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WOMEN IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTHERN KOSOVO*

October 14^th, 2016

at the heart of pristine nature

Agriculture and rural entrepreneurship can be a promising source of income for Kosovars who are willing to work the land. In a place where the unemployment rate is a staggering 32.9 percent, growing and selling produce can be the difference in making ends meet.

At the heart of the Western Balkans Sharr/Šar mountain range, southern Kosovo is a place where potential for rural development meets pristine natural beauty. In such an area, with high biodiversity, rich in natural resources, and with low environmental pollution, agriculture and collection of non-wood forest products, such as wild berries or medical herbs, is a primary source of income for many families.

With many entrenched traditional gender roles and severe under-representation of women in the labour market, socioeconomic empowerment of women is of utmost importance. In response, and in partnership with the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), UNDP has directly helped more than 200 women develop new skills, become more productive and bring home more income for their families.

WOMEN IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTHERN KOSOVO*

Red gold rush

For instance, the UNDP-ADA InTerDev project has supported more than 100 local families to expand and modernize their raspberry fields. Veselinka Banzić and her family are raspberry growers contributing to the boom of cultivation of this fruit in southern Kosovo. Expecting a heavy yield of around 8000 kg this year and selling all they can collect, this activity provides a decent income for the family. No wonder raspberry is often called “red gold”.

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Forest treasure

For Rasema Ajvazi from the Dragash/Dragaš municipality, forest and meadow herbs are not only a means of making a living but also a vast inventory of traditional medicine and homemaking. Learning about how a leaf covered in butter can help relieve knee pain or how to combine local herbs to make a healthy tea, a walk with Rasema and her husband is as inspirational as it is educational.

“We sell what we collect in the collection centres,” Rasema says. “This year we also have a lot of wild apples.” UNDP and ADA provided 63 women from southern Kosovo with tools and gear for more faster and safer collection of products from the mountains.

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“We sell the berries and mushrooms we gather to the collection points around our village,” Dragana Tasić mentions while collecting juniper berries from a hill above her home village in the Štrpce/Shtërpcë municipality. Moreover, families use what the surrounding forest and meadows provide in their homes, making jams, juices and other food items.

growing all year around

Femie Tahiri and her family operate one of the first greenhouses in the area. This means a steady prodution of seedlings, flowers, garlic and other vegetables - all year around. We caught Femie at the height of the tomato season: “We collect tomatoes every day now. The green ones will be ready in just a few days. We have sold about 2,200 kilos so far this summer.” The project runs a grant scheme for local smallholder farmers to refurbish their production units, modernize farms, purchase livestock or farming inputs, and create jobs for the families and the community.

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Sweet as honey

The Municipality of Shtërpcë/ Štrpce in southern Kosovo enjoys a robust beekeeping tradition. Thanks to its favorable climate, rich flora and clean air, beekeeping has become a primary income source for many households.

Ljiljana Dobrosavljevic, resident of the area, has been a beekeeper for the last 17 years. Beekeeping and raspberry cultivation are the only source of income for her family. Besides honey, Ljiljana is also producing a various honey products such as propolis drops, royal jelly and honey liquor.

Surrounded by trees and beehives, she talks about the business of beekeeping: “We usually sell about 500 kilos of honey every year. This year may not be as good, however, given the rainy summer and frost early in the spring.” Honey from the area is sought after throughout Kosovo, given its high quality. We have helped over 20 beekeepers set up more beehives and expand bee colonies, as well as get new equipment and protective gear, doubling the amount of honey they produce.

Around 120 local families earn their income through beekeeping. In total, they own around 2,500 beehives and they keep everything as natural as it can be, which results in different types of honey, with no additives, a great natural flavor and high demand. Depending on the season, beekeepers in this municipality produce 15 to 25 tons of honey per year, with annual revenues of 150,000 - 250,000 EUR.