AMANDA REVIVES A "LOST" VILLAGE NEAR GRADIŠKA

In Novo Selo, located 12 kilometers downstream from Gradiška, Amanda Račić is growing vegetables in a place that ironically bears the name "New Village," where nothing is new but rather old and crumbling. Amanda's garden and greenhouses, beside her house at the end of the village where she lives with her daughter and father, are lush and full of juicy produce. This year’s harvest is exceptionally good, with an abundance of tomatoes and peppers.

PHOTO: Nezavisne novine

Amanda and her father Brane have planted 5,000 stalks of these vegetables. After the first harvest, Amanda estimates that they will produce 20 tons on their property this year. They supply peppers to local stores, primarily through home delivery, which requires a lot of work and effort, leaving no days for rest.

"I wake up at five every morning. First, I go to work at a furniture manufacturing company in Gradiška. I work in production and occasionally in administration. After eight hours at the factory, there's still a lot to do at home. We have a hundred geese. We produce meat and goose fat. After feeding the poultry and the fish in the pond, I start working in the garden," Amanda details her numerous and hard-to-remember tasks. Every minute of her day is planned.

In Amanda’s diligent hands, there is hope that Novo Selo, and particularly the hamlet of Jazmak, is not dead. The village has about ten residents and four children. It used to be much more populous. Now, the houses are crumbling, overgrown with ivy up to the chimneys and roofs, or bear unreadable for-sale signs on walls that have long been abandoned.

"No one sells, no one buys. No one comes or goes. Only hunters pass through on weekends with dogs chasing game into the woods and brush. This desolation didn't deter me from my decision to return from Germany and try to do what I love here. This is where I belong," says 36-year-old Amanda.

She wishes there were more young people in the village. She believes that young people are not lazy or devoid of ideas, they just need encouragement and support to achieve better results.

"What was crucial for your return?" the question arises spontaneously.

"My father started growing in a single greenhouse. I joined him five years ago and realized that this work relaxes me. It’s a form of hobby and therapy for me... I enjoy the smell, the look of the vegetables, watching them bloom, grow, and bear fruit. These changes and progress are visible every morning. This gives me strength and encouragement because I know I’m doing something useful," Amanda explains, holding a freshly picked tomato as she begins the afternoon harvest for delivery.

"This year has been bountiful and profitable. It’s not a huge profit, but for those willing to work, one can earn a decent living and live more relaxed than abroad. I was born in Rijeka, lived in Germany for a long time, but I prioritized Novo Selo," Amanda tells Nezavisne novine.

Every year after the January holidays, Amanda starts the season that lasts all year. "From February, the work intensifies. We start seedling production. We heat the greenhouses to ensure optimal conditions for germination and growth. Each period has its principles. Now, the greenhouse is hot, scorching. The temperature inside is double that outside. But it doesn’t bother me, I’m used to it. We try to protect the vegetables from the heat by shading and ventilating."

In autumn, when the garden season ends, Amanda and her father process the vegetables, making ajvar, salads, and pickled peppers, which they offer to the market and long-term customers.

"One job ends, another begins, and so it goes in circles. Whatever I do, I strive to be successful. So far, it's going well, and I’m teaching my daughter the same. My parents taught me from a young age to work and produce, which was crucial for shaping my personality," Amanda explains her life philosophy, seeing nothing special or different in it.

Late at night, after finishing all her tasks, she helps her nine-year-old daughter Martina, a student at Vaso Čubrilović Elementary School, with her homework, ensuring she learns the same lessons Amanda's parents, Tatjana and Brane, taught her at Martina's age.

Brane Račić, Amanda's father, praises his daughter’s dedication to the rural work. "We work in harmony and by agreement. Amanda is an efficient organizer and quick vegetable deliverer, responding to calls from anywhere, while I prefer working in the greenhouse at home," says Brane.

However, he points out the longstanding issue of imports that hinder local producers. "The yield is perfect, better than ever. The quality is also excellent. However, imports are a problem. They create insurmountable issues for us, and the government doesn’t understand or care about our pleas. It doesn't matter that every product in our local gardens is healthy and fresh when trading lobbies import everything we produce, offer it cheaper, and push us out of the market."