The “Soul of Soil: Dishes from Demined Fields” campaign, which brought together 12 Kyiv restaurants around the topic of humanitarian demining, raised UAH 120,446 in support of the Humanitarian Demining direction of the UNITED24 fundraising platform.

The campaign was launched ahead of the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. Its goal was to draw attention to humanitarian demining as the first stage of Ukraine’s recovery and to highlight the value of products grown on land that was recently unsafe due to mines and other explosive ordnance.

Throughout the campaign, visitors purchased 1,496 dishes prepared with products grown on demined land in the Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Kherson and Sumy regions. Special menu items were offered by 12 Kyiv restaurants: Italian Edition, Uliublenyi Dyadya, Mirali, BAO, NAM, Himalaya, Afternoon, tisto café & bakery, Avtostantsiia Pizza, Budynok Velykoho Dyva, Tisto, Syr i Titka Bella, and Tarilka. Participating restaurants donated part of the proceeds from the sale of these dishes to the Humanitarian Demining direction through UNITED24.

“Every product featured in the ‘Soul of Soil’ campaign travelled a long way — from a mine-contaminated field to a restaurant guest’s order. Behind every product is the contribution of people helping bring Ukrainian land back to life: deminers, mine action operators, engineers, farmers, government officials and international partners. For us, it was important to raise funds for humanitarian demining, and also to remind people that recovery, the return of residents and economic activity to de-occupied territories all begin with demining,” said Ihor Bezkaravainyi, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine.

A key feature of the campaign was not only the dishes themselves, but also the stories of the people and farms that grew products on land returned to use after demining.

Some of the dishes were prepared using flour and semolina produced under the Golden Way brand by ORTASH Ukraine, a company based in Mykolaiv. The company works with wheat grown in the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, it has continued operating despite massive attacks and supply chain disruptions. At the same time, it has supported farmers in southern Ukraine and prioritised purchasing grain from de-occupied and demined land, helping agricultural producers restore their businesses after occupation and hostilities.

Beetroot, carrots and onions used in the campaign dishes were supplied by the Roksolana farm from the village of Myroliubivka in the Kherson region. During the occupation, the farm suffered significant losses: machinery and infrastructure were damaged, crops were destroyed, and fields and access roads were contaminated by mines. Despite these challenges, the farmers resumed operations in 2023. Today, all of their agricultural land is once again suitable for cultivation. In addition to traditional crops, the farm has expanded into vegetable production, growing beetroot, carrots and onions that became key ingredients in the campaign dishes.

Sunflower oil for the project was provided by farmers Viktor and Andrii Prykhodko from the Kharkiv region. After the liberation of the Izium district, all of the family’s fields were contaminated by mines. They were eventually cleared and returned to use. Today, father and son produce sunflower oil at a restored historic oil mill near Izium, which continues operating despite its proximity to the frontline and ongoing shelling. Their oil became one of the symbols of how land can once again serve people and communities after demining.

The most popular dish of the campaign was Chicken Tikka Masala at Himalaya restaurant, with 275 portions ordered. Second place went to Kherson-style green borshch at Budynok Velykoho Dyva, which was ordered 122 times.

The campaign was organised by Demine Ukraine and UNDP in Ukraine in partnership with the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine, FAO and the UNITED24 fundraising platform, with the support of the Government of the Netherlands.