#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. Ust-Avam is one of the Taimyr villages, where mainly representatives of indigenous peoples live – Nganasans and Dolgans. The educational visitor center construction in the village is part of the Nornickel’s program to support the indigenous population of the peninsula. The customer for the construction is the Arctic Development Project Office (PORA). Before the start of construction, specialists conducted an ethnographic study and found out what local residents would like to see in their villages.
Some chose a community center, some asked for a medical and obstetric station, and the Ust-Avam residents chose a visitor center. Initially, the facility was supposed to perform only tourist functions, but the company decided to go further, and the facility became an educational visitor center, so that children could study there, young people could realize their ambitions, and adults could spend time there. The center’s area is 225 square meters.
Investments in the facility amounted to 57 million rubles. Nornickel has built the facility in two years. A bathhouse and a residential complex have also been built as part of the project. This will create additional conveniences for teachers on business trips: they will not have to look for housing.
“This is a very significant event for the village. Various workshops will be able to develop here, because we know very well that our Taimyr land is rich in bone carvers and artists. This will be a place where craftsmen can pass on their skills to the younger generation. Thanks to this, Taimyr will be known far beyond its borders. In addition, this will attract additional jobs, as well as infrastructure for tourists: master classes will be organized in the center so that travelers can immerse themselves in the life of tundra dwellers”, said the Taimyr Dolgano-Nenets municipal district’s head Aleksey Chlenov.
In the future, Taimyr guests will be able to come, comfortably accommodate and learn how the northern peoples live and what the real Arctic is. Thanks to the visitor center, Ust-Avam will become another calling card of the peninsula. According to Maxim Dankin, the Arctic Development Project Office general director, the educational center will transform the territory and create conditions for self-realization.
“The center will also potentially open this territory to tourists. We plan to continue implementing the program to support indigenous peoples in Taimyr, as well as the Polar Bear educational project in Norilsk. Of course, we will support initiatives from the public”, Maxim Dankin emphasized.
The Nornickel Polar Branch’s deputy director for regional policy and corporate projects Vyacheslav Shchukin noted that the company will continue to actively support Taimyr, public initiatives aimed at preserving the culture, life and traditions of the peninsula’s indigenous peoples, as well as creating conditions for the sustainable development of the traditional residence territory.
“In the near future, we plan to open various facilities – a community center, first aid stations. In Ust-Avam, we have already built a first aid station, as well as an entire street. We planned to build 18 houses in Volochanka and Ust-Avam, but this year we are already finishing construction of the 33rd house. We believe that the villagers deserve to live in modern houses and use modern cultural, educational and medical facilities”, said Vyacheslav Shchukin.
Recall that Nornickel has invested about two billion rubles in the program to support the indigenous peoples of Taimyr. The goal of the program is to support traditional economic activities, protect the original habitat, build houses, first aid posts, roads and tourist centers in Taimyr.
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Text: Anzhelika Stepanova, Photo: Nornickel’s Polar Branch’s press service
