Jasmina is the Woman Who Raises Sheep and Breaks Stereotypes in Macedonia

The Kajak.mk team has dedicated the month of February to women heroes whose stories are of great importance for the development of tourism in Macedonia. Unfortunately, today we are faced with many negative reports from both domestic and global media, but our team believes in the people who carry humanity within them. These individuals help us in building a better community and convince us that by doing small good things, we will create a better tomorrow.

We continue with the stories into the month of March. For this reason, today we are sharing the story of our new local heroine, Jasmina Kotevska. The woman who has a positive outlook on life and is a great fighter who wants to make her dreams come true.

Jasmina Kotevska is a master’s graduate in art history by profession. Today, she is dedicated to raising sheep. She lives in the village of Suvodol, located 2 kilometers from the central urban area of Demir Hisar.

For those who haven't heard of the village, Suvodol is situated at an altitude of 700 meters, surrounded on all sides by mountain ranges, and boasts the highest number of sunny days in the year.

Jasmina shares that raising sheep has been a decades-old practice in her family. Her family originates from and lives in a rural environment, and the climate naturally encourages people to engage in agriculture and livestock farming in order to secure a livelihood.

"Although I grew up on a farm where I had the opportunity to interact with various kinds of animals, I never imagined that farming would become part of my daily life, and at the same time, my second profession," says Jasmina.

She has been actively raising sheep for 8 years and admits that working with them has changed her life. Now, she has a much different perspective on existence, with greater empathy and love for all living beings with whom we share planet Earth.

When asked if she has found herself in the work, Jasmina says that by nature, she is a hyperactive person and can confidently say that raising sheep, which is a dynamic job requiring dedication, endurance, and responsibility, helps regulate her well-being as a person. Honestly, when a person has work, they don't have time to focus on illnesses and trivial problems that lead to further psychosomatic conditions, she adds.

For her, spending time with animals is a form of therapy, and she wholeheartedly recommends that everyone dedicate more time to interacting with animals or spend their free time in nature. Her view from home is towards the mountain ranges, and she honestly doesn’t feel the need to spend a long time in nature, because as she says, she lives nature and is an integral part of it.

At the moment, the farm has around 90 sheep. Together with her parents, they focus on selling lambs, and in smaller quantities, they also produce traditional sheep cheese, which, depending on the period in which it is made, is characterized by a unique taste and texture.

After completing her higher education, as a young person who struggled to find a suitable job, Jasmina decided to focus on two things. One is working on the farm, and the other profession, driven by her love, is art. In 2018, together with a group of friends, she founded the "Center for Creative Industries-NEBO from Suvodol," with which they have realized a large number of projects in the fields of culture and art. In 2019, they were awarded the "Council of Europe" prize for one of the ten best story projects related to European cultural heritage.

Jasmina says that Macedonia is a country where taboo topics related to certain professions still prevail, and there is still a prevailing opinion that some professions are less valuable. If people took a closer look at animal husbandry, they would see that it is still a profession that is underestimated, whereas in developed countries, livestock farming and agriculture are highly valued. However, on the other hand, she is glad to be part of the story that is slowly breaking these stereotypes.

She describes herself as a visionary woman. She envisions the development of tourism in the region and would like to turn her everyday life into a tourist offer, where visitors could get acquainted with the animals on the farm. Depending on the visitors' wishes, they could experience a few hours of sheep grazing on the surrounding hills or spend time on the farm feeding the young lambs. Additionally, she includes offerings like tasting homemade cheese and natural lamb meat, should there be interest from the visitors. Apart from the farm, visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy art, as an art exhibition featuring works from the collection of the Center for Creative Industries-NEBO will also be available.

Jasmina thinks in the same way as the Kajak.mk team. The interesting stories from her everyday life with animals are the kinds of stories that give soul to tourism and should be heard.

In conclusion, Jasmina says that in life, plans don't unfold the way we want them to. They happen independently of our will, and certainly not in the way we had imagined. However, life flows, and in that flow, we realize that what we once desired, we are living in the moment. The desired outcome has come to pass, just not in the way we thought it should.