The settlement «Rodniki» was founded in 2002. This is a relatively small settlement, there are 37 plots here. Only 2 of them are unoccupied. The residents call themselves a «friendly and close-knit team». The basic principles of living here are: community, equality, mutual assistance, and freedom of choice. These four principles are listed in the settlement regulations.
The settlement has picturesque ponds and a garden in the very center. The garden was planted in 2017. There are apple trees, cherries, pears, oaks, cedars, lindens, larch trees, and walnuts. The trees are planted in the shape of a flower with petals, where each type of tree forms its own petal.
Residents of «Rodniki» don't have the usual fences around their domains: each of them is surrounded by hedges. It makes it seem that the settlement is buried in greenery. The nature around is also beautiful: endless fields, a river, and a magical forest that annually gives a rich harvest of berries and mushrooms. In 2019, the efforts of «Rodniki» residents managed to stop the deforestation nearby. Only a small section of the forest was cut down, and then the protest of the settlers forced the authorities to stop works here.
Mostly young families with children live in the settlement, but they did not open their own school here. The fact is that the nearest town, Kostroma, is only 20 km away from the settlement. Therefore, the residents of «Rodniki» came up with the initiative to open a special school in this city. It is called «Native School».
In this school, not only the classical program is taught, but also some traditional subjects, for example, they study folk songs and calligraphy. A distinctive feature of the school is small classes - there are no more than 7 people. Due to this fact the teacher can pay more attention to each student. This school is attended by the children of «Rodniki» residents and also by many children from Kostroma, from those families who have not yet decided to move closer to nature.
