29.09.2022 – In September, the representatives of 14 model projects from Kosovo, Albania and North Macedonia supported by the project “Sustainable future for the Shara-Korab-Koritnik region” presented their work at the regional fair that we organized in Popova Shapka in cooperation with the foundation Euronatur from Germany as well as the project partners PPNEA from Albania and CNVP from Kosovo.
The aim of the fair was to present regional highlights: the nature of the protected areas, traditional food, music, and culture. At the stands, the participants presented their local products and promotional materials prepared within the framework of their projects.
After having worked for more than a decade in the region, we learned that we cannot help to protect the nature without cooperation with the local population, and this project especially teaches us that by supporting traditional practices such as beekeeping and animal husbandry, we indirectly preserve biodiversity,” states Pandurska-Dramikjanin, project manager in MES.
The organizations Wild Iris, Mountaineering Club Ljuboten, Center of Education and Development and Initiative for Civil Integration are involved in the realization of the model projects from North Macedonia. Within the framework of these projects, support is given to beekeepers, livestock farmers, tourist offers and infrastructure are developed, and young people from the region are educated on the cultivation of aromatic and medicinal plant species.
As part of the fair, cultural and artistic societies from the region and performers of traditional songs and dances also took part. The activities of the project “Sustainable future for the Shara-Korab-Koritnik region” are supported by the German Environmental Foundation DBU and the charitable foundation JENSEN.