This is Chocolate, this is Kotor, this is Hajla, like our mountain. And this is Mandarina, she arrived at the farm blind, this is just a shelter for her...
While introducing the "Vijesti" reporters to each one individually, Darko Saveljic, the founder of the "Donkey Farm" in Martinići, first threw salt in front of about seventy donkeys to "sweeten" them, and then bales of hay, because - we arrived at lunch time.
It's not the first time "Vijesti" has visited "Farm", but the reason for the pre-New Year's visit this time is different: "Farm" in the village of Danilovgrad will soon mark ten years. A lot happened in those ten years: from two, the farm grew into a permanent home for around 70 donkeys, many of them were born there and are happily adopted somewhere around Montenegro. The farm helped the recovery of the donkey population, 11 scientific and other theses - bachelor's, doctorate, master's - "came out" from the farm...
"One master's degree is also from abroad. Simply, people came to tell the story of ecotourism and took the farm as an example," says Darko.
For his contribution to the development of rural tourism, Saveljić was recently awarded the award of the Ministry of Tourism for the best rural household for "Farm". The award has been given for the last three years.
In 2019, that household was awarded the "Wild beauty" award, in the "Unique tourist product" category. This award is given by the National Tourism Organization of Montenegro.
It all started with Marta
Darko had dreamed of establishing something similar for a long time.
"I didn't think to do it like this, my idea was that once I retire, I would place all the horses and donkeys here at my place... to save them from torture. But I took Marta the donkey...".
He found Marta by accident, when ten years ago, as an ornithologist, he was taking tourists from Switzerland bird watching. They also visited a household in the village of Livari, near Rumija.
"I see a donkey that was in really bad shape. I thought how about bringing her to me, feeding her well, brushing her, having her hooves trimmed by the vet... My father kept sheep at the time and I offered the host to give me a donkey for a ram. When the tour ended after ten days, I came to Marta. The next day she got naked at my place, Drina arrived".
After half a year, Saveljić created a Facebook page and the story of "Donkey Farm" officially began. Initially modest, the number of "likes" on Facebook grew, and soon virtual visits replaced real visits to the "Farm".
"People started coming to see Marta and Drina. My parents were surprised, because it was impossible for them to understand that people come to see donkeys. They grew up with donkeys, it's not an attraction for them, but also, in the village, thirty years before that, they didn't see a donkey, they simply weren't there anymore".
Saving the population
At that time, says Saveljić, from the data of the Monstat agricultural census, he concluded that there were no more than 150 donkeys in the entire country.
"There used to be thousands of them, there wasn't a house that didn't have a donkey, the donkey is part of Montenegrin's natural and cultural heritage, and suddenly it is becoming one of the most endangered species", says Saveljić and adds that in the last ten years, in Montenegro, the number donkeys grew from 150 to around 900 individuals, so he believes that his mission, to save the donkeys in this area from extinction, has also succeeded.
Unfortunately, Marta, with whom the story began, is no longer alive. In her honor, there is Marta Donkey Square on the "Farm". Her Drina is still part of the herd today.
"The farm gave us a new life"
"The farm" has been open for visits on Sundays all these years, the farm is regularly visited by kindergartens and schools, towards the end of the year, the New Year's ball with donkeys has been organized there for years, where organic producers offer their products.
Within the "Farm" is a museum, where you can see the tools and machines used to cultivate the land from the period mainly before the Second World War. In addition to the museum, there is also a visitor center, which Darko provides free of charge. For those who want to stay longer at the "Farm", two apartments are available.
The tenth birthday of "Farm" is in April. Those ten years, says Darko, greatly influenced his life and that of his family.
“My life changed drastically. At the time when the farm was founded, I fought for the protection of the Saltworks in Ulcinj, it was not easy. From seven to three I was an ornithologist, I used every moment to come to Martinići after work, to watch Marta and Drina graze, that somehow got me out. These animals have needs that cannot be coordinated with apps. I have a dog in Podgorica, but it's not the same engagement, the dog is in the apartment, you feed it, you go for a walk, this is different".
Darko says that he used to come to the village even before Marta and Drina, but, he says, when they came to the farm, he had more reason to be there.
The donkeys and the farm contributed a lot to his parents' lives, he adds. After retirement, he says, "they were literally lost".
"The farm also gave them a completely new life. Now they do not live the life of an average Montenegrin pensioner, only preparing food, watching television, paying bills, welcoming grandchildren, but are occupied with work on the farm. At the age of seventy, they started recycling, composting... Their life suddenly changed 180 degrees, suddenly people started coming to the farm, so people who don't speak our language came to us, so people who pay to work come with them. It was unbelievable to them, that someone would come and pay to buy hay with them".
There are numerous guests, especially from abroad, who came to the farm on vacation, and then they wanted to participate in the work on the farm with the hosts - to pick crops and fruits, clean the farm... Proposals also took place on the farm:
"Two years ago, we had a proposal on the farm, and half a year later, that couple sent us a photo of the baby, which made my mother cry, because she was part of that story."
The neighbors also started it
Saveljici produce food for themselves and visitors on the property where the "Donkey Farm" is located.
"During the corona, my father was afraid that we would go hungry, so he also planted wheat and we also produced our own flour. Everything we offer to tourists is produced on the farm. For them, it is something special that they can pick vegetables in the garden just before storing them. If we want zucchini, we will, pick it and prepare it. That food has both taste and smell".
Since, as far as food production is concerned, they are completely independent, in this sense the people of Savelji have no cooperation with the locals. However, they cooperate in other ways:
"There are no cows here in a radius of three or four kilometers, people neglected the meadows, they didn't mow, people didn't know what to do with the hay. Now that there is a farm there that will buy the hay, it has encouraged people to maintain their properties".
Darko believes that with the farm he showed that it is possible to have a sustainable rural household, that tourists are not only attracted to the coast, nor only to exclusive places:
"We only recently, that is, after nine years, got Google navigation to the farm, and the farm proved that even in the backwaters someone can do good things... It also seems to me that all those who visit the farm do not remain indifferent, because here they see how as the milk is milked, as it sours, curds. And that's something that someone from Brussels, Milan... doesn't have the chance to experience".
"Food, electricity and water are also ours"
In Montenegro, as the Ministry of Tourism announced at the award ceremony for the best in rural tourism, 327 rural households were registered. More than once, from the association that brings together rural householders, they pointed out the challenges they face. Sometimes these challenges are unimaginable for people in cities - bad roads, unstable internet signal, problems with electricity, lack of water...
There were also such challenges at "Donkey Farm", which is about 15 kilometers from the center of Podgorica, and a little over ten kilometers from Danilovgrad.
"There is no normal road to the farm, when foreigners come they always ask if they can go back that way. Furthermore, the electricity would constantly disappear and it is difficult to explain to someone who comes here to sleep, that there is not enough electricity to turn on more devices. The internet is also a problem, because we are a few kilometers away from the prison in Spuz, which has jammers... We only got water two years ago, after we dug a well. Before that, it was difficult for me to watch people shower for hours, and I have to bring the water. It's hot, people have the right to shower, I don't have the right to limit it, but I know how hard it was to provide them with that service. And there are many of our villages that do not have water".
In addition to digging a well on the farm and solving the issue of water supply, the Saveljićs, in order to solve the issue of electricity, also installed solar panels on the farm some time ago.
"Now I have my food, my water, my solar power plant, so I am independent, but I know how hard it was when during the summer months I got up at one in the morning to turn on the water pump, because there is no electricity, and then in the morning, at four, five, the pump shuts down, because there is no voltage, because someone in the village turned on the stove. It is not easy for people who offer services in the countryside to make tourists happy".
"We forgot what a beautiful human relationship is"
Darko Saveljić estimates that since its establishment, less than two years ago during the corona virus epidemic, when it was closed, about 130 thousand people visited the farm. He is also convinced that these are people with similar values and needs, those who appreciate a simple life, who love nature...
He believes that places like the farm are extremely important for everyone, especially today: "We in the cities have forgotten what a normal life and a nice human relationship is".
"Donkey Farm" is open for visitors only on Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 13 p.m. It offers accommodation throughout the year, and a visitor center with a meeting room is open throughout the year, upon prior notice.
Rural activities vary from month to month, during January they are cleaning the farm, trimming the donkeys, trimming the hooves, cleaning the local road, in February cleaning the farm, trimming the donkeys, in March the agricultural work begins, in May, with cleaning the farm and trimming the donkeys , there is also the buying of hay, in August grapes are harvested, brandy is brewed...
Fostering and supporting other animals
"Donkey Farm" started with Marta and Drina. Today there are about 70 donkeys. There were more of them, but many males were adopted, in order to avoid conflicts between them, as well as crossing during reproduction.
Fostering for Darko, he says, is not easy.
"I am checking the conditions, whether they are good for the donkey to continue living as he does on my farm. I need a guarantee that when adopted, the donkey will continue to enjoy life. It is quite difficult, because my requirements are rigorous... People assure me that the donkey will have a good life, and then when they scratch a little, it turns out that it is not always so".
Darko donates the money from adopted donkeys to animal protection societies.
Others see it, we are not aware that we live in paradise
The "Donkey Farm" in Martinići also attracted numerous television crews from abroad: German Public Service, British BBC, French TV Arte... A few months ago, a crew from Amazon Prime, the American video-on-demand subscription service, filmed at the farm:
"The team, 24 of them, were there, among them a German actor, who came to the farm to milk the donkeys, drink milk, eat pancakes... Amazon Prime has an audience of 220 million viewers... The 45-minute shows were filmed at six the state, the farm brought them to Montenegro... I think that Montenegrins are not at all aware of where they live. We live in paradise".
According to Darko, the show will be broadcast on Amazon Prime on January 3.
Bonus video:
