Goal of Lithuanian pilot Leitgiriai village community

For many years, there were no investments made to Leitgiriai village, a school and a shop were closed, a sports ground disappeared and the people ceased to believe in the possibilities to receive support from the state, EU funds and other institutions. People who were capable of work and young people started running away from the village, while the number of residents dropped to 113 persons. Seeing the current situation, people gathered and established their community of Leitgiriai in 2014.

At first, people of Leitgiriai community were shy, closed and sometimes did not have much self-confidence, but later on they started focusing on mutual work and the first steps of the community were successful. First of all, a bus stop was established from the funds of local municipal communities, so that all of the residents, especially children, who are using public transport, would have a possibility to wait safely and would hide from the rain under a shelter.

Even though there is no empty building in Leitgiriai, where the community house could be established, the people always find a possibility to gather in the houses of one or another community member. When the weather is good, the gatherings could be organised outside but no public space was available there. Therefore, in 2015, using the funds from National support for the communities and contributing with their own input, the community had implemented the project “Creating a recreational area in Leitgiriai village”. People now gather in the established site, where they can communicate with each other, solve local issues, have fun with their kids, do sports and rest as well as organise public and community celebrations.

The established infrastructure had to be brought to live and the residents needed to be encouraged to take up the initiative and be included into the communal activities, therefore in 2016, the community of Leitgiriai village had implemented a project “Strengthening the communal activity in Leitgiriai village”. During this project, a microclimate was created in the already established site: the territory was surrounded with a fence, a wooden inventory was repainted, the grass was seeded and some plants were planted. 

In order to encourage the people to spend their leisure in the nature more actively, such as, go fishing, swimming or organising a picnic, the abandoned shore of Leitė was restored. 

The community really cares about education and improvement. A series of lectures were organised on the topic of healthy lifestyle as well as three educational programmes were carried on the topics of cuttings, threading straws and weaving Advent wreaths.

Members of Leitgiriai community are actively participating in various sports competitions: family and basketball competition tournaments as well as kayak races. They have also organised summer and Christmas celebrations. Moreover, there were some non-project activities – people were participating actively and representing the community of Leitgiriai village in the celebrations organised by other communities, participated in a campaign “Darom” (Let’s do it) as well as cleaned up the old cemetery.

Even though the communal organisation is still young, people who were acting together already managed to feel the unity, the need to develop communal activities together appeared, to search for uniqueness of the community and spaces, where the people could express themselves. This community really cares about the people and the environment, where they are building their life.