Raspberry growers from Bratunac
Bratunac is on the west bank of the Drina, which marks the border separating Serbia from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is the center of a zone specializing in small fruit cultivation. Until 1991 over 1,500 tonnes of raspberries were produced each year, and almost similar quantities of blackberries, blueberries and strawberries, but then came the carnage of the war and the activity was thrown into crisis. Now, a project supported by Bosnian and Italian NGOs is redeveloping this fruit cultivation, with the additional aim of encouraging the return of refugees. The Insieme Bratunac cooperative groups around 350 Serb and Muslim families who grow the Willamette and Heritage raspberry varieties and sell them frozen, or as jams – without using any preservatives or thickeners. The fruit bushes are mostly double-arch trained, farming techniques are traditional and the berries are hand picked.
The Raspberry growers from Bratunac are member of the Terra Madre network with 1.600 small Food Communities in 150 countries which is supported by the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity.
Production area
Bratunac, Republic of Srpska
Community coordinator
Skender Hot
tel.++387 (0)61 880 056
cooperativainsieme@yahoo.com