Explore Serbia's red village of Donja Lokošnica and the Unesco-listed Pirot carpet craft

euronews (in English)

In this episode of Balkan Trip, we journey to two remarkable locations: the vibrant red village of Donja Lokošnica and the town of Pirot, renowned for its UNESCO-listed carpet weaving tradition.

Transcript

00:00Welcome to Serbia, you are watching the show Balkan Trip.

00:07In this episode, we are taking you to Donja Lokošnica, which is definitely the reddest village in Europe in September.

00:14And we will introduce you to Pirot chili, one of the valuable cultural heritages of Serbia.

00:20Village Donja Lokošnica, Serbia

00:24Village Donja Lokošnica, in the south of Serbia, in the early autumn, is the largest dryer in the open.

00:31In this way, in the sun and fresh air, the brand of this area is dried, from which the whole village lives.

00:38Every September, village Donja Lokošnica, near Leskovac, looks like this.

00:43They say that this is the reddest village in Europe, and all thanks to peppers.

00:51This is the sweetest pepper that exists.

00:55This is the pepper that our village produces the most.

00:59No other village deals with this pepper.

01:03This indigenous variety of peppers is sown in March, picked in September and dried until the middle of autumn.

01:09When peppers are picked, they are sown in pots and put on fences and facades of houses.

01:14In the season, Ljubinka sows one thousand and a half pots of peppers, two hundred pieces in each pot.

01:20For sowing peppers, we need a needle, a tap and a sower.

01:26Nothing else, just that. No technique.

01:30Children can sow, old and young, everyone can.

01:34Otherwise, there are no young people who do not work now.

01:38It is hard.

01:43Sowing peppers is usually a woman's job.

01:47On the days of the pepper manifestation, which is organized in this village, there is a competition in the fast sowing of peppers.

01:54The winner is the one who sows the lowest wreath of 50 pieces.

01:59Last year I was second place.

02:02How did you do it?

02:04I didn't practice, but I was sure in myself.

02:07This is traditional way of production, which requires a lot of work and effort.

02:12The number of producers is decreasing and this year, because of big drought, the yield is weaker.

02:17However, many people in this village do not have a choice, because only they know how to work.

02:22When we don't plant peppers, we think that we will not survive, because we have nothing to take money from.

02:29It is a big job around peppers.

02:32It is the hardest job there is.

02:35When the time comes, we cut it and make wreaths.

02:39We sell them.

02:42When peppers are dried, they are usually ground, chopped and sold as a spice.

02:47In the sun, 90 percent of peppers are dried.

02:51We put them on the roofs.

02:54During winter, we remove seeds and clean them.

02:58In whole Serbia, on every market, our stuff is everywhere, in every city.

03:02This pepper is hard, it has special aroma and it is used as an addition to many dishes.

03:08This is dry pepper, filled with sour cabbage.

03:12All dishes are prepared in this way.

03:16This is cooked food, roasted food.

03:19Actually, it is a spice pepper.

03:22It is used for everything.

03:25It is the beginning and the end of everything.

03:33We saw that Levkovo area is known for peppers.

03:36Now, we came to Pirod, where we will reveal the secret of Pirod chili and try famous Pirod cheese.

03:43In this workshop in south east of Serbia, in traditional way, Pirod chili is produced.

03:49This product is protected by geographic origin and represents one of the most valuable cultural heritage of Serbia.

03:56Real Pirod chili has to be made on vertical cutting, because of quality of fabric, so it can be used.

04:04It has to be made from natural material, from wool.

04:08It has to have big density of small balls in one square meter.

04:14It has to be made from one piece, without sewing.

04:18It has to have two identical faces.

04:23Fabric of chili has always been exclusively female work.

04:27Once in Pirod there were more than five thousand fabrics.

04:31Today, in this workshop there are only four of them.

04:34Fabric of chili is made on vertical cutting, with the help of hammer.

04:38It takes a lot of time to make it.

04:41The work is hard and it requires a lot of calculations and mathematical calculations.

04:45I have to take several threads. Then, I pull this.

04:50It has to hit hard? Yes.

04:53Is it important that this thread is to my left?

04:56Isn't it easy for you? How much time do I need to learn?

05:00Five years.

05:02Five years? It is not a little.

05:05In museum of Ponišavlje, in Pirod, there is the largest collection of Pirod chili in Serbia.

05:11Ethnologists say that it has been used for centuries in different purposes.

05:15As carpet, cover, drapery, pillowcase or as decoration.

05:20On original Pirod chili you can find some of 122 colors and 90 ornaments.

05:27For sure, the most famous one is this one.

05:30It is a color called Kornjača or Željka.

05:34Then, this is an interesting local color.

05:39In Pirod, this color is called Gugucce na direcci.

05:44What are they? They are pigeons on stools.

05:51Pirod chili is the jewel of folk craft, which is made of sheep wool, which is grazed on pastures of Stara planina.

06:00The best quality wool comes from sheep Pramenka, native breed, which was once spread all over Europe.

06:08Now, it is the most common in Balkan countries.

06:13Come on!

06:17Run, run, run!

06:27The advantage of this sheep is that it is one of the most resistant breeds in this area.

06:33It is our old, native breed of sheep.

06:37It is the most endangered breed of sheep in Serbia and the most endangered breed of domestic animals in general.

06:43There are only between 350 and 400 of them left.

06:47This is grazed Pramenka. They were grazed a month ago.

06:52Their Pramenka can be up to 20 centimeters long.

06:56Except Pirod chili, this sheep produced two more important national brands, Pirod lamb and Pirod cheese.

07:04Pirod cheese is made from cheese milk from pastures of Stara planina.

07:08That is why it has special taste.

07:11Pirod cheese is a specific product. It is a type of cheese steamed in dough.

07:15It is our most famous Serbian cheese.

07:18According to the rule, ripening of cheese should last two months for big dishes and three weeks for small dishes.

07:24In Serbia, ripening is one and a half year for small dishes and two and a half to three years for big dishes.

07:31So, cheese is pretty ripe now and it is a native product that is not in line with all expensive foreign cheeses.

07:43Products of Pirod region are recognizable all over the world.

07:47They are often presented to guests from abroad and it is best to taste them on the spot.

07:52See you soon with more Balkan stories!

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