 Albania has had a tough time adjusting to a market economy since the collapse of the communist dictatorship, and the gap between rich and poor people is growing. There’s much rural poverty in the south-west around Vlora, for instance, because farmland is in short supply. Not surprisingly, many young people aren’t hanging around – they’re opting instead to emigrate to Italy and Greece in search of work.
When you only have a small allotment to support your family, you need to grow something that will produce a good profit, like olives. That’s why Oxfam Unwrapped has funded the provision of olive saplings to some of the poorer families in Vlora, so that they can get back to working the land. The revamped allotments are helping to revitalise the local economy and provide a viable way to make a living, which will hopefully tempt younger people back to the region.
To help the project along, Kastriot Shehaj, who grew the olive saplings, has also donated plum, peach and grape saplings to the allotmenteers. “I want to see youngsters looking after their own land,” he says. “Continuing to do what we know best, not leaving the country. Growing fruit and olives is our tradition.”
With an olive oil-processing mill nearby, and Oxfam’s support to form a producers’ association, the allotments will soon grow into valuable assets. |