{"id":8194,"date":"2018-03-05T06:34:11","date_gmt":"2018-03-05T06:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.bjelasica-komovi.me\/?p=8194"},"modified":"2026-05-01T05:58:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T05:58:59","slug":"take-walk-wild-side-community-based-tourism-development-katuns-montenegro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bjelasica-komovi.me\/en\/take-walk-wild-side-community-based-tourism-development-katuns-montenegro\/","title":{"rendered":"Take a Walk on the Wild Side: Community-based Tourism Development with the \u201cKatuns\u201d of Montenegro"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Summer 2018 season is fast approaching, and we spoke with the Director of the Regional Development Agency for Bjelasica, Komovi, and Prokletije from Montenegro, Jelena Kriv\u010devi\u0107<\/strong>, about her experience in achieving community-based tourism in a challenging environment.<\/p>\n

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Motivations for Returning Home<\/h4>\n

Q: Jelena, you moved from the fast-growing capital Podgorica back to your roots in the remote town of Berane. Unemployment rates here are among the highest in the country. What were your motives for starting here and what role did adventure tourism play in your projects?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> I was born and raised in this part of the country. After five years in international development, I thought it was time to come home and work in my own communities. Working at home is completely different; every success is more fulfilling, and every obstacle more frustrating. But this is my dream job. What I love about this “remoteness” is its nature. Buying groceries here is a dream\u2014the green market is essentially an organic food market where you know all the producers.<\/p>\n

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Hospitality in our rural communities is not learned from books or expensive courses; it is part of a long tradition. I have seen foreign guests enchanted by it. We even struggled to convince rural families that they must charge their guests for food and drink\u2014that is how far their generosity goes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Furthermore, this part of Montenegro is the “wild” ingredient in the “Wild Beauty” slogan. We live in a spectacular area. Our job is to be on the ground and learn from the people about their conditions, problems, and opportunities. What we learn, we translate into “bottom-up” proposals. We recognized that adventure travel could become one of the main paths for the development of this region.<\/p>\n

Katun Roads: Innovation and Heritage<\/h4>\n

Q: What are katuns, what is the idea behind the “Katun Roads” project, and why is it special?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> Katuns are perhaps the most significant cultural heritage of the rural Balkans. These are temporary mountain settlements with a specific, simple architecture, cuisine, and way of life. This tradition is still practiced in Montenegro and Kosovo. We wanted to do two things: help improve the farmers’ living conditions (e.g., by providing mobile solar systems) and allow visitors to experience the idyllic ambiance of the katun, with the perfect synergy between man and nature.<\/p>\n

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Impact on Locals:<\/strong> We worked with 50 families. The solar systems provided were a huge improvement in their quality of life\u2014none had electricity before. We also educated them on rural tourism and food safety measures.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Challenges and Advice for Developers<\/h4>\n

Q: What were the biggest challenges? Do you have any key advice for other community-based tourism developers?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> You must adapt to the farmers and local reality. You cannot copy something that worked elsewhere. Our team spent two summers in katuns, living and working with the locals. When working with beginners, you cannot expect things to take off after just a few trainings; continuous “hand-holding” and mentoring are necessary.<\/p>\n

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Top 3 Lessons:<\/strong> 1. It\u2019s all about people! The best ideas will fail in the wrong hands. 2. Include local actors and businesses along the trails; don’t just focus on technical path details. 3. Avoid over-regulating and forgetting the local mentality.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Q: Practically speaking: How long does the trail take and what accommodation is available?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> This is a thematic trail that can be hiked, cycled, or visited by off-road vehicle. It can take one to five days. On www.katunroads.me, you can find accommodation options: small hotels in lower areas, wilderness camps in katuns, and cabins for rent. For cyclists, we recommend the portal www.pedalaj.me.<\/p>\n

Future Vision and Plans<\/h4>\n

Q: What keeps you going?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> I plan to stay here as long as possible and do my best to make at least small differences. We suffer from a huge “brain drain,” and we lack capacity in places that should drive sustainable development. However, what keeps me going are the small differences we make through our work and the rural people who live off their own labor. They have the most realistic view of life.<\/p>\n

Q: What about your future plans?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> We will continue this work despite unstable funding. In 2018-2019, we will implement two projects: one dedicated to local gastronomy (Mountain Bounty) and traditional food products, and another focused on traditional architecture and the cultural landscape. We will continue to motivate new rural families to join sustainable tourism.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

Interview by Kirsi Hyvaerinen, ATTA Member | Source: adventuretravelnews.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Summer 2018 season is fast approaching, and we spoke with the Director of the Regional Development Agency for Bjelasica, Komovi, and Prokletije from Montenegro, Jelena Kriv\u010devi\u0107, about her experience in achieving community-based tourism in a challenging environment. Motivations for Returning Home Q: Jelena, you moved from the fast-growing capital Podgorica back to your roots…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6888,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[156],"tags":[217],"class_list":["post-8194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media","tag-author-jelena-krivcevic-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bjelasica-komovi.me\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bjelasica-komovi.me\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bjelasica-komovi.me\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bjelasica-komovi.me\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bjelasica-komovi.me\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8194"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bjelasica-komovi.me\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94247,"href":"https:\/\/bjelasica-komovi.me\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8194\/revisions\/94247"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bjelasica-komovi.me\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bjelasica-komovi.me\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bjelasica-komovi.me\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bjelasica-komovi.me\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}