Replacing Skopje with Berovo and Its Nature: The Story of Dushica, the Skopje Native

As in Western countries, the trend among young people to leave urban city life and move to smaller mountain areas, where they find peace, is growing in Macedonia as well.

On Kajak.mk, we’ve written many stories about local and innovative youth, and today, we’ll introduce you to another young person who says she enjoys making natural soaps and jams.

Dushica is another Skopje native who decided to swap her urban city life for the peaceful life in Berovo. After meeting her fiancé Aleksandar and falling in love with Berovo at first sight, she made the decision to move to this small town and embrace the peace and tranquility. Dushica says she enjoys walking through the forest, swimming, and often watching a good movie.

You might be wondering why we from the Kajak.mk team decided to share Dushica's story. The reason is the "Berovko" brand, which carries Dushica's signature, and which we favor due to the fact that it is made with a lot of love, care for the plants, and respect for the processing method.

Dushica says that in Berovo, she is known as "the Skopje native who makes jams and soaps," which is perfectly fine, considering that her time and dedication are entirely focused on these products. Aleksandar, Dushica's husband, comes from a family that has been engaged in livestock farming for generations, but due to the situation with livestock farming in Macedonia, they decided to take a break for a certain period.

Due to her desire to live in the mountains, maintain the property and pastures with the goal of one day returning to livestock farming, Dushica decided to process the fruit from Aleksandar's orchards (mostly plums) into jam.

Today, alongside plums, Dushica also produces jam from wild blackberries and raspberries, which grow abundantly throughout the region. There are also strawberries, peach and apricot jams, and mixes of various fruits.

Berovo is a town with the highest concentration of oxygen, boasting beautiful nature that, in some places, has remained untouched by human hands—both a little wild and a little tame, achieving the perfect balance.

Berovo is known for its harsh winters, with temperatures reaching -30 degrees, and mild summers, making it an ideal town for the summer period. Dushica has fallen in love with all of this, but she says that Berovo and the Maleshevo region are not sufficiently promoted in Macedonia, and there isn't much information about them online.

Dushica mentions that the region offers a wide range of cycling and hiking trails, which she and her husband Aleksandar have been working on for the past two years.

There are many huts with history, endless pastures, wells with clean water, endemic species of animals and plants, and most importantly—beautiful pine forests.

The farm they have today is no longer a traditional farm like it was five years ago. Now, it features pastures, meadows with about thirty medicinal herbs and teas, and orchards surrounded by dense beech forests. It is located 4 kilometers from the first asphalt road near Berovo Lake and around 13 kilometers from the town of Berovo. Due to poor forest roads, the farm can only be reached by foot, an off-road vehicle with an experienced driver, or via the cycling and hiking trail, which is currently under construction.

Dushica and Aleksandar follow the principle that what is born from their orchards is enough, with more fruit expected the following year. This means that the fruits growing on their farm, some of which are over 40 years old, are never sprayed, watered, or treated with artificial fertilizers. Even when they wanted to irrigate them with water, they couldn’t, as water in this region is limited, and the spring provides enough for drinking and maintaining the hut. This makes maintenance easier but results in less income.

From the fruit, they mostly make jams and juices. Their assortment includes jams made from plums, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, peaches, apricots, and mixed fruits, as well as quince preserves with and without hazelnuts, plum preserves, and blackberry preserves. They also offer cherry juice and a thick juice made from apples, quinces, and peaches.

They sell their products through Facebook and through friends and family.

"You know what they say – a good word travels far, and we’ve never had a problem with sales. On the contrary – if we had as much as we have now, it would still be too little," says Dushica.

The fruits don't have an organic certification, but considering that the only neighbor is the beech forest, there are no polluters in the area, and the first road is about 4 km from the farm, Dushica feels entitled to say that their ECO production is even a few steps better than any certified organic production, since they don’t use even the pesticides allowed in organic farming. Dushica is happy to be part of the Slow Food Macedonia family today.

Currently, direct visits to the mountain are not allowed, as they are not there permanently. However, Dushica says that if a group of guests gives prior notice, a hiking tour to Tornichevec can be organized, and from there, the group can be welcomed in a shepherd-style hut with a snack or lunch.

If you'd like to take a walk as a group or organize an event, you can consider Dushica, a local who does small things of great importance for the development of tourism. The team at Kajak.mk selflessly shares the contact details of this young and innovative person, with whom you can get in touch with one click HERE.