Map. Drevera: using the sea s lost treasures to make the village prosper. Summary

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Theodore Cameron
5 years ago
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Drevera: using the sea s lost treasures to make the village prosper Map Excerpt of

web-start-page without flags, location of project is flagged) Amber in its different

Lithuanian communities - constantly has to think about its economically viability

As it is one of the oldest Lithuanian seaside communities, which is rich in amber

amber, workshops on amber processing and exhibitions can take place.

1 Drevera: using the sea s lost treasures to make the village prosper Map Excerpt of common map basis (EU map with MS borders similar to the map on our current web-start-page without flags, location of project is flagged) Amber in its different forms and an amber processing place Summary Drevernos community - like many Lithuanian communities - constantly has to think about its economically viability and survival. As it is one of the oldest Lithuanian seaside communities, which is rich in amber craftsmen, it was decided to set up a community house, in which manufacturing of amber, workshops on amber processing and exhibitions can take place. The community house has been developed into an attractive tourism destination. Starting with a small community-driven initiative, this project strengthened the regional tourism sector as a whole. 1

2 Funding period: EAFRD Measure: 413 (Leader) In the period potentially fundable under Measure: M 19 (Potential) Contribution to Priority ( ):P6 Promoting social inclusion, poverty reduction and economic development (Potential) Contribution to Focus area ( ): FA 6B 6B Local Development Key words Community development, Destination management, Rural tourism, Craft Funding Total project value: EAFRD contribution: 130,435 of which EU: 104,348 (80%) of which national: 26,087 (20%) Public co-financing: 13,044 Private co-financing: 1,449 Type of beneficiaries Municipality NGO Other actors involved in the project LAGs, SMEs Duration: Location: Dreverna, Lithuania Website: Description Official project title Establishment of a Multifunction Drevernos community house (Daugiafunkcinių Drevernos bendruomenės namų įkūrimas) Context and needs Dreverna is one of the oldest Lithuanian coastal villages, right next to Kuršiai lagoon. The idea for the project came while looking for ways to improve the quality of village life and to increase the villagers income. During the last couple of years many young active people moved back to Dreverna as they inherited their elders lands and decided to start a new life there. Even though Dreverna has beautiful nature, there weren t a lot of visitors and the community of Dreverna wanted to attract visitors who wanted to vacation by the seaside. Dreverna has a lot of amber masters and so the idea came about of establishing an amber community house and offering amber workshops, which are not offered in any other in Lithuania community in a similar way. The intention was that these workshops would be of interest to a wide variety of people, not just those wanting to learn the craft, and increase the village s popularity. 2

3 Objectives The main objectives of the project were to create conditions which encouraged the community s entrepreneurship; improve the village s attractiveness and make best use of its social and economic potential. Activities To reach the objectives defined by the project, premises were renovated and the village bought amber processing equipment. Community members, i.e. members of an NGO, helped the amber masters by creating the amber exhibition; looking for interesting amber works in the village and establishing a place for the exhibition. A number of active volunteers from the community also teamed up with the amber masters to help design the workshops and develop the educational program. It took a lot of research and discussions with amber masters to find the best way to process the amber. It was important when designing the processing of the amber that is was simple enough so that the workshops were enjoyable for the participants and that they got satisfaction from the end results. The amber processing workshops also include educational activities where people are taught about the art of stringing amber and the technologies of amber processing. The goods made from amber are shown in various exhibitions around the country. Dreverna now attracts many visitors to its unique amber processing workshops. It is of interest to those who want to know more about the history of amber and the technologies used in its processing. Many visitors like to try processing amber for themselves and making it into jewellery or souvenirs. Visitors have to pay to visit the amber exhibition and participate in the workshops. Due to the high number of visitors Dreverna now has additional services: As also the Baltic bicycle road runs through Dreverna, the community organises bicycle trips through the coastal region and organises kayak trips through the Vilhelm channel. There are also culinary activities with specialist lectures on fish-soup production. Results After the amber processing workshop was established in Dreverna there was an increase in the number of visitors. Before the project the community had only about 100 visitors per year and now they have 100 visitors per month in summer season. The educational activities particularly attract many young people. Every month more than 500 people participate in the workshops. There are even more visitors in the summer season. The community is delighted and the results are even better than they hoped for. Over and above the main service of the amber processing workshops, there are now more ideas for additional services and greater opportunities to increase the village s overall income. There has been a number of the knock on effects, such as the establishment of new 3

4 bicycle and kayak renting station as a result of the increase in visitor numbers. With more people staying in the region occupancy rates have gone up amongst accommodation providers and local shops have seen an increase in profit. Another benefit of the project is that a lot of people of the younger generation have gained knowledge about amber processing as well as gaining an insight into the life style of living close to the sea. The project resulted in the creation of two new jobs and due to the increase in visitor numbers tourist businesses as well as other local businesses have seen increased revenue. The project has seen a large number of young people join the amber team to support the activities organised by the community. The LEADER support was used for initial investments in processing equipment and the renovation of the community house. Currently the project is financially viable, although it depends heavily on voluntary contributions. It remains to be seen in the future whether financial resources are sufficient to make further investments that may be needed, for example to extend the service portfolio or waiting rooms for children, without relying on external funds. Lessons The success of the project is heavily dependent on the active volunteers from within the community. This became apparent when the level of administration required became clear and the project encountered delays. Before starting the project, the managers did not expect to meet so much bureaucracy. After getting confirmation that the project was being funded under LEADER the managers realised that the municipality did not have the proper documentation regarding the use of land where the community house is situated; this was a problem as the community have rented the land from municipality for 25 years. In fact, these documents had been given to the Paying Agency with the first payment application, but the project holders didn t know this for months. Due to the delays the actors involved in the project decided to get started without external financial resources and after a lot of input from volunteers the municipality finally provided some financial support. The community was really anxious that they would not be able to finish the project at all. Despite all the voluntary support, the project only barely finished on time and the strong lesson learned was that in future a lot more attention will be paid to checking background legal issues when planning a project. 4

5 Contact Andrius Kraynas Phone: LAG "Pajūrio kraštas"; Klaipėdos g. 74 LT-96130, Gargždai, Klaipėdos r. Phone: Web: Language(s) for contact: Lithuanian, English Additional sources of information, links References Photos have been provided by LAG Pajurio krastas. 5

FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT OF TOURISM SUBPROJECTS

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