Our activities commenced with a two-year “Pilot Project for the Sustainable Development of the Tatra region”. The project earned a good name nation-wide and is now being taken as a model by many rural development initiatives. One of its best visible outcomes was the establishment of a local, at present independently functioning community development organization - the Oblazy Foundation. The foundation was created as a result of joining leadership forces of seven major organizations active in the village of Kvačany (the main stakeholders are the local government, cooperative farm, church, elementary school, Red Cross, business community and association of forest owners). The development efforts are now being widened to eight other villages in the Kvačany surroundings.

• Community minigrant program (in cooperation with VOCA) This program combines training and the dispersion of small grants to develop supporting cooperation among rural communities. In order to qualify for a grant the residents should participate in a series of community meetings and trainings on how to develop projects. This gives people a chance to talk about their issues and improve skills for writing grant proposals and administering grants. The program is coordinated by a local steering committee. Local people also create grants committee that approves grant proposals. The program is run in two microregions consisting of 3 and 4 villages. The sum for one grant is between 5-20 thousand Slovak crowns.
• Rural leaders small grant program - (in cooperation with EPCE) This program awards small grants up to 30 thousand Slovak crowns targeted at the Trenčín, Žilina and Banská Bystrica regions. The program reaches out to local leaders, strenghtening the capacity of traditional leaders and creates supportive environment for new leadership. Grants can be made to local governmets, NGOs and individual leaders wanting to implement ideas and project beneficial to the whole community.
• Rural tourism - community supported business - This project consists of training programs, study visits and consultancy focused on the following topics: A/ achieving success in inn-keeping business, B/ communication with visitors and C/ cooperation and marketing in inn-keeping business.
• Trail to the Mineral Source project - Achieving success in reconstructing a nature trail connecting the towns of Liptovský Hrádok and Liptovský Ján depends on the ability of three sectors (state, business, nonprofit) to cooperate. The project strives to improve communication between urban and rural communities, link a number of organizations in redressing the trail and thus improve the quality of environment for both residents and visitors to the Upper Liptov region.
• Educational and Rehabilitation Raptor Center - the goal is to build a rehabilitation station to protect injured and disabled raptors. The project also initiates a creation of the “Friends of Raptors Club” to educate public about these endangered species. Involvement of business and governmental sectors is an intergrated part of the efforts.
• Vision and Community Action Plan of the Liptovský Hrádok town - The goal of this one-year program is to involve citizens in community decision making through the participation in a visioning process and carry on a feasibility study for the creation of a local community fund/foundation.

• “Life Style in the traditional Recipes of the Kvačany Microregion” - confrontation of the past and present life styles through the collection of old recipes and crafts written in the old language.
• “Ecological agriculture” - theme material serving for elementary school learners (9-14 years old). The brochure provides an introduction to the relationship between agricultural products and human health, food-chain, ecological products, etc.
• “National Parks and Us” - presents a number of different approaches to the preservation of protected areas world-wide.
• “We are having guests” - rural tourism manual provides handy thoughts and advice to consider when deciding on starting up a rural tourism/inn-keeping business.
• “Everything on the Wooden House, part I.” - presents the topic of preservation of folk architecture in Slovakia. The brochure reviews the process of restoring a 130 years old wooden house in the Kvačany village.
• “Hiking through the Kvačianska and Prosiecka valleys” - decribes the jewels of flora and fauna located in these two state nature reserves. This publication was issued in partnership with the Daphne foundation focusing on applied environmental research.
• “Why there is no fish and crayfish in our stream?” - assists educators in teaching about water ecology.
• “What do we care about?” - summarizes the results of the community survey carried on among the residents of Liptovský Hrádok on the quality of life in their town.