Uncle Stojan has been our member for almost 20 years, more precisely since December 2001 and he is one of the first 100 members in FULM’s Tikveshija Branch. He is actively involved in agriculture, namely viticulture and some fruit growing.
Many times so far we have justified our trust in each other and this trust lasts until today. Uncle Stojan told us a little bit about his vineyards, the way he nurtures them and the enthusiasm with which he does all that, but also about how this year hasn’t been one of the best
“I have been engaged in viticulture for many years, I have additionally started growing other fruits and over the years I started to increase the number of fruits. Regarding viticulture, I have planted several varieties of grapes, growing them on trellis. My entire family is involved in this process, except during the harvest period when we need additional labor so we hire pickers – seasonal workers. For me, harvesting is one of the most beautiful moments in viticulture, while we harvest the whole fruit we tell a lot of jokes and sing in order to get the job done faster. But, unfortunately, this year did not prove to be one of the best. The main reasons for the loss of part of the crop were the bad weather, which during the harvest was followed by a lot of torrential rains, and the situation with the COVID 19 virus which affected the entire operation.
In order to deal with this situation caused by COVID – 19, we had to use more physical labor and thorough organization in order to adapt to the introduced restrictions on movement due to my age limit and the curfews that were introduced during the period of initial preparations of the vineyards. Our main income comes from viticulture and part of it comes from the fruit orchards. FULM Savings House helped us the most so that we could bear all the problems this year. It literally helped us from the very beginning, from preparing the vineyards and orchards by providing raw materials (spikes, wire, spray preparations), installation of irrigation system as well as payment of labor during harvest. Thanks to their services, long-term cooperation and trust, we are successfully overcoming this crisis caused by the virus.
Sometimes we start work with one plan, and we finish it with another because it does not always go as planned, we may be more profitable, but we also need to learn that we will suffer certain losses in the work. That is why we should not give up in such situations and we should continue with the work, choosing the right people around us, the ones who will give us a hand at the right time. It was FULM Savings House – Tikveshija who was here for me and my family.”
The text is a personal statement and is not subject to proofreading
