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Local projects in the fields of gastronomy, traditional crafts, active tourism, and cultural heritage preservation have received grant funding from GORO Mountain Resort and the Slavske Settlement Council. The total amount of funding exceeded UAH 1.2 million.
The support was awarded following the final pitch session of the first cohort of the “Own Business. Slavske Community” platform. The selected initiatives include a bread restaurant, blacksmithing workshops, an ethnocultural space featuring local teas and honey, an active tourism center, an ethnocultural hub, the Heroes of Makivka Museum, and an ethnographic museum.
During the selection process, the committee assessed the projects’ connections to Boyko culture, local heritage, traditions, nature, and gastronomy, as well as the feasibility of implementation and the readiness of project teams to deliver. Particular attention was paid to how clearly the product or service would be understood by visitors, whether the financial request was justified, and whether the initiative could strengthen the community’s tourism offering by creating new reasons for guests to visit, stay longer, and return.
“Local entrepreneurs create a significant part of the experience that attracts visitors to the Slavske community. They have the deepest understanding of the area’s character, traditions, flavors, crafts, stories, and opportunities. Through the ‘Own Business. Slavske Community’ platform, we aim to help promising ideas move into practical implementation and enable existing projects to strengthen and improve their products and services. For GORO, this is one of the ways we support local business development alongside the development of resort infrastructure,” says Rostyslav Mykhalchuk, Development Director at GORO Mountain Resort.
“When local projects move from concept to implementation, the Slavske community gains tangible results: new services, additional economic activity, and more employment opportunities. Some of the supported initiatives will also focus on cultural heritage and traditions, meaning their impact will be both economic and social. It is important for us that such projects develop here and strengthen the community’s capacity,” says Oleh Danyliak, Acting Head of the Slavske Community.
Following the completion of the first cohort, work with entrepreneurs will continue. In the future, the platform is expected to bring together various forms of support for local entrepreneurship, including business education, mentoring, acceleration programs, and a professional community.
For GORO Mountain Resort, supporting local entrepreneurship is part of a broader vision for the Slavske community as a year-round tourism destination within a regional tourism cluster. This is one of the resort’s sustainable development priorities, focused on strengthening the local economy, creating new opportunities for residents, and preserving the community’s authenticity. A strong tourism cluster is built not only through investments in all-season infrastructure. Its development also depends on local businesses, new products, and services created by people who live and work in the community.
The project promotes local gastronomy and the tradition of bread baking. The grant will help strengthen the restaurant’s production capacity and create an authentic culinary experience connected to the area.
Developed on the basis of an operating forge, this initiative will introduce visitors to the traditional craft of blacksmithing through hands-on workshops. The funding will help expand the facility and make it more comfortable and safe for visitors.
The project aims to develop active recreation opportunities and create conditions for high-quality and safe hiking experiences, encouraging visitors to explore more of the Carpathian nature and stay in the region longer.
The venue will focus on local teas, honey, beekeeping products, and authentic Carpathian flavors, becoming another destination where visitors can discover local products and gastronomic traditions.
This initiative aims to create a place where visitors can engage with local culture, traditions, and heritage. The next phase will focus on developing the concept, curating the content of the space, and designing a sustainable operational model.
The initiative is dedicated to preserving local cultural heritage. The project includes cataloging and digitizing the collection, developing the museum space, and eventually offering guided tours, workshops, and other ways for visitors to engage with local culture.
The project focuses on the professional processing and systematization of the museum collection and laying the groundwork for the museum’s future development as an important destination for historical and cultural tourism.
“Own Business. Slavske Community” is a local entrepreneurship development platform implemented by GORO Mountain Resort and the Slavske Settlement Council. The first cohort launched in summer 2026 and brought together 26 participants.
Throughout the program, participants explored successful local business cases from the Boyko region, attended training sessions, worked with experts and mentors, refined their business ideas, and prepared for the final project presentations. During the educational program, they focused on transforming their ideas into viable businesses and tourism products by identifying target audiences, calculating basic economics, developing service and marketing strategies, integrating local culture, and creating realistic launch plans.
The most successful projects received grant funding to support their implementation.
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