Hi all,

I am a founding member of a European NGO called RebelFarmer working among others towards the sustainable development of European rural regions and agrotourism.
This year we would like to bring cyclist’s attention on Belarus.

Belarus is quite an unknown country stucked between Poland and Russia, often referred to as "the last dictatorship of Europe", and having one of the few centrally-planned economies left in the world. Although it became independent in 1991, its president still governs the country in a quite authoritarian way BUT thanks to several international initiatives the country is now slowly but surely opening to the world. At RebelFarmer we thus feel it’s our duty to support the population in this objective.

Although rural tourism is still in its infancy in Belarus, its beautiful natural surroundings (the highest biodiversity in Europe!), the hospitality and traditional skills of the population, offer plenty of growth possibilities for the near future. We are working with a number of villages on the so-called GREENWAYS (local nature routes, under the UN flag of Local Agenda 21).
A first attempt to introduce local democracy in Belarus !