The Shkurenkos' farm’s name Ditasana contains encrypted names of all family members — Dmytro, his wife Tetiana, son Sashko, and daughter Natalka. The family grows and collects medicinal herbs — sage, echinacea, mint, elderberries, altea, and other plants.
Dmytro Shkurenko has been working with plants for more than a decade. He is a folk master of wickerwork, and this is what became the first business of the former drawing teacher. While creating products from vines, Dmytro dreamed of his own farm for many years and worked to make it come true. Dmytro learned the art of working with medicinal plants from the specialists of the Research Station of Medicinal Plants of the Ukrainian Academy of Agrarian Sciences.
In 2021, the Shkurenkos collected almost one and a half tons of dry medicinal herbs from their own crops and dried more than 4 tons of elderberry. In the difficult war year of 2022, it was possible to harvest almost 6 tons of medicinal plants. The Shkurenkos were helped to carry out such large volumes of work by their fellow villagers, for whom it became an additional earning opportunity. Celandine, nettle, tansy, acacia, elderberry — these are far from all types of herbs that, thanks to the work of the Ditasana farm and its partner company Sumyfitopharmatsia («Сумифітофармація»), will become medicine for thousands of Ukrainians.
«It was scary to start, difficulties awaited me at every stage of work. But the support of the family provided strength every time. Analyzing the period of my farm’s existence, I see how much has been done and how much more can be done. The next step is to improve the technological base for the possibility of harvesting 30 or more tons of medicinal herbs per year, creating jobs and providing the pharmaceutical industry with the necessary medicinal raw materials that are needed for the health of our soldiers and other citizens of Ukraine»
