“I have been retired for almost 10 years. I live in the village of Sebečevo, near Novi Pazar, and I grow raspberries on the old family farm. My grandchildren are coming, thank God we have a big family. I worked in Germany and the Netherlands as a ceramicist, plumber, I don’t even know what jobs I didn’t perform. Life teaches you that you have to know how to do everything if you want to feed your family. Raspberries are my salvation – they heal the soul.
I drink coffee in the morning and go to the field. There is always something to do – to uncover planted plants, to pull weeds, to tie up a sticking branch. Through the project I got an irrigation system and seedlings. They were well received, we are now waiting to see what the yield will be. It is very important to me that we also received knowledge along with the seedlings – they taught us how to care for seedlings, how to irrigate, many people make mistakes due to ignorance, and all of this affects the yield. I am satisfied, at my age a person looks forward to every new day, and there will be raspberries, I’m sure!”
Mijodrag Kučević, a beneficiary who received equipment for raspberry cultivation along with education within the Reintegrate II project.
The total value of the project in Novi Pazar is 310,000.00 euros, and the project will run until April 31, 2025. Information about project activities, open calls, and more can be found on the project’s website www.reintegration.net.
The project is led by the German organization ASB (Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund), with the implementing partner being the Initiative for Development and Cooperation (IDC) from Belgrade. The project’s target regions are the Pirot, Rasina, and Raška districts. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) with the support and co-financing of the City of Novi Pazar.