|
FROM THE FIELD,
Bosnia:
Nest egg
helps
egg farmer's
expansion |
 |
|
|
Photos ©AAM by Andris Bjornson
|
By Kevin C. O’Brien
Adopt-A-Minefield
Marketing Manager
|
Milan Tuŝevljak, with help
from his wife and two sons (ages 10 and 13), runs a small commercial egg
farm where he also raises beef cows on the side.
His
long work day starts every morning at 4 a.m. And, whenever they are not in school, his sons
join him at 6:30 a.m. and they all don't finish working until about 9 p.m.
“The four of us we do everything,” Tuŝevljak said. “We work very hard.”
Each morning they get up and collect approximately 2,000 eggs laid the
night before. After sorting them onto large egg sheets, the stacks are loaded
onto a truck, and Tuŝevljak then makes deliveries in and around Sarajevo.
“We have contracts, and every morning we distribute the eggs to all of the
small shops and bakeries.”
Before the war, Tuŝevljak was a professional futbol (soccer) player. Once
war broke out he was conscripted into the Serbian Army where he served on
the frontline. In June 1995, Tuŝevljak lost much of his right hand to a
grenade explosion. After a month in the hospital and another month of
rehabilitation, Tuŝevljak returned to his home village outside of
Sarajevo where he ran a “convenience” grocery store.
Between 1996 and 2000, Tuŝevljak said, his village was full of refugees from
Sarajevo – and his small store thrived. By 2000, however, most refugees
returned to the city to find work and reclaim their property, and Tuŝevljak
decided to change professions.
|
“It was a purely commercial decision,” he explained. Tuŝevljak’s father-in-law ran a farm with 5,000 chickens before the war.
During the war that farm was burned, but Tuŝevljak learned about
running a chicken farm from his father-in-law, and decided to go into the business.
|
|
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
Click for more
photos from
the Tuŝevljak farm.
|
Tuŝevljak initially took out a micro loan for 5,000 KM (at 17 percent
interest) from a bank. This enabled him to initially get 516 chickens to start his
new business.
He was later at a meeting where he met another STOP Mines loan recipient
who explained the possibility of getting a loan with no
interest from STOP Mines.
Tuŝevljak took the STOP Mines loan in October 2007, and used it to expand
his operation. He now has 2,400 chickens and nine bulls. Every 15 months,
Tuŝevljak sells off his chickens for meat and has to buy a new batch. He
hopes to one day be able to clear enough land to grow food and raise his
own chickens, so he can avoid having to buy a new batch every 15 months.
“The 5,000 KM (maximum loan) limit is reasonable,” Tuŝevljak said. “But
for people like me – this project is not fulfilling all expectations for
me to grow.”
Although he owns his land and has a thriving business, banks are not eager
to give larger loans without evidence that cash is on-hand to pay them
back, Tuŝevljak explained. He really wants a loan of 50,000 KM for the
machinery needed to clear land on his farm, and while he was able to use
one hectare for growing food this year, he wants to expand that to 10
hectares by next year.
“I am looking for a bigger amount,” Tuŝevljak said. “10,000 KM minimum,”
he said, with a thumb-up sign and an inquisitive look in the direction of
STOP Mines director Radosav Živković.
|
|
Extraordinary Hospitality
Through our travels in both Bosnia Herzegovina and Croatia
one thing stood out. Whether we arrived unannounced or on a scheduled visit,
everyone invited us to sit, talk, have coffee and often to have drinks with
them. Providing hospitality to visitors is very much ingrained in all of the
cultures here. The drink often offered was
slivovitz, a homemade
distilled plum liquor. Mr. Tuŝevljak was kind enough to show
us where and how he makes his
slivovitz.
CLICK FOR MORE PICTURES
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
|
