A brief story of Russian family homesteads.

Ok, for those of interest - here is a brief story of Russian homesteads.
At the end of the last century Anastasia, the heroine of the "Ringing Cedars of Russia" book series inspired people to create family homesteads in the form of Kin's domains which has turned out into national movement with more than 400 eco-communities of Kin's domains developing now in Russia.



A Kin's domain is a piece of land at least 1 hectare (2.5 acres) in size owned and developed by an individual or a family who prefer living their lives in nature to the hustle and bustle of city life. They provide a sustainable way of living which also helps improve the quality of our planet.

Why one hectare? Because this is a sufficient minimum amount of land sizable enough to sustain the basic life-long and multi-generational needs of each family or domain settler. This is an amount of land that can be stewarded sustainably by the efforts of an individual or family, without becoming too difficult to manage and that can be managed without the need for heavy industrial agricultural machinery or harmful chemicals and fertilizers or pesticides and without the need for reliance on declining fossils fuels.

Each Kin's Domain is created with the specific goal of being a self sufficient area that can support all the basic human needs of the owner including life-long food production, shelter and water supply. Each domain is designed with the specific intent of surrounding the home by a supportive natural eco-system that will additionally support the domain owner by providing the clean air created by oxygen producing plant life, creation of forest land for the optional use of timber for seasonal home heating needs etc and a wide variety of other plant life with a focus on edible perennials as well as plants that can be grown for medicinal purposes.

Each domain settler or family owns their own land. It is not owned by the community. The reason for this is so that they can fully invest in the beautifying of the land by restoring natural systems and commit to making a lifetime long-term investment, first in the initial restoration of the land followed by the lifelong stewardship of their land plot which can then remain in the family and be passed on to successive generations.

A Kin's Domain differs from the eco-village or commune model where each individual is dependent on the collective always functioning and properly working together to meet the basic needs of all its individuals especially in matters of food production. On a Kin Domain each family/settler's goal is to become self sufficient, to stand on their own, with the surrounding domains creating a strong supportive network and community.

Of course, there is a great need for working together in a Kin community, and this vital work must begin before even a single person builds their own unique domain. Much forethought and planning is needed. In each village of Kin's Domains there will most likely be land that is shared by the collective community. This shared land could include such areas as:

* a shared lake or large body of water
* a school
* a community meeting centre
* community agricultural lands or pasture
* a visitor’s centre
* forest lands
* riverside
* roadway access, and more.

Thank you for sharing this Yury. It is so nice to see that permaculture is a world wide practice.
I am enjoying the first film and will watch the others latter but so far I am amazed that they are growing such beautiful gardens in grass. Next time someone asks me about getting rid of grass to plant a garden I will show them this film.
Do you live in one of these communities? I wish I could.

I am glad that you like it, Miles! )))

Here is another short inspirational video about Russian family homesteads:

Great stuff, thank you for sharing!

Спасибо! Thank you for posting these. I've been dipping my toes in the water of Russia language and considering a trip to the other side of the world to see how beautiful your country really is, and perhaps doing some woofing/work awaying. Beautiful details.

David Winchester wrote:Спасибо! Thank you for posting these. I've been dipping my toes in the water of Russia language and considering a trip to the other side of the world to see how beautiful your country really is, and perhaps doing some woofing/work awaying. Beautiful details.

You are most welcome, David!  
We can also arrange an eco ethno tour to Russian ecovillages of Kins domains as well as to some sacred placed of the South of Russia. Please check details here: https://ecominded.net/vedic-russia-ethno-tour

Yury, I just remembered that I had seen an article about Vladimir Putin and the Russia parliament implementing a project which gives 2.5 H of land to anyone who will homestead in certain areas of Russia. It sounds like it is even open to immigrants from all nations.
Is that true and how is that working?
What areas would be best to look into?

Miles Flansburg wrote:Yury, I just remembered that I had seen an article about Vladimir Putin and the Russia parliament implementing a project which gives 2.5 H of land to anyone who will homestead in certain areas of Russia. It sounds like it is even open to immigrants from all nations.
Is that true and how is that working?
What areas would be best to look into?

Miles, as soon as so many people keep asking me about this project, I wrote an article about it, please clikck on the link to read: The Truth about Land Giveaway in Russia

Thanks Yuri, So is a kin homestead open to non Russians or do the same citizenship rules apply?

Miles Flansburg wrote:Thanks Yuri, So is a kin homestead open to non Russians or do the same citizenship rules apply?

Citizenship rules apply to Kin homestead too.
But, if you (or may be anyone else) have really strong intention, I can tell you the way around it. )
All farmer's or Kin homestead land is entitled for agricultural puposes. A foreigner can't purchase a land like that by law. But it is allowed for a foreigner to rent this land. So all you need to do is to find a reliable Russian citizen, a homesteader or a like-minded person, who would agree to buy the land. You pay the price of the land and this reliable homesteader sign all legal papers and become an official owner of the land and at the same time he sign the legal papers to lease the land to you for a number of years. Then you get a working or a business visa, come to Russia and start developing this land, and learning Russian. After about 5 years, you can apply for Russian citizenship and when you are granted the citizenship you can arrange all legal papers into yourname.    

Please watch more videos about Russian family homesteads (Kins domains):

More beautiful and inspiring videos from Russian family homesteads (Kins domains):

In this video
I am sharing some beautiful and inspiring moments of "Ascention", the Festival of Positive Creation, one of the biggest spiritual events in Russia held in September 2019, Russia, Krasnodar region.
Please enjoy and share it with your friends.
And you are most welcome to join us in 2020: https://ecominded.net/vedic-russia-ethno-tour

New inspiring film about ecovillage of Kins domains Vedrussia: https://youtu.be/n3K4ODXIrZc - enjoy and share!

Thanks for the post. It was an amazing read.

Yuri, а где ваше экопоселение находится?

Natalya Ryab wrote:Yuri, а где ваше экопоселение находится?

Vedrussia находится в Краснодарском крае, Северский район, в 55 км от Краснодара.

Please enjoy artworks by Kumar Alzhanov, the artist, inspired by the Ringing Cedars of Russia book series. Painted on canvas or on cedar wood plate. For more artworks click here: https://ecominded.net/works-of-art

I read all the ringing cedars books and loved them. It was hard to believe all the magical stuff happening but I still enjoyed it and was inspired by it. The author writes it as if everything happened for real, but some of it is too magical to believe. I'll believe it when I see it. However, I still do soak seeds in my mouth before I sprout them to send them my genetics. I haven't watched any of the videos you posted because I don't feel like watching videos at the moment but figure if I comment on this thread then I will have it saved in my history so I can check it out later :)

Uncontrolled deforestation has been a real disaster in Russia for the recent 10-15 years. Siberian forests were cut down on vast territories despite the efforts of a few enthusiasts who tried to protect the forests.
Now the fight for Siberian forests comes to an end. Putin requested completely banning shipment of unprocessed timber of coniferous and valuable hardwood species out of Russia starting January 1, 2022 Click here to read more: https://ecominded.net/putin-stops-illegal-logging

It makes me so happy to hear this!  I am about halfway through the series and it's helping me remember things I already instinctively knew as a child, but forgot or repressed when I got stuck getting a full time job and living in the "modern society world".  Finally getting back to how I always knew humans were supposed to live :)). I know many people find the more magical things Anastasia does in the books unbelievable but I find it makes sense to me as well as have found similar theories in unrelated veins of research. Regardless, the message is wonderful and stands on its own which is obviously her intention. The purest truths I've found always come from people who do their best to avoid the limelight and become popular thru word of mouth.
I'm curious, how many foreigners are there joining the Russian communities?  Are they welcomed?  I hope more countries follow suit with the free hectare idea!

Síle Rose wrote:
I'm curious, how many foreigners are there joining the Russian communities?  Are they welcomed?  I hope more countries follow suit with the free hectare idea!

Yes, of course the foreigners are welcomed in Russia communities. Although not many of them really come to live in Russia. If you wish to move to Russia and join any of Russian ecovillages of Kins domains please check my articles on the topic here: https://ecominded.net/move-to-russia

Hey folks, according to "The Ringing Cedars of Russia" book series, the healing properties of Pinus Sibirica, (or "Siberian cedar" as they call it in Russia) are well-known for centuries. And we are having a huge discount offer for you: get handmade cedar pendant XL size (4.5-5.5 cm in diameter) for as little as $3 US: https://ecominded.net/cedar-pendant-on-a-thread - the offer valid till March 6th.

And here is an excerpt from "Anastasia" - the first book from bestselling series by Vladimir Megre:
"Siberian Cedar is an amazing tree! The mention of this tree is found from the time of the ancient druids. Assyrian kings used amulets from cedar to persuade lords of other kingdoms to listen to their opinion and the women of Assyria wore such amulets for the love spell of the man they liked...
Pieces of this tree are able to heal, restore the destroyed biofield. Cedar helps to relieve fatigue and stress. It has been noticed that people who are constantly in contact with cedar (carpenters, wood carvers) have excellent health. And there is no doubt about this because they are constantly in touch with its energy.
Cedar pendant should be worn so that it is in contact with the body. If it’s color changes, then the cedar works with you together."

Grow old-fashioned vegetables, greens, flowers and medicinal plants that have been passed down through generations in Russian sustainable family homesteads, all with the same traits - planting after planting, season after season, generation after generation... Place an order: https://ecominded.net/heirloom-seeds and share the link with friends! For limited time you can also take your chance and get the seeds with 10 to 50% discount: apply coupon codes as suggested in this article: https://ecominded.net/coupon The offer valid till March 20th.

Dear friends,
Total madness is happening now in the world. Due to massive USA, UK and EU sanctions most of Russian people are facing real challenges. So are we, at Eco-Minded Club, have to inform our customers that PayPal, card payment and international bank transfer are not available any more. During this insane transition period of time we offer you to pay through KoronaPay (for Europe), and we also accept Bitcoins: click on the link https://ecominded.net/delivery-information to see details.
The good news is that we can still ship to almost any country worldwide without limitations, our post offices work as usual. Only delivery times may take longer than usual due to the ban on flights in some countries.
We strongly believe that together we will cope with all the difficulties. And to help you go through these challenging times we announce 20% massive discount on ALL eco-minded products: https://ecominded.net ! Apply coupon code forpermies in your order and enjoy all eco-minded products with 20% discount: https://ecominded.net . The offer valid till April 30th.

Breathtaking view from the Air - look at Russian Kin's domains (5 minutes video): https://youtu.be/ChdX3NoNX0w

According to Anastasia from the Ringing Cedars book series, cedar pendant is able to heal, restore the destroyed biofield. It also helps to relieve fatigue and stress. Cedar pendant should be worn so that it is in contact with the body. If it’s color changes, then the cedar works with you together.
Get your cedar pendant (XL-size) for as little as 3 USD (53% off in May only): https://ecominded.net/cedar-pendant-on-a-thread

The wonderful world of Zdravoye (the closest English word is "Sane") - relatively new but fast developing ecovillage of Kin's domains in the South of Russia, founded mostly by entrepreneurs, please enjoy this 3 min. video:

Curious, how much do they charge for a hectare (2 acres) in these communities now?
I heard land prices were high in the Southern Russia lately, but right now real estate market is dead, so prices will be coming down.
Once the crazy stuff settles down worldwide I'm thinking of heading to Altai.

Alice Fast wrote:Curious, how much do they charge for a hectare (2 acres) in these communities now?
I heard land prices were high in the Southern Russia lately, but right now real estate market is dead, so prices will be coming down.

The prices are different in different communities depending on the level of development and location.
If we are talking about Zdravoye (one of the most developed ecovillages in the South of Russia) the price for 2.5 acres (1 hectare) will be about 1 million Rubles (17000 USD).

Yury Smirnov wrote:

Alice Fast wrote:Curious, how much do they charge for a hectare (2 acres) in these communities now?
I heard land prices were high in the Southern Russia lately, but right now real estate market is dead, so prices will be coming down.

The prices are different in different communities depending on the level of development and location.
If we are talking about Zdravoye (one of the most developed ecovillages in the South of Russia) the price for 2.5 acres (1 hectare) will be about 1 million Rubles (17000 USD).

Oh, I see, that's way too expensive in Zdravoye, more than I pay per acre in the US, for unrestricted land.
I  know there's a lot of much cheaper land all over Russia and can even get some free land through selsovet (I have citizenship), just not in Krasnodar Krai, everyone wants to move to Krasnodar. Krasnodar is too popular these days...

Do you know if there're still places with old growth cedars or did they cut all of them?

Alice Fast wrote:

Do you know if there're still places with old growth cedars or did they cut all of them?

There are a lot of really old cedar trees (Pinus Sibirica)  in Siberia and Altay region of Russia. And in the Russia's Far East too.

Greetings, fellow inhabitants of our beautiful planet, and welcome to a moment of natural healing wisdom from the good folks at https://ecominded.net - your go-to destination for all things natural.
With a vast array of alternatives, ranging from eco-cosmetics and healing herbs (https://ecominded.net/natural-cosmetics), to pine nut products (https://ecominded.net/cedar-products) and gluten-free foods (https://ecominded.net/organic-grains), we offer only the best sourced from the bounty of Mother Nature herself.
And that's not all! Our handmade crafts (https://ecominded.net/handcrafts) are simply divine, and our selection of heirloom seeds https://ecominded.net/heirloom-seeds will breathe new life into any garden.

In the U.S. we have a few agrivillages, which would be the closest thing we have to Russia's kin's domains.  Each house has some land, and while each family owns that land and house, everyone collectively owns the common  spaces.  And there's always a focus on growing things and homesteadingesque activities.  In the cities we have a few agrihoods, but those don't have as much space, but still focused on gardening.  I wish this model of intentional communities would become more common here, because there are none near where I live, the closest is almost an hour away

Greetings, freedom seekers and champions of sustainable solutions and secure communication!
Join our Telegram Group https://t.me/eco_minded , where discussions on self-sufficiency, sustainability, and all things eco-minded thrive without censorship. Experience the most secure and privacy-focused platform available. Discover more at: https://ecominded.net/simple-blog . Click here to join: https://t.me/eco_minded . Let's amplify our voices and build a greener, more sustainable world together! 🌍🌿💚