In the highlands of Pukë, a quiet shift is taking place. Small farms, forest plots, and family lands are turning into engines of local opportunity. This is not accidental. It is the result of targeted support from CNVP Foundation in Albania through the Integrated Forest Management (IFM) project, designed to help local people transform environmentally responsible ideas into viable rural businesses. 

Through this support, farmers and rural families are developing initiatives that place environmental protection, community benefit, and local economic growth at the center of their work. These are not large enterprises. They are modest, practical, and deeply rooted in the land and traditions of the area. Yet their impact is structural. From fruit processing and agro-forestry to beekeeping, forest fruit cultivation, and renewable energy use, each initiative demonstrates how sustainable use of natural resources can directly translate into income and stability. 

One of the strongest examples is Alida, a young mother who chose to return and invest her future in Pukë. Instead of leaving, she is building a small fruit-processing unit that works with women and families in surrounding villages. Her initiative is more than a business. It is a signal that rural areas affected by depopulation can still offer opportunity when the right support and vision are in place. 

Other beneficiaries are expanding raspberry farms, rehabilitating chestnut and indigenous fruit trees on sloped land to prevent erosion, improving beekeeping practices that support natural pollination, cultivating forest fruits between orchards to protect soil, and installing photovoltaic systems to power forest fruit processing. Each activity combines environmental care with economic logic. The land is protected because it is productive. The forest is valued because it generates income. The community benefits because work stays local. 

These small local actors are now equipped to turn their ideas into measurable impact on the ground. They are not only protecting their environment. They are building new sources of income, resilience, and confidence for the future of their communities. 

This activity is funded by the Austrian Development Agency as part of International Partnerships Austria, initiated by ICEP - Association for Global Development and implemented by CNVP Albania Foundation.