Rural development and dialogue between the communities in Kosovo: an example of international cooperation

The NGO Reggio Terzo Mondo (RTM) has been present in Kosovo since the early moments following the conflict of the '90s, with projects for supporting people’s basic needs and rural development. The extreme importance and need to reestablish dialogue and coexistence between different ethnic groups emerged immediately. A group of 12 women, Catholic Albanians and Orthodox Serbs, in the rural area of Klin€e/Klina in western Kosovo, conscious of the need for their active role in the economic and social reconstruction of their Country, formed in 2013 the Cooperative EVA: the goal was to start an economic activity in the pigmeat sector, a traditional source of income for the Albanian Catholic community and the Serbian Orthodox. With the collaboration of local and Italian institutions, RTM first conducted a feasibility study and a market survey. In December 2014 started, on EC funding, the project AWARE (Action of Women in Agribusiness for a new Regional Economy), combining the economic empowerment of women to dialogue between the Albanian and Serbian communities; the focus was the creation of a short chain of pork that guarantees quality products, recovery of local traditions and environmental sustainability of economic development. UNIMORE has been involved in the organization of training modules direct both to breeders and to the local veterinary staff: the topics were the management, breeding facilities, nutrition, the use of local resources, slaughtering techniques, meat processing, and fight against diseases. The breeding facilities owned by the members, in poor condition because of poverty and/or war, have been renovated or constructed de novo according to a standard model, adapted to the different situations. The main stage of the project was the design, construction and start-up of a modern slaughtering and meat processing plant. The project has also included exchanges with Italian companies active in the pigmeat sector. The small farms of members have a total of 24 sows and 220 growing pigs. The slaughterhouse works 10 pigs/week on average, producing fresh meat and processed products that come from a happy union between the Kosovar and the Emilian tradition. This presentation reports the stages of the project: training, renovation and characteristics of the piggeries, construction and operation of the slaughterhouse, creation of a manual of correct farming practices and production rules.