Faleminderit Kosovo

Today we wrapped up a spectacular week in Kosovo! We started our Saturday with the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport. We had a great discussion regarding the history of Kosovo and current successes and challenges. After our meeting with the Deputy Minister we enjoyed conversation over a variety of our favorite coffees. Next we made our way to the National Catherdral, National Gallery, and the National Museum in Prishtina. Even though Kosovo as we know it today is a country that is just 10 years old it is very rich with history. We were able to see over 8,000 years of history and artifacts at the National Museum.

From the National Museum we traveled just outside of Prishtina to the Ulpiana Archeological site. We were able to check out roads and foundations of structures that the Romans built in the 3rd to 4th century AD. It is amazing that with all we saw they have only uncovered an estimated 2-3% of the city. Thank you to the Ministry for providing lunch after a great time together.

We took advantage of some time this afternoon to shop for souvenirs and pack. We concluded our evening the way we have much of our time in Kosovo...eating like royalty. We prep for a long day of travel tomorrow as we return to Iowa. While our time in Kosovo is coming to a close we know this partnership is just beginning. Faleminderit (Thank You) Kosovo!

Celebration Dinner Kosovo Style

It was a great Friday in Kosovo! All student/educator teams spent the morning with their host schools and host communities. This allowed some last minute time to share ideas and engage with one another. Morgan and Brad had the opportunity to present a workshop to students at the Prishtina Agriculture High School.

Following lunch student/educator teams started returning to the hotel to prepare for a celebration dinner with all involved at the Prishtina Agriculture High School. Every group had phenomenal expereinces and stated how hard it was to leave their host school and communities. This evening the entire group gathered for dinner. All involved shared thanks and reflected on the week. The students at Prishtina Agriculture High School prepared a spectacular meal in their state of the art kitchen. This also allowed great time for conversations with new and old friends.

After dinner the Kosovar students and educators invited us to the gym to play volleyball. Good times were had by all. While there was some language barriers there is no doubt that laughter is a universal language. Many stated tonight that it is hard to believe it is already Friday. Tomorrow will be our final full day in Kosovo. We will spend our Saturday with the Ministry of Culture learning more about Kosovo.

Immersed in Kosovo

Our Iowa and Kosovo students and educators are having a blast together and learning so much! The Iowa team is being immersed into the culture, education, and agriculture of this great country. Today included time in different levels of schools, visits to farms and agribusinesses, cultural excursions, coffee, and spending time with each other. Tomorrow we will all return to Prishtina to share and celebrate our time of collaboration in Kosovo. I will let the photos below tell the story of today!

Eye Opening Experiences

Today was the first full day our student/educator teams have been out with their host schools for the entire day. The comments that are being shared truly reflect great times being had by participants with lots of learning. Here are a few of the comments that were shared from today:

• “We have had a great and eye opening experience today! We may not want to leave!”
• “We have eaten at 6 restaurants and farms today and cannot eat anymore!”
• “We have visited the agriculture school, primary school, gymnasium (general school), along with a famous theater.”
• “We have visited many farms producing dairy, beef, apples, walnuts, and honey.”
• “We are enjoying coffee again!!!!!”
• “Great classroom visits today!”
• “Enjoyed a trip to a 7th century castle to learn some history as well!”

Tomorrow will be the last full day at host schools before all return to Prishtina for activities Friday. Below are a few pictures that were shared:

Venturing Out

We kicked off our day today with USAID Kosovo! Traditionally a lot of producers in Kosovo have produced corn and wheat. Unfortunately, due to small tracks of land (average farm size of 5 acres) these are not very profitable crops. We ventured out to the Kosovo countryside with USAID and Tetra Tech to learn about some projects that were helping farmers become profitable and sustainable. We first visited an apple orchard and greenhouse production facility before traveling to a greenhouse operation that is producing all types of vegetables and over one million seedlings a year to sell to other producers. It was truly remarkable to see what the farmers and producers were doing to make 20-50 times more with these production practices than traditional farmers producing the traditional corn and wheat crops.

The projects that we took a look at focused on:

• Improving agricultural production and food safety
• Developing markets
• Finding strategy partners (for sustainability)

At the conclusion of our time with USAID we returned to Prishtina for a lunch before our educator and student teams started venturing out to their partner schools and communities throughout Kosovo. This is exciting times as students and educators from Kosovo and Iowa are coming together as they learn more about agricultural education and agriculture in general from each other. Educators and students have arrived in their partner school communities and are ready for a couple full days together before all return to Prishtina for a dinner Friday night.

From Mystery to Ministry to the Dairy Industry

Today was truly a spectacular day! We arrived late Sunday night to Kosovo. It was dark and many went to bed once we got to the hotel so Kosovo was still a mystery to our travelers until the sun rose on our Monday and we were able to experience Kosovo for the first time. Our Monday morning consisted of meetings with the Ministries of Agriculture and Education. We first met with Minister Rikalo at the Ministry of Agriculture. He shared success and challenges of agriculture in Kosovo and the importance of agriculture to the country. He, also, had many great questions for the Iowa students and educators about agricultural education in the United States. Next we made our way to the Ministry of Education to visit with Minister Bytyqi. This provided an excellent opportunity to learn about the education system in Kosovo. We discussed successes and challenges facing education in Kosovo.

After our meetings we made our way to lunch in a beautiful setting. We enjoyed lunch outside and took time to slow down and enjoy conversation. Following lunch we traveled to EuroLona a dairy and dairy processing facility. We were able to see the entire process from the cattle to a processing facility that bottles milk and produces yogurts and cheeses.

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at a nearby restaurant, followed up by some gelato near our hotel. We are capping off a great day with a little time at the pool spa in the hotel. We look forward to tomorrow with a day with USAID in the countryside before participants meet their host site partners.

Kosovo and Iowa: Great Partners in Agricultural Education

Today a group of agricultural educators and agriculture high school students/FFA members take off for Kosovo to kickoff the Kosovo/Iowa Ag Ed/FFA project. This is a project that was first envisioned by at the time Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Bill Northey (now Undersecretary at the USDA), and Minister of Agriculture for Kosovo, Memli Krasniqi (now member of Kosovo Parliament) as part of an Iowa Sister States organized experience that the Global Agriculture Learning Center (GALC) was a part of. That vision was further developed this past May when the Iowa Farm Bureau, Iowa FFA Foundation, Iowa FFA Association, and GALC traveled to Kosovo with Iowa Sister States.

Today all the visions and planning become a reality! We are off to improve agricultural education in both Kosovo and Iowa through this spectacular partnership. Over the next week Iowa participants will meet with the Ministries of Agriculture and Education in Kosovo, tour agriculture businesses and producers, and spend time with their partner schools in Kosovo. After we return the partnership will continue with online interaction monthly before agricultural educators and students from Kosovo come to Iowa in April.

We look forward to an awesome experience of learning and growing together! Below are the paired Kosovo and Iowa schools.

Gjakova and Oelwien
Gjilian and Independence
Peja and Union (La Porte/Dysart)
Prishtina and Pleasantville
Vurshtrri and Waukee

Preparing to Feed Growing Urban Populations

Recently for the first time in the history of our world there are more people living in urban areas than rural areas. This number is only going to continue to grow. This brings challenges of feeding our world in a sustainable fashion. Watch the linked video below and utilize the discussion points provided to reflect and guide conversations around the globe!

How will we prepare our towns and cities for a sustainable future?

Discussion Points

• What did you find most surprising from this video and why?
• At one point in the video many possible solutions are shared from more jobs for women to better income for farmers and more. Review these potential solutions. Which do you feel is the most important and why?
• Of the solution you chose in the previous discussion point, how do we achieve this solution?
• How are cities around the world working together to address this issue? 

Tunnel Farming in South Korea

With urban populations increasing available farm ground and farm workers are decreasing. With this we must address doing more with less, while also looking for innovative ways to increase agriculture production. This is what a group in South Korea is working to do as they start a farm in an abandoned tunnel. You are encouraged to read the linked article below and utilize the discussion questions provided to guide conversations in classrooms, coffee shops, and communities around the globe!

Farmers Plant Crops in South Korean Tunnel 

Discussion Points

• Explain what this project is doing. What makes it unique? How are they cutting costs?
• Do you see vertical farming catching on around the globe? Will it be more popular in some areas than others? Justify your response.
• This is a great example where a group took an underutilized area and turned it into a productive operation. Look around your local community and state. Are their opportunities to increase agriculture production in nontraditional ways? Get creative and think big!