Photo Credit: USAID/Albania

Introducing Village Fund-Raising to the Albanian Countryside

Melons, Melons, Melons
Introducing Village Fund-Raising to the Albanian Countryside

October 9, 2004 | Agonas Village, Albania

Children waited behind tables laden with handcrafted items they and their mothers had created – sweaters, wall hangings, little crocheted baskets and bootees. Assisted by the USAID-funded Communities Engaged in Social and Economic Development in Albania (CESEDA) Field Coordinators, they had made yellow flags and strung them, along with brightly-colored balloons high above the square allocated for the Vedeni Festival. This was a first for Agonas Village in Golem Commune and also for most of Albania.

Unlike many countries where festivals are common, Albania has no tradition of village-sponsored events. Festival organizers selected the yellow, oval-shaped vedena, melon, as a theme because Agonas is known to produce the finest of such fruits. Farmers also brought their products – onions, potatoes, white beans, honey, figs, pomegranates, tomato sauce, eggs, and of course, vedena.

Excitement grew as guests arrived, some of them with important roles – including the Commune Head, a Member of Parliament, the head of the electric company, the deputy head of the water department, representatives of USAID, and also most of the village residents and CESEDA staff. The children charmed the guests with songs, recitations, and traditional music, aided by a village woman dancing in a traditional costume. Then everyone gathered around while boys competed in a “vedena-eating contest” stuffing the vedeni into their mouths as fast as they could; their eyes bulging along with their stomachs. Afterward, the village boys competed in a football match. Attendees had a great time watching the performances, eating plenty of vedena, selecting products to buy and chatting with each other and the residents. Festival organizers learned valuable skills in how to organize such events.

The Festival’s initiation was assisted by the USAID-funded Participant Training Program implemented by World Learning, which trained a group of villagers in Bulgaria about village festivals and income generation with local governments and citizens. Agonas Village hopes to establish the site of the event as a Village Center and eventually to have a women’s center there.

Story by Barbara Coe, World Learning