Handmade cheese aged in wine! And in domestic red wine, of the Tamjanika variety, from an old barrel. In addition, white cheese, grilled cheese, homemade yogurt and sour milk according to a hundred-year-old recipe. This is what the offer of the family dairy “Zapis Homolja” from the village of Oštrelj, near Bor, looks like.
For several years, Stefan Simonović, a young trained dairy farmer, has been the most sought-after producer of cheese and dairy products in Eastern Serbia. Prestigious hotels in Serbia offer products from Stefan’s dairy as sought-after specialties to numerous domestic and foreign guests.
The best recommendation of cheeses, in addition to top quality, is their absolutely natural origin, from milk obtained from grazing on the hills of Homolje. The average altitude of the Homolje mountains is about 900 meters, and the considerable distance from industry makes milk from these areas a unique delicacy.
“Zapisi Homolja” started a business with their own money, and with some support of the city of Bor, they proved that they have the knowledge and capabilities, and then they needed to expand production. The European Union (EU) helped them in this, through the EUPRO Plus programme it provided funds for the purchase of new equipment: dispensers for milk and sour milk products and a duplicator with a capacity of 500 litres. Stefan entered the investment of around 20,000 euros with minimal participation and maximum support.
He will employ two more workers in “Zapisi Homolja”, and he will soon introduce new products, new unique flavours of popular cheeses. According to the current business plans, the cheese aged in wine could not be produced significantly more with the expectation that with the help of a local cooperative, the cheese could also find its way to the tables of gourmets in EU countries.
If you are an owner of a small production company, dairy, bakery, flower shop, if you produce clothes, shoes, haberdashery – the European Union offers you the possibility of development, procurement of equipment, capacity expansion – business progress. The EU is an opportunity to work better, produce and earn more.
The activities of the EU PRO Plus programme, which contributes to a more even socio-economic development of Serbia, are supported by the European Union with 40 million euros. The programme, whose implementation is led by the Ministry of European Integration, aims to contribute to improved management of territorial development, economic growth and improvement of social infrastructure and cohesion in 99 local self-government units, in two regions: the region of Šumadija and the region of Southern and Eastern Serbia. Field activities are carried out by UNOPS.
