US creators launch “Batkivska Khata. Homestead” ethnographic project, featuring Ukrainian ethnocalendar for 2025

The creators of the ethnographic project "Batkivska Khata. Homestead" in Texas (USA) have designed an ethnocalendar for 2025 featuring rare, authentic Ukrainian costumes titled "Timeless Ukraine: Homestead Wherever You Are."

According to Ukrinform, Olenka Bravo, one of the organizers of the project "Batkivska Khata. Homestead," reports this.

As Olenka Bravo noted, the calendar is an important tool for preserving Ukrainian cultural heritage and supporting Ukraine, especially in a difficult international situation when the US elections create additional challenges. The calendar was based on the project "Batkivska Khata. Homestead."

The calendar was created with the support of numerous organizations and activists. Among them are Nadiia Zhurba (Bright Kids Online School), the initiator of the project, Austin community leader Kateryna Voinova, UNWLA branch 147, Liberty Ukraine Foundation, Batkivska Khata, Homestead, Liberty Ukraine, and the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine.

Photographers Olenka Bravo and Valentyna Shnayder participated in the filming, and volunteers from Kyiv and Lviv helped organize and transport materials.

"Timeless Ukraine: Homestead Wherever You Are" is not just a calendar but a powerful message to the world about the resilience of the Ukrainian people and their deep cultural roots. Each photo and image in the calendar conveys the truth about Ukraine, which for centuries has been under threat of destruction of its cultural heritage. The project is designed to remind us of the importance of preserving Ukrainian identity, especially in the context of globalization and a difficult international situation," the project authors emphasized.

Olenka Bravo noted that this project is part of a larger movement to support Ukrainian identity in the context of globalization. Its importance is especially felt today as the country's foreign policy becomes an essential tool for influencing world opinion.

Kateryna Voinova, who came up with the name for the calendar, emphasizes:

"We created this calendar with deep respect for our history and culture because our ancestors preserved these traditions for us, and now we must pass them on to future generations."

The calendar contains a unique collection of authentic Ukrainian clothing from Natalka Sturgill – the owner of the most extensive private collection of Ukrainian costumes in the USA, including over 500 shirts.

The calendar presents clothes from different regions of Ukraine, including Kyiv, Ternopil, Chernivtsi, Sumy region, Kharkiv, Lviv, Poltava, Volyn, Transcarpathia, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Dnipro and Ivano-Frankivsk.

Natalka Sturgill shared exciting stories from the process of collecting the collection:

^{Photo provided by Olena Bravo}

"On the calendar pages, there is a costume from Okhtyrka, Sumy region, which I have been looking for over 8 years. This shirt's embroidery is unique and made using a rare technique. Another photo presents shirts from the Zhytomyr region. One of them was entrusted to me by the owner's granddaughter, who said that the shirt was sewn around 1882 by her great-grandmother Mariia Kuzmivna Rudenko."