Carts, buggies, and stagecoaches will be made in "Vidzy-city"

October 4, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Carts, carts, and even stagecoaches will be made in "Vidzy-city". An unusual ecological and ethno-tourist project is being implemented in the village of Vidzy (Braslav district) by the local state vocational-technical college, the director of the educational institution Mikhail Smirnov told a BELTA correspondent. "Vidzy-city" is a large-scale project designed to contribute not only to the development of the college but also to the entire village. After all, the educational institution is practically a city-forming one for the settlement bordering Lithuania, which has a population of 1.7 thousand people, the interlocutor explained. Currently, the ecological center for youth education, a creative association of students operating at the college, and the public association "Center for the Development of the Vidzy Region" are participating in the creation of "Vidzy-city". According to the project authors, infrastructure for the development of ecological and ethnic tourism is being created in Vidzy. The vocational-technical college is actively mastering non-traditional energy sources and uses solar and wind energy to heat water in the dormitory and light the premises of the training farm. According to Mikhail Smirnov, a solar collector and a wind turbine can take a place of honor among the local architectural and natural attractions. The college associates the development of the ethnic direction with a complex of craft workshops that are being equipped in the "Zyezdny Dvor" (Inn Yard). The educational institution has acquired old warehouse buildings, renovated them, and by the beginning of the next tourist season, it intends to present traditional Belarusian and Lithuanian crafts here, including starting the production of horse-drawn transport - carts, carts, carriages, and stagecoaches. This type of transport will be used to serve tourists on routes around the Braslav region. As Mikhail Smirnov noted, the focus on tourism in Vidzy is based on practical work. Annually, over 200 children, including those from the border regions of the Pskov region, vacation at the college's recreation center. Excursionists gladly visit the aviary and training farms, where cows, rabbits, lynxes, and ostriches are kept. The college rents two lakes with a total area of 120 hectares and has a fishing team. Vidzy State Vocational-Technical College trains students in 14 working qualifications for the agricultural, forestry, construction, and public catering industries. 365 students study at the college, including citizens of the Russian Federation. The college owns a forest training base with an area of 95 hectares, which includes a forest nursery. The educational institution has repeatedly become a laureate of republican and regional competitions for professional skills and technical creativity of students. -0-