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Awakening women's skills and creativity Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Srpska -- Kalinovik is a small town in the Bosnian Serb Republic of Srpska within Bosnia and Herzegovina. Once a prosperous Austro-Hungarian military stronghold, it is now a poor rural municipality on the country’s border, with a population of only 2,500. It has little to offer its inhabitants in the way of leisure pursuits. There are no cinemas, beauty salons or theatres. Many people have left in search of better lives elsewhere. The concept of gender equality was unknown to the women of Kalinovik. They had no role in public life but stayed at home, keeping their thoughts and ideas to themselves. All this changed when a young woman came to live in the town. Unlike most of the local women, Verica Elez was not a farmer but a professor of Serbian language and literature. Verica was determined to ignite in these women the desire for change and self-fulfilment. She drew their attention to the new opportunities offered by international organizations concerned with women’s issues and with strengthening the role of women in rural communities. Verica was an outsider. It took some time to convince the local women to trust her, but eventually she became a driving force among them. Armed with enthusiasm and patience, she began to persuade the women to form a Women’s Group. She put time and effort into guiding them towards this goal. For example, she would regularly get up at 5.00 hours to drive groups of women to wool-processing training sessions, or to help them reach the nearest city, 400 kilometres away, to purchase and transport looms and braiders. Today the women’s group is made up of 31 women, and Verica is its president. She continues to collaborate with NGOs on the women’s behalf, finding computers for them, as well as opportunities to market their products, and encouraging them to take on management roles. IFAD has supported development in this community through rural infrastructure reconstruction, credit for livestock, and training and seminars. Women are taking an active part in a number of activities supported by IFAD grants. Some are involved in wool processing – weaving and making scarves or coarse blankets – and are now planning and designing a weaving workshop. Others work in milk collection and processing. When five refrigeration systems for milk were made available to the community, four of them went to women’s group members. The women of Kalinovik have learned how to spell out what they need and how to identify potential obstacles, and they have assumed the responsibility for bettering their own lives. Now they are busy attending seminars and computer courses and planning their futures. Whether they are earning a full or supplementary income through these endeavours, these women have substantially broadened their horizons. The opportunity of being able to develop their capabilities and creativity and acquire self-confidence means more than money to them. Source: IFAD |
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