Bread for Locals: The Story of the Creation and Development of the Only Stone Mill in One of Zhytomyr Region’s Communities

29 August 2026, 06:18 328

After russia’s full-scale invasion, the Nahornyi family moved from Kyiv to the village of Zabolot in Zhytomyr Region. At the time, they had no clear understanding of what to do next. But their long-standing dream of having their own mill came to life in the new location and found support within the community.

Viktoriia Nahorna, owner of the stone mill Family Mill of the Nahornyis, says that at the beginning of the war, the community gathered to understand who produced what in the village and what they could provide to people during difficult times. This is how the idea of establishing their own flour production emerged.

«My husband had wanted a mill for a long time, and we managed to bring the idea to life: we purchased a stone mill with stone millstones and produce flour, benefiting our community. There is a small bakery operating not far from our village that makes bread and various bakery products for local kiosks and shops. The bakery said it needed flour, especially if a local producer could become its partner. Our stone mill is the only one in the community, so we feel the support and continue developing our idea,» Viktoriia Nahorna says.

Viktoriia Nahorna Inside the Stone Mill Facility

They produce wheat flour, wholemeal wheat flour and medium rye flour. In the future, they plan to expand the range with more niche types, such as buckwheat and rice flour.

The first batch of flour was supplied to the local bakery for test samples. They received positive feedback and began cooperating. Today, baked goods made with flour from the Family Mill of the Nahornyis can be enjoyed not only by residents of the community but also by schoolchildren and preschoolers, as educational institutions cooperate with the bakery, which produces wholemeal flour products for them. In addition, small batches are supplied to local customers in Khmelnytskyi.

The craft producer explains that flour from a stone mill is of high quality and has a distinctive natural taste. The stones grind the grain while preserving all its beneficial properties, the fibre content is higher, and the quality is better than that of flour produced by large industrial enterprises.

Viktoriia Nahorna, owner of the stone mill Family Mill of the Nahornyis

We produce wheat flour from raw materials supplied by local farmers. We also purchase some of the rye and grow some ourselves, but our harvest is not sufficient. In addition, we do not have our own agricultural machinery, so cultivating the land is quite difficult.

The mill owner’s second higher education degree is in agronomy. She is currently studying at a higher education institution and researching which crops can be grown in the area where she lives. Unfortunately, wheat does not grow particularly well there, so they decided to grow rye on a small plot and process it into flour. They grow the Ukrainian-bred Kobza winter rye variety themselves, which has high bread-making qualities, and also purchase Ukrainian grain from local farmers. Rye flour, alongside wheat flour, is in greater demand and meets the needs of the bakery with which the producer cooperates.

«We produce and sell all our flour to order. You could say that our sales channels have already been established. We have received support from local bread and bakery producers, and we also want to export our flour. We still need to prepare for this stage and equip a new production facility in accordance with all the necessary standards and requirements,» Viktoriia Nahorna explains.

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The mill operates on a private property, but the family dreams of equipping premises in accordance with HACCP requirements. Currently, the production facility includes the stone mill itself, various augers and sifters, a grain cleaning machine and a seed grader, which allows the grain to be additionally cleaned before being processed into flour. Production capacity is up to 2 tonnes of flour per month.

The Family Mill of the Nahornyis is striving to develop, which is why it took part in the CraftUP Ukraine educational and grant project and became one of the 10 finalists. The processors are in great need of agricultural machinery, namely a tractor for field work that would help with rye cultivation, so they hope that the grant funds will enable them to implement this plan.

The core team of the family mill consists of Viktoriia Nahorna’s family, while additional workers are hired for seasonal work, although they are extremely difficult to find. The entrepreneur identifies this as one of the main challenges in the business.

«Many men have been mobilised, there are generally few people living in villages, and finding workers is extremely difficult. We need physical strength because a lot of the work is done directly in the mill. In addition, it is difficult to find machinery and people who can operate it and cultivate the fields,» Viktoriia Nahorna notes.

In addition, climate challenges affect grain cultivation in different ways. This year, an ice crust partially destroyed the rye crops, while drought is also having an impact.

Rye in the Nahornyi Family’s Field

According to the mill owner, approximately €25,000 can initially be enough to enter the flour milling business. In the case of the Nahornyi family, the stone mill cost €19,000. They then invested in renovating the premises, purchased raw materials and packaging, and obtained product quality certification, with samples from each batch of flour tested in a laboratory.

Today, in addition to producing different types of flour, the Family Mill of the Nahornyis provides grain processing services to third-party organisations, processing grain into flour and groats, including semolina and corn grits.

Wheat Bread Made with Flour from the Family Mill of the Nahornyis

«In the future, I would like to create a full production cycle — from growing crops to baking bread. We also plan to develop the farming side of the business. I really enjoy working on the land, I have learned how to achieve fairly good harvests and know what needs to be improved to obtain more. We want to purchase our own machinery so that we do not depend on third-party companies,» Viktoriia Nahorna concludes.

For reference: CraftUP Ukraine is an educational and grant project for craft food producers organised by the online publication AgroPortal.ua with the support of the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine. The project consists of several stages. The first was a study of Ukraine’s craft production market, based on the results of which a training programme was developed. Its participants included 40 craft producers from different regions of Ukraine.

Following the educational stage, 10 finalists were selected and are now preparing for the final presentation of their business projects. In September, they will present them to the Expert Council. At the same time, the CraftUP Ukraine team is introducing the audience to the stories of all the finalists, while the participants themselves are taking part in individual mentoring sessions with specialised experts.