Kolašin is a town in northern Montenegro, placed just between the country's biggest canyons - Morača and Tara. There is a beautiful 12th-century monastery in the vicinity, well-equipped ski resorts, Sheraton and Bianca hotels, but it is becoming recognizable by one more thing - its leafy cheese made in thin layers.
The complicated process of production, without the possibility of error, makes the quantities of this specialty very limited - and it takes a lot of time to make depending on the temperature, air, and acidity. With a slight failure in the sourness, overheating, or cold temperature of the milk - the cheese will not be as it should be. It will not be flexible; it will not be elastic, and not be leafy.
Farmers from the village of Lipovo have been educated through the Ministry of Agriculture program for a long time. The Ministry organized a series of educational workshops and trips to Slovenia and other countries to teach Montenegrin women from successful examples. Those programs are helping local women in selling their products all over Montenegro.
Lipovo producers must first establish an association that will determine standards for Lisnati cheese, which includes, among other things, the percentage of dry matter, the level of fat and other characteristics of leafy cheese, followed by the legal administrative procedure for its branding.
But in the whole story of "leafy" cheese and its protection, one essential detail is forgotten - the position of those that have made it for decades, from which the state, tourism in Montenegro and the local community benefits.
By cooperatively organizing themselves, they should not forget the need to think about their future. The women of Lipovo should take legal and other consultation to secure their pension after their working-age ends.
