Forest owners Katarzyna and Andrzej Rynkun live in the rural community of Lelkowo in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in Poland. While agriculture is the dominant activity, tourism is becoming increasingly important due to the natural asset of the area formerly known as Natangia, the land of flowing waters.

The forest plots of the Rynkun family extend to several hectares. However, at the time, the plots had not yet been utilised for tourism purposes despite the good potential due to their location within an area of natural beauty and near the Green Velo bicycle path. Looking for new forms of activity and additional sources of income, the couple finally turned their attention to their forest land and decided to start an agritourism business that would provide accommodation with an emphasis on health and well-being and connect visitors to the forest and other activities. Because the area is very large, they decided to implement their ideas gradually.

On the plots designated for the first developments, they chose an area with a large pond with an island in the middle, which could be made accessible by bridges in the future. In addition, access to the surrounding natural forest would need to be further developed in the future by creating forest paths.

The main idea was to provide accommodation for tourists, including a sauna, hot tub (mini spa) and access to an apitherapy facility. This new and increasingly popular health therapy focuses on health and well-being treatments using bee products.

The main aim was to create an agritourism business offering accommodation and health services linked to the surrounding natural resources, including water, forest, apitherapy and outdoor activities.

The immediate project objective was to build the accommodation, a garden sauna and a hot tub. In addition, another building was to be constructed for the apitherapy services to tap into the growing well-being market. This represented an innovative development because health-promoting apitherapy services were rare and not available in the area at the time.

Further aims included the development of outdoor activities such as renting bicycles and offering a space for people to practice health-promoting cold-water bathing outside.

The main target audience of the development were overnight tourists. However, the facilities such as the sauna, hot tub, apitherapy and walking areas were also available for local guests or day visitors.

At the outset, the beneficiaries accessed help from experts to complete and submit the funding application.

Once the project was approved, the main activities involved procuring, purchasing and constructing the accommodation: a summer house for short-term stays, a sauna with a lockable vestibule for non-residents' use and a hot tub with additional lighting after dark. The summer house was installed with additional insulation and a heating system to welcome guests in winter, especially those who swim in cold water.

In addition, a ready-made apitherapy lodge was procured, purchased and constructed. The lodge was also equipped to high standards to provide the relevant services professionally and in tune with the natural environment.

Further activities involved the construction of piers at the lakeside and preparing a place for parking and renting bicycles.