Representatives of the Association Network for Building Peace visited the Sokolac Municipality in October within the Local Works Program, where they talked with people active in this local community about positive initiatives, youth and sports activism, efforts for preservation of the environment, but also the problems and challenges faced by citizens in the Sokolac Municipality.
Love for nature that unites people
Vera Mijatović, secretary of the Mountaineering Association “Glasinac”, which was registered in 2009 explains that it currently has about 100 members, and works with the aim of popularizing and promoting the potential of the mountains of Romania.
“Thanks to the engagement of the management in 2016, the company bought the land on which the mountain lodge is now built. The mountain lodge was opened in 2019, and currently has a kitchen, a meeting and social room, as well as a summer garden. During the next year, it is necessary to expand the capacities: equip the floor of the existing building, insulate, install electrical installations, as well as equip the rooms with the purchase of beds with bed linen for 30 people, all in order to create conditions for larger groups of hikers and tourists who come on multi-day and one-day trips. Funds for the mentioned interior works and the procurement of materials, as well as furniture – beds, are planned to be procured from donors,” she said.
Projects on warming and water supply to the mountain lodge, electrification and central heating are in progress. Members of the society have represented their local community several times, conquering the peaks in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Europe, and they want to be more active in mountaineering tourism.
The position of the mountain lodge PD “Glasinac” is excellent. All important hiking trails in this area start from home, and there is something for everyone, from easier trails to more demanding mountaineering endeavors on via ferrata “Sokolov put” whose starting point is near home. PD “Glasinac” is trying to complete the content that will be available to visitors throughout the year.
The idea to build a park for children arose based on the real needs they noticed. In addition to adults, there are also children for whom various contents are provided in the society. Many parents come to the mountain lodge with their children, and the society tries to offer entertainment to the children while their parents hike on more demanding routes, or while relaxing in the beauties offered in the natural Romanian ambience.
Building a children’s adrenaline park is also an opportunity for children to love natural beauties and to learn from an early age that nature should be protected and nurtured, appreciated and respected, and enjoy its benefits. In the spring, they will continue with the work on establishing a children’s adrenaline park. Swings, houses are needed, as well as sets for children, belts and helmets.
“Considering that the mountain lodge is 15 kilometers away from the city center, the procurement of vans would be important in the coming period. In that way, we would solve the problem of transportation, and we would create an opportunity to organize a school in nature for children, as well as trips for adults. The vehicle would be of great benefit to the members of the society during organized trips to excursions, hikes and mountaineering events throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina,” our interviewee explained.
“In the winter, a mini children’s ski lift is available for children, which was bought last year and proved to be a favorable investment because many children took their first ski steps and learned to ski in Romanija. We received skis and ski equipment for children with a donation from a friend, and it is necessary to purchase snowmobiles in order to adequately prepare the ski slope”, says Mijatović.
During this year, PD “Glasinac” received support for the construction of a wooden building-log cabin in the form of an info desk that will be located next to the mountain lodge. The trade company “Onogost” Sokolac and the partner company “Invest Gradnja” Sokolac donated timber to the mountaineering association, and the covering and consumables were financed by the City of Istočno Sarajevo and the Sokolac Municipality. The mountaineers assembled the facility with volunteer work and effort, and it will be operational during the winter season. The info desk “Romanija log cabin” will serve to provide all the information, a souvenir shop and as a center for renting available mountaineering equipment (ferrata sets and more).
“Considering that a lot of funds have been invested in the mountain lodge and the contents around it so far, it is necessary to set up video surveillance for the lodge, info desk and space around it next year, for which we are asking for a donation,” says Mijatović.
With the help of the local community and the volunteer work of nature lovers, several significant projects were realized during the construction of the home, from the construction of the home built by volunteers to the supply of water and heating.
Currently, the implementation of the initiative to protect the area of 8 hectares, which includes the area from the mountain lodge to the site of Crvene stijene, an attractive lookout point on the mountain, is ongoing. The activities of the local community, in addition to the members of PD “Glasinac”, are assisted by the Sokolac Municipality and the City of Istočno Sarajevo.
Through the PRO Budućnost project, the association cooperated with young people from Sokolac and Sarajevo and connected them through one-day trips through socializing in a natural environment. The desire of PD “Glasinac” is to connect mountain tourism with other initiatives and activities in the Sokolac Municipality, and cooperate with other non-governmental organizations operating in the municipality and beyond. In the coming period, PD “Glasinac” wants to develop a website and application with mapped tourist destinations in the Sokolac Municipality, based not only on mountaineering destinations, but also on: hunting, fishing, cycling, mapping of bike trails, religious tourism…
PD Glasinac pointed out that they need a computer – a laptop as well as a camera, a technique that would enable better promotion of work, but also a visual presentation of the beauty offered in Romanija and Sokolac. Previously, they bought a projector and a screen, and as they say, these are small things that mean a lot to them.
“Members of PD Glasinac come from the Sokolac Municipality, Istočno Sarajevo, and there are a couple of people who are originally from Romanija areas, with a place of residence in Serbia. Members are equally united by love for nature and mountains, as well as the desire to promote the natural potentials we have. The members of the society actively participate in various activities, especially those aimed at raising awareness about environmental protection”, says Vera Mijatović. During the month of September, they actively participated in the global clean-up action – Let’s clean the planet in one day. Members of sports clubs took part in the clean-up action in Romanija.
This year, they combined the day of cleaning and the day of the mountains with the goal of reaching the awareness of citizens about uncontrolled waste disposal. As for waste disposal, a container is needed in Romanija, as well as in the center of Sokolac local communities. In some settlements in the city, more containers are needed, all in order to dispose of waste and to avoid uncontrolled waste disposal.
PD “Glasinac” noticed that during the pandemic, the number of mountain visitors increased significantly. What is important for this local community is the fact that Sokolac is on the stretch of Via Dinarica, which connects seven countries and territories through which the mountain range of the Dinaric Alps stretches: from Slovenia to Albania. Via Dinarica is a platform that serves for the development of local communities and small businesses active at the local, national and international level in the field of hospitality and outdoor tourism services, as well as the promotion of nature tourism and cultural heritage. Sokolac is located on the green line Via Dinarica – mountain tourism, and during the previous period there were many realized projects.
With the support of the local community, one of the implemented projects is water supply in the mountain lodge and heating, and it is encouraging that the NGOs also applied for and received funds from this project.
Local development as one of the most important goals of the Sokolac Municipality
The Department for Local Development of the Sokolac Municipality is active. Jovana Mačar, associate in this department, explained that the PRO Future project is still ongoing. They are working intensively with CRS, and when they applied, they received additional points being members of the Network for Building Peace. She also hopes that they will continue cooperation with the Network for Building Peace and others who would network their knowledge and capacities and share information.
In the Sokolac Municipality, the Cycling Club is being established, assisted by sports activist Predrag Dobrilović, who explains that they are currently in the phase of organizing and formalizing administrative procedures regarding club registration, because the new Law on Sports has entered into force.
“Field activities have already started, especially on the occasion of developing trails for MTB riding. Otherwise, Sokolac has an ideal climate for the development of cycling, with many natural beauties and a good position, and the cycling club will focus its work on mountain biking. Priority in future activities is the mapping of bicycle paths, making the necessary applications, recording paths and tracks, as well as establishing a service for bicycle stands and bicycle rental stands”, explains Dobrilović.
The cycling club is currently tied to a mountaineering association, and plans to stay that way. Recently, the cycling club organized a ride of the MTB marathon, the route of which moved from Sokolac to Romanija. 67 cyclists took part in this activity, many volunteers helped, security and maximum support of the local community were organized. This was also the first action of this cycling club. The trail was marked, the movable marking that was there due to the needs of the marathon was removed, and the permanent marking of the trail remained. The difficulty that the cycling club is facing is the lack of finances needed for marking, equipment, bicycle rental base.
“The goal is to make the activity of the cycling club profitable, to have service, tours that are offered and guides. All this is connected with each other, and it is encouraging that a lot is being invested in the development of tourism through Via Dinarica. Currently in this area there are via feratu guides, mountaineering guides, which is helpful to lovers of mountaineering adventure. In accordance with the progress of marking bicycle paths, cycling guides will help everyone who wants to experience it”, says Predrag Dobrilović and concludes that organized team work has given all these results.
Youth activism, although without its premises, recognizable in the local community
The Youth Organization also operates in the Sokolac Municipality, an association that was originally registered in 1997, and has been suspended since 2001. In 2020, the revival of the work of the Sokolac Youth Organization will begin, with the official start of activities on December 1, 2020.
Currently, the Youth Organization has 147 members, and they finance their activities from membership fees. In 10 months of their active work, they managed to do a lot and become recognizable in the city. The youth organization does not have its own premises. Their wish is to work on creating a youth center, to animate as many young people as possible in their ranks, and for which an equipped youth center would be an adequate solution. The youth organization works in different fields.
In the month of April, which is the month of cleanliness in the city, they had a big action called “Pick up garbage, don’t be garbage”. They want to work on practical solutions through each activity for the cleaning action. They chose the area around the sports hall “Limenka”, and in addition to the cleaning action, they planted seedlings, painted the facade of the sports hall, and prepared sports fields for street basketball and football for the use of young people eager for sports and recreation.
They organized the first sačijada in July 2021. 44 teams and around 2000 guests were registered. Currently, as an informal group of young people, they are working with the Mozaik Foundation and the Youth Bank, through which several projects have been implemented. The Youth Organization emphasizes that Vera Mijatović is a person in whom they see mentors and who helps them a lot and connects all those who want to be active in the Sokolac Municipality. The first action of the Sokolac Youth Organization was a New Year’s bazaar, making snowmen and sledding outdoors. Through all activities, intergenerational solidarity is encouraged “for each other – young for old”, and they learn together with the Aurora Women’s Organization.
The youth organization also works on education, organizes free preparations for entrance exams for technical faculties. They are proud to say that all those who participated in the preparations successfully enrolled in the faculties. The idea is to find adequate space in the Youth Organization for young people to learn, improve, acquire new knowledge and skills, write projects, contribute to the community, but also to train in some specific areas such as programming, mathematics, languages. The Youth Organization points out that they want to start psychological counseling for young people, which they consider to be extremely important. The Youth Organization emphasizes that all those who actively work on the development of the Sokolac Municipality cooperate together. All those who work in the organization are both initiators and volunteers, who as a whole build a healthy story, and achieve to have everything in one.
Solidarity as a driving force
The interviewees of the Local Works emphasize that fellow citizens are humane and in solidarity in actions, help each other and that solidarity is one of the important values that is nurtured in the Sokolac Municipality. An example of such an activity is when the citizens supported the idea of the Association of Citizens “Sv. Vasilije Ostroški”, i.e., a humanitarian action called “for Jovan’s place under the sun”, Jovan, a child with developmental disabilities.
The non-governmental sector regularly cooperates with the Municipality, which announces public calls for support to organizations. Unfortunately, the funds from the budget are not enough for all program ideas and activities of the association.
In the past period, there were 4 associations that acted as associations of local interest, but as the five-year period passed, they lost that status. Non-governmental organizations deal with various topics, act as associations that provide support to families for in vitro fertilization, help large families in purchasing children’s textbooks, support the activities of women living in rural areas, in the purchase of greenhouses, cultivators, seeds, seedlings.
There are more than 20 sports clubs and over 50 registered associations in the Sokolac Municipality, but only 25-30 of them are really active. Women’s associations “Sokolica” and “Glasinke” are engaged in traditional handicrafts, exhibiting their weaving, traditional dishes, and selling their products, which they continue to use for their further activities. KUD “Luča” and KUD “Zavičaj” promote folklore heritage and original singing in order to preserve the traditions of the Romanija area.
The Sokolac Municipality points out that during the coronavirus pandemic, the Youth Organization acted as a volunteer team, which visited the elderly, listened to them and responded to their needs.
The Association of Beekeepers “Glasinac”, which was founded 18 years ago and currently has 120 members, also operates in Sokolac. Since its founding, the Association has worked on organizing the work of beekeepers, education, improving beekeeping production and establishing contacts with local partners in order to contribute to the development of agricultural production in the Sokolac Municipality. A member of the association is the Beekeeping Center “Batinić”, a company that has been operating for 30 years as a family business that uses medicinal herbs and produces various products from it. The Beekeeping Center is engaged in beekeeping, production of bee products, plantation cultivation and production of preparations based on bee products and medicinal herbs.
The pride of Sokolac is the Dance Club “Nika”, whose members are active and successful at all levels of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and recently won 6th place in the Rhythm of Europe competition.
