"My mother left with all her seeds. She made me put soil in the apartment, for seedlings. And after the de-occupation, she planted tomatoes in Makariv"

"Seeds of memory": about maternal strength, seedlings and the unbreakable bond of generations. This story, told by Olha Tkachenko in Radomyshl, is about the archetype of the Ukrainian berehynia (guardian) woman, about the connection between blood and earth, about the indestructible line of memory that sprouts even in the most terrible days of the war.

When tanks were already humming in Makariv, and communication with her mother was cut off, Olha could not find a place for herself. A week without news. Phone calls to volunteers, prayers, the search for at least some hope. And – suddenly – a call from an unknown number. It was her brother. One short call – and Olha found out that her family was alive.

And then – almost a miracle. Strangers whom she persuaded to help bring her mother from the suburb of bombed Makariv to the Zhytomyr region. And now – mother is in the apartment. With seeds. With those small roots that, like the woman herself, hold on to life and are drawn to the light. She requires carrying the ground – you need to make seedlings. Tomatoes can't wait. Even war doesn't cancel spring. 

This episode is like the personification of the collective memory of the Ukrainian family. Olha's great-grandmother survived the Holodomor by keeping potatoes under her pillow. Her mother grows seedlings during the war and then plants them on de-occupied land. As a symbol of what tomorrow will come. 

Olha Tkachenko herself has become a guardian of knowledge and traditions – she conducts master classes on making a motanka doll, studies ethnography, and participates in women's clubs. In the Nezlamna_I hub, where she now teaches others, a living cultural memory comes to life. The motanka doll, made by women's hands, conveys not just the form – but the meaning. As well as seedlings planted on the balcony during the bombing.