The couple who founded an unheard-of sanatorium in the Širvintos district: horses don’t have to travel to slaughterhouses

Ieva and Jonas Tumasoniai’s farm is quite unusual. It is home to two chickens, two own and three private horses, seven hives and a shameless kitten running around.

The relatives did not believe

Farming is not the main income generating activity of a young family, it is more of a hobby than a business.

Ieva said that she grew up in a house of her own in the Vilnius suburbs, but considered herself a Vilnius woman because she spent all her free time there.

Jonas was a third generation asphalt boy from Vilnius, but all his life he sought to be closer to nature.

When they started building their houses on a 12 hectare meadow, the new neighbors and friends couldn’t believe that the “asphalt children” could adapt in the country. They thought that the farm would become a summer place, not a place to live.

The straw and clay houses of the young family grew up in an area where there was no electricity or a road, they had to build their farm from scratch.

Gradually, an ecological house began to be erected, which the young people built with their own hands, and the horses were moved to the farm from Vilnius. The villagers, who developed in the countryside, realized that it would not be possible to cultivate and cultivate grains in wastelands, and they did not feel like doing it, they were interested in beekeeping, they were looking for alternative forms of activity. . But the happiest thing is that two young children of a young family also feel very good in nature.

For my pleasure

“Papieviais Stables is a haven for happy and tired horses and people. Here each horse has its own story, there are no equals. The most important thing for us is to be good for old and unsuitable horses. We want to spread the word to the world that old horses, unsuitable for sport or elderly do not have to go to slaughterhouses, constantly resell themselves, travel from hand to hand. They can live with dignity. The conditions of our farm are very favorable for horses. They have unlimited access to feed quality 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and the heated drinking fountain has clean water throughout the year. Horses graze freely, they have shelter, that is, they live according to their nature, they can rest after the end of a intense sports career. On a regular basis, together with the hosts and specialists, we take care of the hooves, teeth, health care. Veterinarians, blacksmiths, dentists or even masseurs of horses also come from other countries, so Lithuania and its towns are certainly not an inaccessible corner. Living conditions help animals get rid of fatigue, horses rejuvenate, recover psychologically. Horses that have completed their sporting careers in the city’s herds do not move much and without movement these animals cannot survive, ”said Ieva.

After moving to the village in the Širvintos district, the family already had two of their own horses, which Ieva has kept since the time of the explorers.

“I was in the scouting organization, I practiced additional sports in the stud. When the scouts moved from Vilnius to Samogitia, one of my dear pregnant mares stayed with me, and the other horse was their mare. In the Širvintos district, Jonas I had just bought a piece of land and was considering what to do on it, and I already had two horses, so the idea of ​​providing a service also came up: we also take care of other people’s horses. The three horses in the pension have very different owners. affectionate and responsible, who visit and take care of them from a distance, but the pets live here on our farm ”, said the young mother.

She revealed that she was riding her horses even now, but not for the result, but for her own pleasure. It is her pleasure to respect the interests of animals, to help them live and grow old with dignity.

For social ideas

The young farmer stressed that so far he does not provide many public services. Most of the time, acquaintances visit the farm, teachers transport children, and day centers come to visit it in nature.

“We are open to social ideas, but we do not provide mass services, we do not have time for that,” said Ieva.

The head of the family Jonas is an ecologist, a lover of nature, although by nature he is a son of the city. He works as a video operator at the National Cultural Center. And Ieva, who graduated from Vilnius University with a degree in political science, worked on an NGO development cooperation platform with international youth and non-governmental organizations, but is now raising children. Both are very fond of ethnic culture, they admire the customs and folklore of the Lithuanian nation. They both have traditional national clothes, John plays the bagpipes of Labanora. It turns out that the bagpipe is not a completely Scottish instrument, it is also ours, national.

Singing family club

A young family, familiar with other families who lived nearby, founded the Singing Families Club.

“When we started living in the village, we met a lot of like-minded people. We have five families in this club, many of whom have two children each. We organize family gatherings, celebrate and sing together. We want our children to spend time together. meaningful way. We sing everything: folk and popular songs, celebrate traditional festivals. In town, parents give up on raising their children in groups while waiting for the end of the activity behind the door, and we spend time with families, all together. We meet at home, among ourselves, so we are not very open yet. In this club we manage ourselves, we sing ourselves ”, – the interlocutor introduced the leisure activities in the village.

Many families living in the city transport their children to groups. “There are groups in our village, because there is a community school” Tėkmės “, a kindergarten based on the principles of Waldorf and country pedagogy. And cities like Širvintos, Vilnius are close, but they don’t always want to give children a place. Our priority is to enjoy time together while the children are young. Especially since we bring together villagers with a unique musical experience, after graduating from music schools, participants of various musical groups. One of the village fathers It has an audio recording studio where we try to record some of my favorite songs. We were with the kids during the recordings so we heard buzzing and squealing and baby hugs – it’s unique when the kids grow up, it won’t be there anymore so now we are happy about that, ”says the family of traditional non-farmers in the meadow.

The first hive

The first hive came to the Tumasoniai farm as a gift from a friend.

Ieva’s husband met the editor of the Lithuanian magazine Beekeeper. editor Jonas Dmukauskas, who gave the first swarm.

Jonas transported this swarm in his car from Vilnius to the Širvintos district. Fortunately, the bees were friendly, they didn’t sting.

Now Eve and John have lived in the village for five years.

“We came to a meadow where there was nothing. I got pretty tired before the road and electricity came along. And all other difficulties are very earthly. Even before we settled in, we realized that living in the village would not be very easy, we did not have high expectations, so there is nothing to worry about. We try not to take on too much work, because difficulties arise when you want to walk as much as you can no longer. The most important thing is to evaluate your strength and do everything according to your possibilities ”, shared the founders of the equine pension their recipe for success.