Together for a Better Tomorrow, Bosnia & Herzegovina

The Muslim charitable society "Merhamet" is a humanitarian, non-governmental organization. Merhamet provides humanitarian assistance. Its major activities are establishing soup kitchens for vulnerable people, implementing emergency relief, and running long-term rehabilitation projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Before the war, Sevarlije had 495 families, with about 1,950 people. During that period, the villagers made their living by working in industry, mostly factories in Doboj, and by working in the chalk mines. The infrastructure of this village was well developed: houses had electricity, water, telephones; all roads were asphalted. An elementary school was located in Sevarlije, which taught 700 students. There was a cultural-art society that took part in competitions and won many awards. However, at the beginning of the war, all the inhabitants of Sevarlije were forced to flee, their homes were destroyed, and the entire infrastructure of the village was ruined.

After the war, while the villagers were still living as internally displaced persons (IDPs), the people of Sevarlije formed a committee for return because of the great desire of the inhabitants to return to their pre-war homes. Along with the local authorities in Doboj and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the committee established an organized system for return. The process of return began in 1998, and at this time 295 families have returned. One very important and rare fact is that the village contains balanced numbers of old and young people. The security situation in the village is quite good, and there have been no incidents between these returnees and the neighboring Serb population. The working relationship with the local authorities in Doboj is also enviably positive. Immediately after return, the community established a body of local people, MZ Sevarlije, democratically elected by the villagers. This group makes decisions and takes action according to the problems and needs of the village. It has nine members, and a president and secretary are elected from that group. To the people who now return to their rebuilt houses, agricultural activity presents the single possibility for survival. With their location on the banks of a river, the villagers own about 60 hectares of high-quality land. At the moment, much of this land is mined, but de-mining activity is underway and they expect to be able to use the land this coming spring. Considering their proximity to the city of Doboj and to several factories that preserve food, the people of Sevalije have access to a solid market for their produce. At the moment, agriculture is also their only opportunity to work on their own, to regain their former independence from outside help, and become self-reliant. One side effect of the disruption they have experienced over the past ten years is the habit of receiving, rather than giving, and a demeaning sense of dependency on others has developed as a result. Providing them with materials they need to earn their own livelihood, and an opportunity to give to others, is important in changing this mindset.

The CWS Balkans Program will provide seeds, small tools, machinery, and fruit trees for returnees. Currently, there are 295 families (around 900 people) living in the village: 240 houses have been restored, while another 50 families live in improvised temporary housing until their own houses are finished. Only ten percent of these families contain a member who has some sort of permanent job, and ten percent of the villagers are pensioners who survive with difficulty on a small monthly allowance. The rest of the population subsists without any dependable or secure source of income. Because the economy in the region is so poor, the villagers are forced to live solely from the produce of their gardens. As this project progresses, the direct beneficiaries plan to give back produce, which will benefit many other families. The produce they contribute will be used in the soup kitchens of Maglaj, Zenica, and Banja Luka, and will be given to poor families in Doboj that are currently without any income or means of growing food. Around 2,000 people are likely to benefit from this food assistance.

The goal of this project is to assist reintegration of returnees and regeneration of the rural economy by restarting and increasing the sustainability of returnee agricultural enterprises. The following objectives are set up in order to achieve the main goal: 1) to enable returnee families to feed their own families by growing vegetables and fruits on their farms and orchards; 2) to enable these families to produce sufficient food to retain a seed stock for use in the next growing period; 3) to help families to grow produce more efficiently (by providing quality seeds, tools, and access to machinery) and to market surplus produce in order to generate income for other needs; 4) to help participant families and the village to regain its prior economic security by growing crops, including fruit, which are in demand throughout Europe; 5) to boost the rural economy and sense of community through direct give backs; 6) to support participation of returnees in the regeneration of the rural economy and in community development activities; and 7) to implement the project by engaging local partners.

The project will last for three years, during which time: Year 1) each family in the village will receive a quantity of seeds, fertilizer, and hand tools. After the harvest, each family will be expected to give back the same quantity of vegetables that they received to plant (i.e., a family that receives 100 kg. of seed potatoes should give back 100 kg. of potatoes); Year 2) if the village community fulfills its obligations, the village will receive a tractor (with all implements). The tractor will be the property of MZ Sevarlije, which will use the tractor to service the land of the villagers at a price significantly lower than the market rate. The proceeds from the tractor’s work will be used to pay for fuel, lubricant, and spare parts, as well as to pay the wages for two or three individuals from the community who will work the tractor; Year 3) the region has always been a center of fruit production, but the orchards were almost all destroyed during the war. The demand for fruit remains high, which makes fruit-growing a profitable venture. Each family will receive seedling trees of apple, plum, peach, and cherry. The agricultural products given back by the returnees will be directed to soup kitchens and poor individuals. This will be a step forward toward healing and lasting peace, because returnees will regain dignity by giving instead of always receiving.

This project will be coordinated, supervised, and monitored by the CWS Balkans Program from its regional office. The equipment and accessories will be purchased locally. The CWS Balkans Program will coordinate activities with MZ Sevarlije and the local NGO Merhamet to facilitate project implementation. The CWS regional office will be responsible for progress reports on the distribution of assistance. Critical measures of the project’s success are as follows: It is vitally important that the seeds and tools are distributed on time (planting season in this region begins in late March). This is a basic requirement for the success of the project. In the first year, the project will be successful if:

Families harvest sufficient food to feed themselves,
Produce a surplus to sell at the market, and
Give back the required amount.

In the second year, success indicators will include:

Families continue to harvest enough to eat
Families are able to increase the efficiency of their farms and can sell more produce for profit
Families can begin to improve their living standard
MZ Sevarlije will realize earnings from the tractor with which to pay for facilities and tractor workers.
Fruit trees are successfully replanted on the returnees’ land and are growing well. It will take two-to-three more years for them to produce fruit. When the trees begin to bear fruit, it will be possible for the families to earn significantly more income.

Support for Church World Service, as well as a grant from the Foods Resource Bank, help make this program possible.

Updated 10/15/04

More On • Community-Based Development