Author: Denis Tahiri
Dhermiu is an example of how a program can radically change a country. Of the 100 villages selected to return not only to tourist destinations, but also to preserve the heritage, Dhërmiu is the only village that has benefited to such an extent from the program launched with so much fanfare. As in Dhërmiu and in some other rural areas, it has been preferentially invested, while in other villages the investment was minimal despite the high expectations of the residents.
The "100 Villages" program was presented as an innovative initiative for tourism in Albania, by the Rama government and the Minister of Tourism, Blendi Klosi. A program in which villages from Vermoshi to Mursi, a village near Konispoli, took part, but a large part of these villages have not seen even the most minimal investment and there is no question of turning them into tourism spots.
Official information about this project, which for the sake of transparency should be all online, is almost non-existent. On the pages of the Ministry of Tourism or even Agriculture, two of the main ministries included in this program, the most you will find is the phrase "100 villages", used in the titles of statements or photos of the heads of these ministries.
But a "tour" of requests with questions addressed to the press offices of the Ministry of Tourism, Infrastructure and Agriculture shows that the doors are closed on this issue. All ministries called suggested that we seek the information in another ministry as they were simply partners. None of the relevant institutions provided information on the estimated budget for this project, nor where it was intervened, to what extent, or anything else. The Albanian Development Fund, which is referred to as the implementer of this project, also has the phone number registered as a contact point on the official website out of service due to a Technical Fault.
The Integrated Program for Rural Development (PIZHR), known to the public as the "100 Villages" Program, aimed to coordinate development interventions in the space of 100 villages, according to an intersectoral and multi-stakeholder approach, breaking away from partial interventions, but to have a strict sectoral approach. So in simple words, this program aimed to turn 100 villages in Albania, which have great potential for the development of agro-tourism and not only, into attractive tourist spots for local and foreign tourists. Something that at best partially happened, and in other cases the achievement of the objective is very close to zero.
Investments that have never been seen before
Guri i Bardhë is one of the villages included in the program of 100 villages and is an area which, in addition to the beauties of nature, also has a rich history. It is known as the birthplace of Peter Budi, but also a stronghold of the Kastriots. "This is a small town in Mat, built on a mountain top, that fears no enemy power, except hunger.”, with these words Barleti would describe the White Stone hundreds of years ago. For decades, this village has not seen investment in infrastructure, just as it has not seen from the "100 villages" program.
"We must support with infrastructure, because the road must go, we must support with interventions for the cultural heritage around, we must support with additional funds to make the investment, but only in cooperation with those who want to work, who want to win, who want to truly become their own masters and win their lives, not by sitting in village cafes and waiting for Cristiano Ronaldo to solve the problem of life with a long shot in the El Classico that is after a few days", these "criteria" mentioned in a speech of Prime Minister Edi Rama in the promotion of the "100 villages" program, they are all completed by Guri i Bardhë. In this village, the infrastructure is completely missing. The road that becomes impassable during the winter, the electrical network which cuts off the electricity if the wind blows, or the non-existent drinking water sewers. The improvement of this infrastructure has been one of the main objectives of the "100 villages" program. "Improvement of public infrastructure, support for road infrastructure, revitalization of public/urban spaces, community infrastructure, public Services, environmental infrastructure, tourism, monuments of cultural heritage, multifunctional community centers, environmental landscape, etc. - was promised at that time. In the village, none of these were fixed, although Guri i Bardhë is on the list of "100 villages".
"It is a shame that there is no more, but the Duke of Italy has made more of a journey to Guri e Bardhë than our country. In 30 years of democracy, we have been forgotten only for 10 kilometers of road. Do you know Shengjergji? We are closer to Tirana than Shëngjergji by kilometers. We are 39 km away from Skënderbej square, but it takes 3 hours to get to the center of the village. says one of the residents of Guri Bardhë.
A similar situation occurs in the south of Albania, in the village of Zhulat in the area of Kardhiqi, which is included in the program "100 villages". Stthe road that takes you to the village except for the 4×4 car, it is difficult to describe another car. Murat Këraj, accompanying us up to the village, tells us how the axis built a few years ago disappeared due to the winter rains.
"The road project must be finished, it must be finished and they say they will do it with asphalt". he says, adding that from the "100 villages" program, apart from the two signs, the village has not received any other investment.
"Two boards, nothing else. We also planted the trees in the village ourselves. We are trying to do everything ourselves, starting with the activities. We are thinking of doing a pagan holiday party in the spring, horseback riding. So there are 4-5 activities that can be done in a year", he says.
Murati shows that the interest to invest in agritourism is something that is not lacking in the village, but the pronounced lack of infrastructure continues to remain a main problem. Meanwhile, in Zhulat, according to the residents, there is also a lack of drinking water, where only now, according to them, a project has passed in the Municipality of Gjirokastra for the establishment of the village's drinking water supply network.
Does the inn rise on the ground that you have for your country?
In Gur di Bardhë, the desire for the development of agrotourism is shared by the majority of the residents. A guesthouse is in the first stages of its construction, while many other residents plan to start investing if the problems that hinder them are resolved. Resul Baleta is one of the residents of Guri Bardhë, who sees his future in tourism. Returning after 15 years of emigration, Baleta has encountered quite a few problems to make his wish a reality.
"Tourism here has no support whatsoever, how can tourism be done here when you don't have a document for the house?! I can't make investments, because it's good from the economic point of view, which is difficult, but we don't even have the land documents. Guri i Bardhë is probably the only village in Albania that does not have any conflict over the lands, as they have divided them according to what their grandparents had. And in the final in Gur Te Bardhë, there is no ownership certificate for the land". he says, adding that his father has been paying taxes for the land for years even though he did not have a title certificate for the properties inherited from generation to generation.
Resuli also shows the procedures from the state institutions responsible for issuing ownership certificates.
"I went to Burrel three times a year, at my own expense, and all three times they lied to me, not today, not tomorrow, and I couldn't finish the job. After some time they told me you will go to Peshkopi, I went to Peshkopi three times, and after three times they told me the law has changed now", the resident confesses, adding that with the new law, only the bread land and the orchard are documented, even though the orchard in Guri e Bardhë does not exist.
It is precisely the lack of ownership documents that has become a major obstacle to developing tourism in Gur di Bardhë.
"Even though I have found people to support me in the investment, when they tell me give me the land certificate, I have nothing to give you. It's been 20 years since I built my house here. I built it on my land. With hardships from emigration little by little and today I can't build the roof because I don't have ownership documents, because if I do INUKU comes and imposes a fine of 5 million lek". Resul Baleta says indignantly.
Problems prevalent in most of the "100 Villages"
But the aforementioned problems seem not to be concentrated in just two of the 100 villages we visited. Agim Rrapaj, head of the Albanian Agribusiness Council, says that the issue of ownership is a problem that burdens the entire food economy.
"In agritourism, this is coming to the fore due to the lack of studies by the local and central governments in order for them to pass all the procedures for property registration. It is certain that without a title certificate, construction, investment, you cannot get a bank loan and you are not allowed to do any legal action on this property. This is a problem that appears in all areas, so it affects all villages". he says, adding that more pressure should be exerted on the institutions that have the task of dividing ownership, as they are causing a great damage to the rural economy with the slowness they have in this process.
"We have great potential to feed inns and entities that invest in agrotourism. It is a very important issue for the economic development of rural areas. We have already tried this in those areas and entities that have experience and have created a tradition. It is an opportunity for farmers to sell their products and bring tourists closer to try foods that are typical of the area," he says, showing that a guesthouse is not only a source of income for the family that owns it, but for the entire area. "A guesthouse cannot be maintained only with the members of a family and will definitely require manpower and the help of the surrounding residents, but it will also consume products of the residents and the surrounding area". he concludes.
"There are villages that have dozens of guesthouses, but of course 100 villages are the typical ones in this situation, as it is not only a problem of ownership, but there are problems of infrastructure, lack of drinking water, electricity, etc." he adds. Rrapaj underlines that the hostels open all over the country, whether in villages located in protected areas, on the coast or even in deep mountain areas, are facing the problem of their formalization.
