“Ostriches in Kosovo”
By Jackson Allers
(adapted from ‘Economia’ TV
segment by UNMIK’s Arta Pllana)
August 5, 2004
SLUG:
As Kosovo struggles to provide new business initiatives for its economic
development, one Kosovo family has turned their sites towards the development
of an African delicacy: Ostrich meat and Ostrich eggs.
As Kosovo’s agricultural and industrial industries struggle to create new business initiatives for its economic development, one Kosovo family has turned their sites towards the development of an African delicacy: Ostrich meat and Ostrich eggs.
Hello
and welcome, you are listening to UNMIK On-Air
People
on Streets:
Person
1:
“Do
you know what ostriches are?” “No, I don’t.”
Person
2:
“Do
you know what ostriches are?”
“Ostriches?
-Ah yes! A type of bird from hot places! Yes in Africa!”
It’s
no surprise that Ostriches are not a well-known bird in Kosovo. Why would they
be? This African species – the largest
living bird in the world - has never roamed the Kosovo soil…until now.
Ostriches making sounds
Kosovo’s
first Ostrich farm just outside of Pristina is the brainchild of Shpresa
Hasani.
A
mother of three, Hasani is an economist by profession who spent more than 6
months preparing for her new life as an Ostrich farmer in Kosovo.
Shpresa
Hasani : “While me and my husband were
abroad by the coincidence we were invited to this world seminar for ostriches.
We went to the seminar listened carefully, liked what we heard and when we got
back to Kosovo, we realized that ostriches would be a new alternative for
agribusiness.”
Although
there are risks in starting any uncharted businesses, especially in the fragile
economy of Kosovo, Hasani is not the first to commercially farm Ostriches.
The
first historical Ostrich farms began in South Africa in the mid-19th
century. But in the 19th century and in the early part of the 20th
century, Ostriches were most prized for their feathers – used in fashion and
costuming as well as feather dusters.
Nowadays,
Ostrich meat, Ostrich leather and Ostrich eggs are what consumers demand from
this Ratite – or flightless bird.
Again
- Shpresa Hasani:
“Ostrich meat has a high quality because it
has very little fat, high in protein, with very little cholesterol and is
packed with a lot of vitamins. Also, Ostrich skin is of a better quality then
that of a 60 year old crocodile and the feathers are used for the car
industry (such as for car seats), as
for Ostrich eggs - Again they are of high quality – with less cholesterol, and
on Ostrich egg is the equivalent of two dozen chicken eggs.”
Shpresa goes after ostriches, and very gently
talks to them like:
Makush, makuuush….
Since
importing the birds from Slovenia some 2 months ago, Shpresa Hasani has
discovered that Ostriches are a very delicate species of birds despite the fact
that male ostriches can weigh between 150 and 180 kilograms, and reach heights
of 3 meters
Halil
Ajdini walking the through the grass to get eggs…
Halil
Ajdini is one of the Ostrich farm attendants. Ajdini says he had never heard of
Ostriches before he came to work for the Hasani’s.
Ajdini: “At first when I came here, I had not heard about Ostriches, but I started to work, and I was not afraid of them; Now, I give them food between 6 and 7 in the evening and then we collect eggs from meadow. After collecting the eggs we clean and disinfect them …I have to say, I find the eggs to be exquisite.”
|
Ostriches eating their food |
Ostriches
only eat once a day and because they are very protective of their eggs, Hasani
and the other attendants collect the Ostrich eggs during feeding time.
Ostriches
produce up to 80 eggs a year. The “live eggs” or those containing living babies
are put in incubators around 45 days before they hatch.
RESTAURANT SOUNDS…
Bajraktari
plans to use one of Kosovo’s first domestically grown Ostrich eggs as a table decoration
in his restaurant.
Bajraktari: “I would first like to great the initiative of Mrs.Shpresa for a having an Ostrich farm, it is going to be a big novelty for our restaurant, where we already have some other characteristic that define our restaurant and would be a pleasure for us to have the ostrich meat.”
As
for Kosovo’s newfound agribusiness, the exotic African birds seem to have
adapted well to their Balkan surroundings and Hasani expects the first batch of
baby Ostriches to arrive in the beginning of August.
But
Hasani says – a sustainable market for Ostrich meat in Kosovo will take
additional planning with other Kosovans.
Hasani: “In the future I think to co-operate with Meat producers for selling the ostrich meat, to develop (elaborate) the skin, also I want to co-operate with farmers the ones who have a suitable lands for keeping and growing ostriches.”
That’s
all for this edition of UNMIK On-Air. Thanks for listening and stay tuned.