the money. Very good by local standards - about 200 thousand rubles. This is the meaning of cooperation: some raised, others bought and sold. And everyone is good.
Thus, I dream of squeezing slaves out of people. I want them to become the masters of their lives so that they understand that their earnings depend only on themselves, and not on someone else's uncle.
Where does the money come from?
The Shumkovs do not hide: their project in Vyatskoye is not cheap. Not without loans.
- When we decided to buy a collective farm, we urgently needed money. But we did not have enough property to secure the collateral that banks require when applying for a loan. But we already knew where to go, - says Lyudmila. - Earlier, more than once they took loans for the purchase of stock for the fruit nursery. And we have always been helped by the Guarantee Fund for Assistance in Lending to Small and Medium Enterprises in Udmurtia - they vouched for us. So this time we were supported in the Fund, everything was done very quickly.
Already now, the Shumkovs are thinking that in a few years they will need to store their crops somewhere, that they can collect fruits and berries not by hand, but with the help of small combines. So over time they will need the money again.
- Last year, we again turned to GFSK: this time we needed money to buy seedlings for the garden. And although our project is non-standard for Udmurtia, they met us halfway. It is very nice.
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