In Crvica near Skelani in municipality Srebrenica USAID and SIDA FARMA assisted the women’s association “Podrinje 1” finalization of the project “Empowerment of Women Through Medicinal Herbs and Spices” yesterday, which is financed by the US Embassy to BiH and its implementation.
This project is being implemented with the support of the RS Ministry for Agriculture and the municipality of Srebrenica, and the project included 80 women from the area of Skelani. The Director of USAID to BiH David Barth and the Deputy Mayor of Srebrenica BIljana Rakić was present at the event.
“The economy in BiH is in a bad state, as well as the economy throughout the world. Women are credited for providing income for their family. Additional proceeds will benefit the family, children and municipality and for the overall economic development. USAID, in proud partnership with representatives of the municipality and SIDA FARMA would ensure a better future for the citizens of BiH”, said David Barth for Fena Agency.
“This is one of the indicators of success in the territory of Srebrenica’’, said the Deputy Mayor Biljana Rakić.
She added that she hopes that in the future the municipality of Srebrenica will provide more help and will ensure better conditions to people who work, because this is a sector that is developing and there exists a need for such products, and this should be utilized in the most positive sense.
“It is also positive that 40 unemployed women are cared for and live off of their work’’, said Rakić.
In the future the expansion of the plant nursery is planned, because in their favor is the fact that the greater the amount of raw material, the bigger the profits. This is the only facility in Skelani that would enable people to earn for their families’’, said Branka Bosković, the President of the Women’s Association “Podrinje 1” Skelani-Srebrenica.
In the past few years production and processing of medicinal plants was one of the main sources of income for 80 unemployed women from Skelani. The planting of lavender, lemon balm and others in Skelani occupy a total area of 2.000 square meters and will provide its own manufacturing production for five types of herbs. This would ensure the expansion of production and new plantings. The money from these activities for a large number of included families represents the only source of income.