www.auleda.org

Raport for the Grant taken from the Soros Foundation

Name of the project: Social integration of the women’s in the area of Vlora River through the income generation from the marketing of the medicinal and aromatic herbs.

Name of the Grant Receiver:  Auleda the Local Economic Development Agency .

Adress: Road Vlore-Skele, near the SanPaolo Bank, III Floor.
Tel/Fax: ++355 33 22 664

ACTIVITIES:

Objective 1: Improvement of women’s qualification for the collecting manner of the medicinal and aromatic herbs.  Improvement of the drying conditions and the storage of the herbs respecting the organic standards.

This consists in the most important objective of the project that is implemented in the villages of Vlora River, where the women’s community has an early tradition about the collection and elaboration of the medicinal and aromatic herbs. To realize this objective in the calendar plan of the activities were determined different activities with direct impact for the realization of this objective. 
Identification of the collecting medicinal and aromatic herbs women’s.  To realize the identification of the collecting medicinal and aromatic herbs women’s, firstly from the staff of Auleda  were organized different informative  meetings with representatives of the Directory of Forests and Elders of the Communes to determine the villages of Vlora River Valley in the which the women’s practice  the activity of medicinal and aromatic herbs collection.  Along the meeting organized with the directors of the Forests Directory was taken the information for the legislation of the “Found Protection of the Medicinal and aromatic herbs” in the year 1993, the instructions of the date 8.5.2006 of the Environment Ministry, forests and Water Administration. For the equipment with the origin certificate for Export as the decision of dt.04.12.2003 “Ratification of the list with the species of Albanian flora under protection” lows and decision under which is made the activity of collecting and exportation of the medicinal herbs.   

In the frame of the identification of the collecting and elaborating the medicinal and aromatic herb women’s  were organized meetings with the directors of the commune Hore-Vranisht, Bratj and the commune of Kote as the communes with the higher number of collecting women’s. In this meetings were requested information’s for this activity in the area, the number of the collecting women’s, the marketing way of the products and the incomes taken from this activity for each family.       

This information taken from the representative of the Local Power helps us to create a clear vision for this activity.

From a meeting organized in one of the communes from the Focus-groups with women’s of Kallarat Village  the participating women’s approved that the herbs collection  and theirs marketing consist in the incomes base for several families of the village.  In the most of the cases this incomes arrive from 100000-150000 new lek, in function even of the personas that help to realize this activity. The identified women’s from the representatives of the Local Power and the focus-groups will be the most important part of the developed activities.

In the second faze of the project from the staff of Auleda  were made different informative meetings with participant from the communes Hore-Vranisht  and Brataj, Reeves of the villages of Kuc , Kallarat, Hore-Vranisht  and Brataj, directors of the high schools of the villages Kuc and Brataj also with the inspectors of the forest directory that operate in this area.

The aim of these meetings was not only the identification of the women’s and the girls that collect the medicinal and aromatic herbs but at the same time the information for the space that this activity occupies in the every day life of these families.
From the other side served for the sensitizing of the community for the requests that this industry has but at the same time the promotion of the goals of this project. Direct result of these activities was the establishment of the contact points for the organization of these trainings with the women’s and the girls that collect medicinal and aromatic herbs in this area.    
The evaluation of the actual level of information in the sectors of collection and elaboration of the medicinal and aromatic herbs.

This activity will help to determine exactly the grade of knowledge in this sector of the woman’s that collect the medicinal and aromatic herbs related to the periods of vintage , the manners of vintage, their cultivation, cleaning, elaboration, the conservation manner and at the end the storage to protect their original natural quality. In function of this goal the staff of the agency in collaboration with the specialists prepared a questionnaire, made interviews and montages in the area to evaluate exactly the grade of knowledge of this women’s. At the end of the feeler and the questionnaire elaboration we arrived at the result that 65% of the collecting women have had no idea of the vintage period of each plant.  This information is referred from the oldest persons to the new generation with ought scientific base. But another fact that was mentioned in the trainings with the focus-groups was that even the wholesale dealer anticipates these periods because in the most of the cases even they are not qualified. The concurrence and the need of profiting more is result of the vintage before the determined periods of the medicinal and aromatic herbs.  

From this questionnaire resulted that the women’s didn’t realize the process of the plants cleaning according to the contemporary methodology, that aims the conservation of the herbs quality after in the most of the cases they doesn’t pay attention to this process. From the other side 85% of the women’s didn’t know the solar drying equipments, and valuated as very important help the presence of these equipments.
Another fact was that 65% of the women’s ensure from 100000-150000 new leke for the entire year from the marketing of this products. These incomes are considerable in comparison to the incomes they insure from the other activities.

To find the market for this products and the determination of the baying price from the abusive merchants are very important problems that the collecting women’s face. 100% of the collecting women’s didn’t know how to cultivate the medicinal and aromatic herbs. They didn’t know the cultivation methods or the conditions and services that need to be completed to profit a qualitative product.

85% of the women that collect medicinal and aromatic herbs were of the opinion that the collecting process was uncontrolled and unorganized.

75% of the interviewed women’s were at the opinion that the organization in associations and the cooperation between them will serve for a better organization and higher representation of their interests as in the market but even to reach higher incomes that justify their work. 

Basing to t6he information taken from the women’s that operate in this area the specialists of  EDEM and those of the medicinal herbs export association EPCA determined the theme of the trainings also prepared the information for this trainings. 

From the specialists of EDEM and the Medicinal Herbs Export Association EPCA were determined the methodology of the information for the questionnaires before and after the final training. In this manner the specialist will be able to compare the level of information’s taken from the collecting women’s, the efficiency of the trainings and at the end to valorise the methodology followed in this trainings.  

Trainings with the collecting women of medicinal and aromatic herbs.

In the first faze of the project were planed the realization of the trainings in three villages of Vlora River, respectively in the villages of Kallarat, Terbac and Kote. These trainings were organized respectively on12.13 and 14 December 2007. In this trainings participated 27 personas , 18 collecting women’s, 2 teachers of biology  and 7 children’s of 11-13 years old which collect and elaborate the medicinal and aromatic herbs.  

In the second faze of this project were realized 5 trainings in the villages of Kuc , Kallarat, Hore-Vranisht and Brataj, villages that stand in the upstream of Vlora River . This trainings of the second faze were realized on 10.11.12 January 2008. In this trainings participated 64 personas, 58 were women’s and girls that collect the medicinal and aromatic herbs, 4 teachers of Biology and 2 employers of health sector in this villages.

The participation of the Biology teachers and that of the medicinal personnel was appreciated because by means of them these information’s will extend to the community and to the new generation of this area.

The thematic of the trainings included the identification of the species for the national market as their cultivation in experimental parcels, their cultivation in non productive ground, cultivation techniques, dryers technology of medicinal and aromatic herbs, accumulation practices, the elaboration and exportation in the standards of local level, legal frame, usage of the new techniques of selection and elaboration the medicinal and aromatic herbs.    

The trainings were realized from the specialists of EDEM and EPCA (the association of medicinal and aromatic herbs exportation). Training methodology interlaced very well the theoretical and practice process of accumulation and elaboration of the medicinal herbs with discussions between the trainers and the training personas.   

The debates and discussions along the trainings were related to the training of the medicinal herbs after their vintage in the mountain. All the collecting women’s answered that the elaboration process of the herbs depends on the costs of marketing .If the price for 1 kg of elaborated medicinal plants will be considerable for them and justify their work the quality of the medicinal herbs will be higher.  

Another very important problem discussed in the trainings was the elimination of intermediated rings because according to the information’s from the export association  resulted that the oregano collected in the villages of Vlora River goes to the magazines of Mifol Village and from them to the accumulators of Berat. From Berat to the accumulators of Elbasan and than goes to the exporters and at the end of this procedure the collectors profit only 15% of the incomes of this process.

In this training the specialist’s peyed attention to the cultivation process of the aromatic herbs, process that is unknown from the collecting women’s. from the specialists was explained the insemination method of Oregon sapling taken directly from the forest. Very important is the process of service realized for these plants, treated in natural way and without chemicals.

Another very important factor to be trained was the production contracting before the season. The creation of the links between the collectors and the accumulators before the season insure the collectors of the medicinal and aromatic herbs for the marketing of their products and determines from the beginning the buying price. In this way the interest to insure the quality is common as for the exporters as for the collectors. 

The protection even after the vintage seson was another case of discussion in the trainings. The collectors of the medicinal herbs along the collection process should protect the ecosystem to insure the production of the herb even for the next year. 

Objective 2: Creation of a productive network, collectors and elaborators of the medicinal and aromatic herbs.

After the identification of the collecting and producing women’s of medicinal herbs the staff of Auleda organized several meetings with representatives of Vlora Region as from the Forests Directory for the identification of the firms and the personas that accumulate medicinal herbs in the villages of Vlora River. Auleda made possible the contact with this personas, the visit to the accumulating storages and the condition valuation of this accumulating storages. .

From this meetings was valuated that in Vlora city doesn’t exist any inner firm that accumulate from the villagers the medicinal herbs but has only local coordinators of the firms Alducross-Durres, Gjedera –Berat, Zhuka and  Zere- Berat. The exercise of the activity in this manner brings lowering of the baying price of the medicinal products from the villagers and low norm of earnings for them. For this fact the interest of the villagers to collect the medicinal and aromatic herbs is not so important because they don’t see materialized their work fatigue.  

All the personas that work as coordinators of the accumulating firms and that export the medicinal herbs must register in the directory of forests and complete the origin certificate of the medicinal herbs. In the directory of forests doesn’t exist a database of all the coordinators, their contacts, and the storages position where is made the accumulation of the medicinal herbs. Actually are known from the community only two accumulating centers of medicinal herbs and only two coordinators Gjergj Murati-Kote and Manush Kondi in Mifol. In both the storages the conditions are far from the standards of conservation and storage of this kind of products.

Another very important step that Auleda made is the realization of different meetings with the representatives of the Local Power that has direct or indirect relations with the industry of the medicinal herbs. At the first weeks of the project were organized meetings with the representatives of Vlora Region, Forest Directory and Water sources Administration of the communes Hore - Vranisht, Brataj and Kote .

In the second fase all this actors will be gathered in a round table to discus all the problems but at the same time to create the network efficient for the future which will have e direct impact in the quality of the products and in the improvement of the economical level of each of the families that work in this sector.
Work Shop-: On 12.02.2008 in the Auleda office was organized the workshop with theme: the collaboration of the stakeholders, for better marketing of the medicinal and aromatic herbs. 
In this workshop participated 19 personas representatives of the Vlora Region Prefecture, Elders of the communes Hore-Vranisht and Sevaster ,specialists of the Center of Transfer of Agriculture Technology, specialists of the Forest Directory, representatives of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, representatives of “Ismail Qemali” University , representatives of the project EDEM/USAID, representatives of the Civil Society and Media.

The program of workshop firstly started with the presentation of the information to the presenting personas by three references about the role of the forest directory in the development of this industry, the legal frame of medicinal and aromatic herbs, the contribution of the project EDEM/USAID giving the necessary specialized consulates to the operators of this industry. From the other side the representatives of the workshop were informed about the project of Auleda the objectives and the goals of this project also the results arrived at the and of the project. The material of the project promotion was presented in a PowerPoint presentation accompanied with different photos from the developed activities.

Some of the themes discussed in this workshop were the development of the industry of the medicinal and aromatic herbs in Vlora region , the role of the institutions in the development of this industry, the efficiency of the legal frame , the contracts of the accumulators with the exporters of the medicinal and aromatic herbs, the parasite rings and the costs of the marketing for this herbs, the role of Media and NGOs for the promotion of this industry, the role of the Camber of Industry and Commerce to improve this industry etc. 

All the present were at the opinion that the most important thing is the identification of the surfaces with these medicinal and aromatic herbs.

The last stocktaking was made in the year 1988.The directory of Forest is the organ that should play the role of the moderator. The last stocktaking was made in the year 1988.The directory of Forest is the organ that should play the role of the moderator in function of this industry. At the same time thought its inspectors this directory should monitor the obeisance of the legal frame. The Camber of Commerce and Industry should play a very aggressive role in the aspect of marketing of the medicinal and aromatic herbs with considerable values according to the European standards. Media and the Civil Society should sensitize the community about the industry of medicinal and aromatic herbs valuating this as a process as very important for stable development.  
These were some of the recommendations of the representatives of the Vlora Region Institutions in this workshop. Another very important aspect of this workshop was the creation of network with the actors of this industry, not only for the exchange of information and of contacts between them but the determination of the role of each actor of this industry in the network. Even without a formal denomination this network promises to be effective based in the experiences of collaboration the actors had in the past.

Objective 3:  Certification of the accumulating areas as of the products accumulated according to the  European standards.

Very important role in the trainings occupied the certification of the accumulating areas. This is a process based in the briefings nr 261 of the year 2006. according to this briefing all the collectors and the exporters of medicinal herbs are obliged to complete neat the Forest Directory the certificate of the collecting area origin.

This is a process that according to the meetings with the specialists of medicinal herbs in the forest directory of Vlore should be realized only from the licensed subjects, meantime in the area of Vlora River operate even subject non licensed which influence in the diminution of the quality of the product but at the same time damage the areas were are collected this plants because they orient the vintage process without criteria.  

The privation of the legal transparence has brought many cases of corruption from the specialists giving the opportunity only to a category of subjects and as result the corruption with material benefit. 
Fro the meeting we had with Ms. Gjergj Murati in the storage of medicinal herbs in the Kote we were informed that a considerable surface of hectares in Vlora River area were given in use from the directory of Forests to a collector from Berati and to a habitant of this area gave a considerable surface of hectares in the area of Dukat far from the habitation area and of his activity extension.  
The concession of this permissions far from the activity extension area influences in the price increasing of the accumulators that buy the product, costs that weight to the villagers that collect the medicinal and aromatic herbs.

Marketing of medicinal and aromatic herbs, the creation of a “brand” with the denomination “Vlora River” is a procedure non applied fro the exporters of medicinal and aromatic herbs. Auleda in collaboration with the Association of Medicinal and Aromatic Herbs Exportation EPCA realized the creation of a identification mark for the medicinal and aromatic herbs of Vlora River Area. Basing to the information’s taken from the industry operators of medicinal and aromatic herbs we created a clear idea of the development of this industry in the area. According to this information’s we identified all the medicinal herbs collected in this area  and fixed the subject” brand” giving priority even to the characteristics of this area. We gave this information to a design company which made 5 mark variants. The staff of Auleda in collaboration with the specialists of EDEM and EPCA determined the variant and publicized it in 500 copies. These copies are in the disposition of the exporting companies that export medicinal and aromatic herbs collected in the Area of Vlora River. As the first time that a ‘Brand” for medicinal and aromatic herbs was created we faced several difficulties in the registration procedures near the respective authorities. Actually the legal frame is in the discussion faze with the interest groups before the parliament approbation procedure. The mark registration will be one of the objectives of Auleda in the year 2008.  

 Objective 4: Community sensitizing for the importance of accumulation and marketing of medicinal and aromatic herbs.

The community sensitizing in this areas according to the aromatic and medicinal herbs collection and their appreciation as a stable development source is one of the most important activities of this project. In this faze was determined the publication of a leaflet, the realization of two television chronics ant two newspaper writings. 

Leaflet. The staff of Auleda determined the moderation of this leaflet and the delivery to the community members to get informed about the medicinal herbs and their importance. In this publication was given information about the medicinal and aromatic herbs most requested in the world market, their vintage periods, the legal frame based to which is followed the collecting activity and of elaboration of this herbs. All this information were accompanied from different pictures and photos from the trainings made in the frame of this project.

Television Chronics: This chronic was realized in collaboration with the directors of the Vlore Channel staff. Was selected this television because in a poll made in the area of Vlora River from the staff of Auleda in the frame of the Vlora River survey resulted that the transmission waves of this channel were more effective in this area. The firs television chronic was prepared basing in to the filmic view taken from the trainings made in the villages of Kote and Terbac. By this chronic was aimed the community realization for the development of this industry , to give the opportunity to know better the medicinal and aromatic herbs and to see them as a stable development source for the families of this area. In this chronic were given information’s about the quantity of herb exportation from Albania to other countries and the capacity of exportation that occupies this industry in comparison to others. This chronic was played from all the informative editions of the date 16.12.2007 as in the informative abridgement of the coming day transmitted in the morning edition.

The second chronic was prepared basing in to the filmic view taken from the realization of e workshop about the marketing of the medicinal and aromatic herbs. Along the promotion of the project financed from SOROS were treated the problems related with this industry and especially the missing process of stocktaking. This chronic is documented in a DVD.

Even un provided in the project we realized another chronic related to the abusing of this National Richness from the operators of this industry. This chronic is based n an interview made with one of the collectors of medicinal and aromatic herbs of the area.

Newspaper articles: Along the second faze of the project implementation even because was provided the publication of only one newspaper article were published 4 articles inside the same determined value in the budget. The first article was published on 16. January to the “Metropol’ newspaper with title “The habitants of Vlara restarted the insemination of medicinal and aromatic herbs”. In this article the journalist Enrik Mehmeti treated widely the accumulation process of the aromatic and medicinal herbs basing to a interview with a collecting woman. A very important place in this article occupied the promotion of the Auleras project financed from Soros Foundation     

Objective 5: Higher efficiency of the women’s role inside the family and the reinforcement of her role in the community.  

This consists in the long-term objective of the project, the impact of which is difficult to be calculated in the first faze of the project. Seen in the point of view of the information’s improvement to be involved in an activity that generates incomes we can affirm that the participation of the woman’s that collect medicinal and aromatic herbs is a good step made to reach the efficiency inside the family and in the community.

This is a result of the fact that the woman’s of these areas live an isolated life concentrated inside their family territory and with limited communication possibilities with each other. In the first meetings made before the beginning of the trainings they were of the opinion that the possibility that this project offers to them is the beginning of the creation of contact relations between them.
In the contingent of the participant woman’s in the trainings participated head family’s woman’s that has the activity of the medicinal and aromatic herbs collection as the main income source for their family. And seen in this point of view their role in the family takes other dimensions.

2. Reched results (according to the project previsions)
 

Along the project application were reached these results:

1. Were identified 7 villages of Vloar River, in the which is exercised in a considerable mass the collecting of the medicinal and aromatic herbs, determining even the geographical priorities of the project implementation.  

2. Were identified the collecting and elaborating woman’s of the medicinal and aromatic herbs for each village. Was created a data –base for each area and thought the questioner, polls and the surveillance in the ground were identified the exigency of information that the woman’s had. 

3. Were identified the collecting subjects of the medicinal and aromatic herbs and was created a data base with the information’s separated for each subject. In parallel of this activity were visited the accumulation storages of the medicinal and aromatic herbs and was valuated the conditions of the storage of this products according to the European standards. 
4. increased the level of information in 76 woman’s , 6 teachers, 7 children’s of the elementary school and of 2 employers of the health service in the villages of Kuc, Kallarat, Hore-Vrani9sht, Brataj, Terbac and Kote as in the determination of the vintage period , the accumulation procedure, cleaning, drying and package to reach higher quality and inside the European standards. 

5. By the participation of the representatives of the Association of Medicinal and Aromatic Herbs Exporters and the visit cards exchange were putted direct contacts with the collectors, accumulators and exporters. In this way they aimed the elimination of all the secondary and third rings that influence in the price increasing.

6. For the first time to the collecting woman’s was offered the medicinal and aromatic herbs baying in the base of a legal contrite were determined the buying price, time and manner of the financial benefit to stop the abusing and the speculation in the prices.

7. Increasing of the women’s interest to cultivate in their lands that actually are un worked with medicinal and aromatic herbs which grow in nature in wiled conditions. Aiming the creation of the first farms with medicinal and aromatic herbs.

8. Community sensitizing in this areas according to the development of this resource. In the trainings apart the woman’s took part even children’s which with theirs mothers and grandmothers collect medicinal herbs. In this way the information goes to the new generation which is the only one that can conserve this tradition.

9. Presentation and valuation of the legal frame in the base of which is fixed the activity of the medicinal and aromatic industry. Actually is operating in the base of the legislation of the year 1993, which is totally out of the reality of this industry procedures and at the and of this project we will prepare some legal recommendations  in the frame of the legal revision from the Albanian government .

10. The agency is seen now as a referring point for all of them that are interested to invest in this industry. After the television   chronics shown in the environments of the agency were presented to take information’s about this industry two students graduated for marketing in Brussels which presented great interest to invest in this industry and requested collaboration with the agency to realize their objectives.

3. Haw much reached to profit the identified profiteers in the project according to the initial previsions of the project.

In the project were identified as direct profiting groups the collecting and elaboration woman’s of medicinal and aromatic herbs. As we rare still at the beginning of the activity for sure we can say that the impact of this is seen in the informing process of this woman’s and the new direction information’s about the vintage season and process according to the standards to reach higher quality and quantity of herbs. From the other side a cost analyse of the Oregon baying in funiculars as the most efficacy way. From the other side the realization of the direct contact with the exporting subjects is a benefice in the women’s favour because in this way they have e secure market for their products. Socialization is another benefice of this woman’s provided in this project. This training was valuated as a possibility for contact between the partners and the experiences exchange.
The collectors and the exporters of the medicinal and the aromatic herbs are identified from this project as direct beneficiary because the increase of the information quality guaranty the quality of the product and at the same time the creation of the direct contacts guaranty the quantity of the product. The exporting companies support with seeds for the cultivation of these herbs in natural conditions consists in a both sides profit as for the collector and for the exporters.The biology teachers and the health employers were another target group identified in this project as a direct benefiters. In the trainings profited from the information’s two biology teachers respectively from the villages of Kote and Terbac which are going to transmit this information to their pupils. As we had provided for the par4tecipations in our project the representing of the health institutions didn’t participated in this trainings the role of which was to transmit this information’s to the community.

Even thought in the project wasn’t determined the training with the children’s we noticed their interest for this activity. In the most of the cases they helped their parents in the collecting process of the medicinal and aromatic herbs because the vintage period coincides with their scholar year conclusion and the beginning of the summertime.

4.  In what grade were reached the success project indicators? If the success was partial, explain the reasons.   

At the end of the project Auleda has realized in the mass 100% all the activities related to the identification of the collecting  and elaborating medicinal and aromatic herbs woman’s  determining exactly the target group with the which was going to work to realize all the trainings and the roundtable.

Trainings with the collecting medicinal and aromatic herbs woman’s were realized in the mass 100%. Here we emphasise that for the lack of founds the Commune of Sevaster was left aside but this area has also a considerable quantity of medicinal and aromatic herbs. 

The activities related to the community sensitizing are realized in the mass 100%. For many of the activities are overcome this activities from 2 chronics provided in the project are realized three and from two newspaper article are realized four. Are publicised 500leaflit determined in the project and 500 etiquettes
Even non provided from the project from the staff of Auleda was made possible the promotion of the project even in the telegraphically page of Albania was transmitted the information in the homologue network ANSA-s, ROUTER and AFP.
The marketing of the medicinal and aromatic herbs even un provided in the second phase of the project was realized in the mass 80% according to the design and publication of the medicinal and aromatic herbs. Is not realized the registration of the mark because of the absence of the legal frame.
The creation of the network is realized totally. The workshop realized, meeting and discussions between the operators of this industry has created the possibility for a stable communication for the future.
The social statute promises changes for the future. From the beginning of the application of this project different women’s come out from the extreme isolation they lived. They understudied that to increase their incomes fro the medicinal and aromatic herbs should be organized and contact directly with the exporters. In the base of the determined offers from them and basing in the legal frame of the contract they will have the power of decision.