Support for female home-made cheese producers
For a long time in Krajina region of Bosnia and Herzegovina and beyond, Bosanski Petrovac has been considered a place of good cheese. Petrovac cheese and basa made from cow's milk, that is what is perhaps the most famous. It's mostly about homemaking and hardworking women who preserve the traditions of this region and life in the countryside. And so is Mrs. Dragana Ćulibrk, who with her husband and daughters started a small processing of milk, from cows as well as goats. It offered the market a slightly larger volume of products than the standard one, so we have hard cow's cheese, semi-hard goat's and cow's cheese, goat's milk spread, goat's milk yogurt, whey and bass. But there is also something special. Panadjur cheese. From goat's and cow's milk with nuts. An interesting name, and it is named after the Orthodox Church of St. George - the so-called Panađura, the church built in the 14th century in the village of Kolunić, which is also protected as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
They started raising goats on this farm in 2016, and over time it became a great love, both the whole process of caring for goats and the process of producing dairy products. The goats are of the Alpina breed, they are of well-known origin and therefore stand out from goats of the same breed in terms of body condition, quality of milk, meat and general stoutness. Goat breeding is organized in a semi-open system, which is actually a combination of stable and pasture breeding. In this way, on this farm, they try to ensure the maximum welfare of the goats, and a healthy animal means a healthy product. Additional advantages of Bosanski Petrovac are clean air, which some people characterize as an air spa, clean water that passes through limestone rocks, then a rose of winds that favors a perfect climate both in the fields and in the stables, and the area is especially characterized by a high number of sunny days. Special attention is paid to the health of the goats through regular veterinary examinations by the employees of the veterinary station in Bosanski Petrovac, thus ensuring the quality and health safety of the dairy products that enter the market.
Considering the constant growth of the market and the increase in demand, Dragana and her family decided to expand their production. So they applied to the call for the Karta za posao, which is supported by the European Union. With the support of Erbez Consulting, the project was prepared and on May 16, 2023 Dragana received a notification that the project was approved.
Soon this farm will have a bigger barn, more goats and better welfare for those animals, better equipment for processing cheese on this farm, and hopefully more and more satisfied customers.
We are proud in front of the Erbez Consulting that we managed to show through this project that it is worth staying in the countryside and that income is important. And especially if such a brave woman runs the business.
