On May 30, the CNVP North Macedonia team, along with the PONT team, visited part of the PONT sub-grantees who are implementing projects in Mavrovo National Park (North Macedonia).

The working tour started with a visit to the locations where the eco stalls are set up, which were made as part of the project ECO Stalls - an additional opportunity to promote local values ​​and eco products, a project implemented by the grantee Municipality of Mavrovo Rostuše. This initiative involves creating wooden eco stalls where local collectors of NTFPs and MAPs can sell their products to tourists. The teams visited the locations where these eco stalls were installed and discussed with the grantee the progress achieved so far and the upcoming activities planned for the project.

Following this, the project teams of CNVP Macedonia and PONT, accompanied by Nehat Ramadani CNVP North Macedonia Country Director, and  Mirjam De Koning, Executive Director of PONT, headed to the village of Trebište in Mavrovo National Park. Here, they explored the mountain tea plantations that are part of the project "Fragrant Garden Skardika " a project implemented by the local business “Gostilica Samet”. The meeting covered the challenges faced by the project, such as bed weather conditions due to climate change, and highlighted the successful overcoming of these obstacles and the successful cultivation of the tea. The grantee outlined the next steps for the project, providing insight into plans and developments.

The day concluded with a visit to the Speleological Club Korabi in the village of Vrutok. The teams had the opportunity to review the new equipment purchased for cave exploration. The grantee shared the progress made so far and outlined the future activities planned by the club, in line with the project's goals. This visit was filled with excitement and inspiration as all participants witnessed the tangible results of their collaborative efforts toward sustainable development and nature conservation.

The next day both teams continued their visit to some of the grantees working in the Shar Mountain National Park.

On the morning of May 31, our grantee, Mountaineering Club Tetovo, organized a hiking along one of the oldest mountain trails in Shar Mountain, from the village of Brodec to Kobilica. During the hike, the club members shared the results of their project implementation so far and discussed future activities. Their project aims to maintain hiking trails and develop nature-based tourism in the Shar region.

In the afternoon, the teams arrived in the Kobilica area, where they visited another grantee, the local business Dani Farm. This project, titled "Replacement of Energy Resources and Development of Tourist Infrastructure in the Kobilica Area," involved the installation of solar panels. The teams had the opportunity to see the new equipment and taste traditional food.

The day was concluded with a visit to Hostel Kitka in the village of Vratnica. Here, the teams saw the newly adapted HASAP room, designed for local collectors of non-timber forest products to process their harvested forest fruits in compliance with HASAP standards.

The visits of the sub-grantees to the Mavrovo and Shar Mountain National Parks is part of the project "Sustainable use of natural resources in Korab Koritnik, Shara and the Albanian Alps" which is implemented by CNVP and is financially supported by PONT.