It is not too late for Kolašin to choose a development model modeled after small Swiss towns, in which family guesthouses are linked to local food producers and in which all the money earned from tourism stays in the local community.
This is one of the conclusions of a group of young volunteers and environmental activists from several European countries, who, as part of a project led by the Italian non-profit organization Kora, visited Kolašin.
They were hosted by the NGO Natura, and the young Europeans visited producers of cheese and honey, households engaged in rural tourism.
Their goal was to talk to as many young people as possible who are engaged in agriculture, but they did not meet many of their peers in the Kolasin villages.
– I’m sorry that we encountered elderly people in rural households. There are few people under the age of 30 who have dedicated themselves to food production, living in harmony with nature and agriculture. Such a situation should be changed. This is the goal of what we are doing and it is a guarantee for the future of Kolašin – Dane Joe Short said.
In Kolašin, he explains, he saw the beginnings of two possible development concepts – on the one hand, there are small family farms and accommodation facilities, and on the other, the beginning of the construction of large hotels, whose investors are not from Kolašin.
He was disappointed, he explains, that he also found the noise of off-road vehicles on the mountain.
– In my opinion, Kolašin still has a chance to develop along the lines of small Swiss towns. What we have now found in Kolašin unfortunately reminds us of the beginning of something that has already taken its toll in small communities in Italy and France. They were hit by massive hyper-construction, which devastated nature. Those places no longer look like what they used to be, they lost their authenticity and became a copy of what they had already seen many times. I am afraid that the big ski resorts will not have a good relationship with the local community, the local population will not be sufficiently involved, that is, the money will not remain for the people of Kolašin – says Short.
– Hyperconstruction and many huge hotels are not future options for places like Kolašin. For this small town and its surroundings, I think that the Swiss system of tourism is appropriate, in which large hotels do not exploit workers and resources. I am more in favor of the concept where tourists can be part of nature and have a connection with the local population. All the money that is earned here should end up with the local population – says Short.
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