The agro-tourism complex Primorskiye Alpaki (Primorye Alpacas) was launched in the Nadezhdinsky District of Primorye, 50 km from Vladivostok, in September 2024 and immediately became a new tourist attraction – because of its main inhabitants – alpacas, which are some of the most good-natured and curious creatures. These natives of the Andes have adapted excellently to their new home. The project to build the first and, so far, only alpaca farm in the Far East was implemented, among other things, with the support available in the region for entrepreneurial initiatives. As a resident of the Advanced Development Territory (ADT) Primorye, Dmitry Filippov, founder and owner of the Primorskiye Alpaki complex, can count on tax benefits and administrative preferences.

We spoke with Dmitry about why doing business in Primorye is sometimes easier than in Moscow, and how his farm helps his team and guests become a little happier.

In your childhood, you had a dream to create a happy city. Why did you ultimately choose agriculture over development?

To some extent, Primorskiye Alpaki is also development: we are building hotels on the farm, while I act as landlord and the main investor. It is simply development on a different level: one can build either residential complexes or a happy village. This is not my only business project but it is now my favourite; I am deeply involved in it. And it is very promising, with great commercial potential and high profitability.

Today there is a trend towards slow living in a natural rhythm. It is almost impossible to do this in a city, be it Moscow, Vladivostok or Khabarovsk, where the pace of life is crazy. So we decided to meet the Primorye residents’ need to slow down. It is a 50-minute highway drive from the farm to Vladivostok; a new road is being built now, meaning we will be just 25 minutes from the city. So far, it is mostly locals who come to us but, during the season, we have also had tourists visit. There are a great many tourists in Primorye now, and our park is one of the attractive new locations.

For two years, I developed the master plan for the project, coming up with the concept. I travelled around the territory with a notebook, writing down what could be arranged and where. For example, a certain grove would be a great place for a coffee shop, and that clearing is suitable for a picnic, and here we can build treehouses. Initially, we had 17 hectares, now it is already 30: little by little, I am buying plots from local residents who are willing to sell them.

Have you already developed all of your 30 hectares?

No, of course not. So far, only six hectares have been fully developed. There are still plenty of blank spots on our map. My team and I continue to walk through the forests and fields, looking for places to put down new routes for hiking and cycling, we are making special trails for cyclists. We offer our guests the option of booking a bicycle, taking a basket of farm products, and go for a picnic, choosing a preferred route via a QR code. For instance, there is a route that includes fishing, and we provide fishing rods as well, of course. The site has a river and a pond that we are going to expand, and features deciduous (walnut, alder, oak, birch) and coniferous forests, including tree species listed in the Red Data Book, everything that has grown on potato fields abandoned for 30 years. We do not cut down living trees; we can only clear the underbrush, remove dead branches and trunks, and clear debris to give other plants more light and air. In the spring, for example, we cleared several birch groves, and, over the summer the trees grew a whole metre. We planted maples, lilacs, cedars, and firs, conifers are excellent for adjusting the microclimate and look wonderful in winter. Surprises do happen, of course. For instance, on one recently acquired plot, we found grapes, apple trees, and plums, we actually gathered in a small harvest. We want to develop the neighbouring areas as well: there is a reservoir three kilometres from us with a very beautiful water discharge, and just five minutes away is the seashore.

Alpacas are the face of your farm. Why did you choose them to start your project?

They are incredibly positive and friendly. They are true therapy animals that help cope with anxiety, stress, and even depression. I really wanted to bring alpacas near to Vladivostok, where they had never been before, to give local residents the opportunity to interact with them, to create a small rehabilitation centre. In fact, this is the idea that started the whole project, with everything else being added later.

We currently have eight alpacas and plan to increase the herd to 80. We have already learned how to care for them, what to feed them, what to treat them for and how, and we have understood the character and habits of these animals. We expect that, in a year or eighteen months, the first babies will appear in the herd. During tours, our alpacas can be fed, petted, and photographed.

Recently, I bought two baby capybaras. These embody calmness and contentment with life. Japanese wooden baths are already installed on the farm for them so that the capybaras can enjoy life in hot water. We also have rabbits, chickens, and a pony. There will be about 15 cows, not for milk but rather for the ambiance. We currently get milk and cheese from neighbouring family farms, and, in the future, we want to make cheese ourselves from our own and purchased milk.

Alpacas have soft and very valuable wool. Do you plan to shear them?

To obtain an industrial volume of wool, a larger herd of at least 100 head is needed. We have only a few alpacas. This year we have already sheared them, processed the wool, and intend to make souvenirs from it. Miniature figurines of alpacas are the most popular item guests buy from us as a keepsake.

You are a resident of the Advanced Special Economic Zone Primorye, which has a special legal regime for entrepreneurial activity. How much does this actually help business development?

The investment climate in the region is, indeed, quite good; there are tax preferences and other benefits, including for purchase and lease of land. The Corporation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic helps to connect energy infrastructure (though we did not need that). In Primorye, competition is generally less than in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and there are many free niches for various businesses. Vladivostok is a very balanced place to live: on the one hand, it is a big city where one can realize oneself in business and social terms, and, on the other, beautiful nature is very close, there is sea within the city limits, and one can reboot by having a cup of coffee with a view of it between tasks, during a break. The downside is the smaller target audience. Though, for the farm, it is more than enough for us. There are many experienced farms in Primorye but agritourism is still a novelty. Seasoned farmers have to adjust to it and build the appropriate infrastructure. We, however, are being built from scratch as a tourism project, so we have a clear advantage here.

Unlike many regional entrepreneurs, you do not complain about a personnel problem. Do you not have one? How do you manage to find people?

I do not complain at all: for guides, we even have a personnel reserve; there is a queue of people who want to work for us. We offer our guests tours in English, Chinese, and Japanese; some guides speak at a native level. There are workers engaged in construction and development. We hire local residents for agricultural seasonal work though, in the future, we plan to automate more and more processes. We are purchasing equipment for this, including from China, and we cooperate with Chinese partners on technology procurement.

What will Primorskiye Alpaki become in five years?

Within this timeframe, I would like to realize the project fully as it was conceived. A cowshed, a large poultry house, and greenhouses will appear on the territory of the complex; two eco-hotels and a coworking space are to be built; a big farm restaurant will open. Today, we can host 10,000 guests a month but I think that, in five years, we will be able to handle 25,000. We will try to reach neighbouring regions and attract tourists more actively.

We plan to strengthen significantly the focus on working with children. Schools and kindergartens currently come to us on tours; all summer we collaborated with an English-language children’s camp, we hosted about 500 children. But, in the future, we also want to organize our own children’s camp. City kids really need contact with nature: to run on the grass, lie on the ground, and interact with animals. We can teach them how to care for our inhabitants, rabbits, chickens, cows; we will tell them how to tell a fertilized egg from a store-bought one and where eggs even come from; we will show them how to milk a cow and let them have a go at it, we have a special simulator for that. Of course, we will teach them how to plant, grow, dig, and even drive a mini-tractor we bought for such purposes. Children need all this no less than other forms of learning: my son spent almost the entire summer on our farm, and I see the giant leap he has made in development.

The concept of happiness is at the centre of the project. How does your farm help people feel happier?

We look at what, in principle, makes all of us, the team, and the guests happy. From my own experience, I know: first and foremost, it is a focus on feeling the present, on living in the moment. It is much easier to learn this while lying in a hammock with a cup of excellent coffee (and we are very attentive to the quality of coffee!) and looking at alpacas and rabbits. Our farm is a simulator where people train their skills at being happy.