Hrustanović Family Turns Their Fruit Plantation in Breza into an Oasis of Peace and Healthy Food

(Patria) - The Hrustanović family from Breza has managed to create a small oasis of peace and healthy food through 15 years of hard work.

They live off their labor, off their Fruit Plantation 'Baš-Bašča'. They love having guests, families with children, to walk through the plantation, pick fruit themselves, fish, and ride a boat.

Šefket Hrustanović is the owner of the fruit plantation "Baš-Bašča" in Breza, near Sarajevo. On 100 dunams of land, he planted 14,500 trees of various fruits: apples, pears, plums. The plantation also includes an irrigation lake, i.e., 23 kilometers of a 'drip by drip' irrigation system.

He produces healthy, organic fruit. He says they have had a very successful business year so far, but this one was the most successful because the European Union provided them with financial support.

Thanks to cooperation with UNDP and assistance from EU funds, says Hrustanović, they solved the problem caused by frost, which destroyed their yield this year, resulting in 120 tons less fruit than last year. Nevertheless, he is satisfied because the problem was solved by a wind machine he imported from Italy, which cost 85,000 KM.

EU funds also helped him acquire machinery for soil cultivation, a tiller, and a mulcher for mowing grass.

- Despite these problems, we managed to develop another segment of our business, which is rural tourism. About 20,000 tourists, guests from Bosnia and Herzegovina and abroad, come to the plantation – says Hrustanović for Fena.

The third segment they introduced in their business is healthy food they produce. They built a processing facility and produce fruit juices, fruit syrups, jams, marmalades, as well as dried fruit, dried plums, pears, apples, and they also have apple chips.

- We managed to secure all of this through hard work over 15 years and with the help of foreign donors, the least from our own. I am sorry to say this, but our people do not see that we have very healthy land, the best water in the world, relatively clean air. And we also have a very sick population, and we should ask ourselves why, because we import goods of questionable quality, get sick, buy expensive medicines to regain health. Isn't it better to preserve health with healthy food than to restore it with medicines? - says the owner of "Baš-Bašča".

The hardworking Hrustanović family are good hosts and invite citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, tourists, and guests to come to their fruit plantation "Baš-Bašča", to pick or select already picked fresh fruit, to make their own juice, and they can also try the 'Zlatija' products for free and buy them if they like.

They especially invite families with children to come, walk through the plantation, pick natural teas, fish, ride a boat or raft on the lake, enjoy nature, and they can also use the grills, rest on the beautiful terrace, relax in the living room or on the veranda of the Plantation House, drink coffee by the fountain or by the fireplace and chat.

(Hayat.ba)