Farmer from Zaporizhia Received a Government Grant and Launched a Family Café

Thanks to government support in the form of a grant, the owner of the snail farm Zap.Ravlik, Viktoriya Sorokina, was able to scale her business and create a new cozy establishment for the whole family.

This is reported by AgroReview

“Grants are not created for the ‘chosen ones’, but for the proactive. The idea in your head is already half the battle,” believes Viktoriya Sorokina.

The funds received were directed by the farmer towards launching a family café located near her home. As part of the grant conditions, new jobs were created, including the employment of two staff members, one of whom has a disability.

“Before the war, I dreamed of scaling the street food project across Ukraine. Now I am focused on developing the existing establishment and opening a family café, but the desire to expand remains. In the future, I will definitely return to the idea of opening new locations across the country,” shared the entrepreneur.

Story of the Farm’s Creation and the Opening of the First Establishment

Viktoriya moved to Zaporizhia in 2013 for her studies and obtained an education related to entrepreneurship. In 2019, she, along with a partner, founded a snail farm, began producing dishes made from snails, and delivering them in Zaporizhia and other cities in Ukraine.

“At first, we presented our products at festivals and fairs, organizing tastings in various parts of the city. On February 23, 2022, we opened our own sales point in a street food format in the center of Zaporizhia. Unfortunately, we only operated for one day due to the start of the full-scale war. However, by March, we resumed our activities and have been constantly improving since then, adding new dishes according to the season,” Viktoriya recounted.