LAG Gagauz Karaflari – the Gagauzian Pattern
LAG Gagauz Karaflari unites the communities of Baurci, Besalma, Chirsova, Ferapontievca, Gaidar and Tomai (31,452 inhabitants). One of the advantages of the LAG is that the villages are close to regional routes, which positively influences the development of local business. At the same time, a favourable climate, fertile soil and water source from local lakes are important for agricultural development. A common purpose of territorial cooperation is to reinforce local culture. Each locality has a strong cultural ensemble: Ukrainian, Bulgarian or/and Gagauzian.
There are many craftsmen, and the conditions are promising for the creation of workshops to produce traditional costumes. Tomai is well-developed in terms of different business sectors: agriculture, services and manufactories. There are several famous regional products and relevant festivals, including the traditional Gagauzian Carpet Festival in Gaidar and the Wine Festival in Tomai, complemented by the unique and delicious local cuisine.
The LAG’s mission is to reinvent traditional activities and develop rural tourism based on the promotion of the multi-ethnic local cuisine and cultural values. The vision of the LAG is to become the largest rural cultural centre in the region, with well-developed infrastructure and tourism aimed at sustainable growth of living standards.
Handbook on implementation of LEADER/CLLD – community-driven rural development initiatives, in the Republic of Moldova.
The European LEADER approach is based on seven specific principles, which must all be present simultaneously in order to apply the method correctly. It is these seven characteristics that define LEADER as a methodology and distinguish it from other funding programmes
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Everyone can do something to change his or her own life and this process will be more efficient and sustainable if potential change-makers in any given community are strengthened and empowered to be able to identify with the ‘culture of co’ – cooperation, co-creation, community leadership, caring for the commons and business collaboration. This approach is called community coaching. Through the SARD LEADER/CLLD community, coaching interventions have been employed to ignite the spirit of change in the targeted local communities and encourage them to be active in the implementation of current and future development programmes.
In November 2017, members of eight Local Action Groups (LAGs), created by local stakeholders with the assistance of SARD, signed the formal Partnership Agreements, which are the basis of their common work.
The SARD LEADER initiative supports the creation, functioning and management of the local stakeholder-created LAGs in the targeted regions and neighbouring districts. The programme helps with all necessary human resource development, technical assistance, legal aspects, co-financing and governance.
The SARD Programme aims to boost the collaboration between central and local authorities, as well as among the regional organizations from ATU Gagauzia and Taraclia district, so as to foster the social-economic development of the region and of the Republic of Moldova as a whole. The Programme will contribute to development of the agro-food sector, promotion of local entrepreneurship, creation of jobs, and increasing the incomes of the population living in ATU Gagauzia and Taraclia district.
This website was developed with the financial support of the European Union within the “Support for agriculture and rural development in ATU Gagauzia and Taraclia” (SARD) Programme, funded by the European Union and implemented by the UNDP. The content of this website does not necessarily reflect the official position of the European Union or of the United Nations Development Programme.
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