Mishavinë

Located in the far north of Albania, the Kelmend region remains one of Europe’s least known and most inaccessible. Arriving from Scutari, much of the road that crosses it is unpaved, and it takes several hours to reach the green pastures of the village of Lepushe, set amidst the peaks of the Albanian Alps, close to the border with Montenegro. The extreme isolation (the harsh winters sometimes cut the locals off for months at a time) and the lack of employment and development prospects have pushed much of the population to seek their fortunes elsewhere. Many of the mountain communities in this region now risk dying out, along with the gastronomic traditions passed down through the generations, preserving their authenticity. Products like mish i thäte (cured pork) or bukë në vote (a bread made with white corn flour) are small gastronomic treasures that could make a decisive contribution to the revival of one of the continent’s most unspoiled areas and boost its tourism appeal. Among Kelmend’s many typical products, mishavin stands out for its complexity and typicalness. It belongs to the “cheese in a sack” family, found across the Balkan peninsula and Anatolia. It is made only in the summer months, when the animals graze freely on the slopes of the Trojane mountains, and eaten through the long winter.
Once the curd has been obtained from a mix of varying percentages of cow’s, sheep’s and goat’s milk, it is cut into thick strips, wrapped in a cloth and lightly pressed to release the whey. First the resulting cheese is cut into large pieces and left to dry outdoors, protected from the sun, for between seven and ten days. It is then crumbled finely by hand, salted and left to age in a wooden container with holes in the bottom, to allow more whey to drain off. The top of the container is sealed with a thick layer of melted butter, sometimes clarified. After around two months the mishavin is ready.
White in color, tending towards straw-yellow, it has a grainy structure which becomes denser with aging and a buttery texture, with notes of forest and hay and a finish that becomes more piquant over time.

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Djathi Mishavinë

Kelmendi është një nga rajonet më pak të njohur dhe më të largët në të gjithë Evropën. Këtu, gjatë verës, barinjtë sjellin bagëtitë e tyre për të kullotur në bjeshkët e Alpeve Shqiptare dhe prodhojnë Mishavinën, një djathë i përgatitur me qumësht të papasterizuar lope, ose lope dhe deleje bashkë, që të sjellë ndërmend djathin në shakull (të ruajtur në lëkurë kafshe). Djathi i freskët thërrmohet imët me dorë, duke shtuar kripë dhe lihet të fermentohet në një enë prej druri të vulosur në krye me gjalpë të freskët ose të kthjelluar (tlyn). Djathi Mishavinë konsumohet tradicionalisht gjatë muajve të dimrit.

Presidi do të punojë së bashku me prodhuesit dhe me teknologët e bulmetit për të për- caktuar një protokoll prodhimi që do të mundësojë arritjen e standardeve të lartë cilësorë, përfshirë ripërtëritjen e traditave për përdorimin e fuçive të drurit për staxhionimin. Hapi tjetër do të jetë ai i standardizimit, sipas rregullave, i mjediseve ku prodhohet dhe ruhet djathi, në mënyrë që Mishavina të mund të shitet në tregun kombëtar duke respektuar normat evropiane higjieno-sanitare dhe të sigurisë ushqimore. Presidi i Mishavinës lindi me nismën e VIS Albania (organizatë e cila punon prej vitesh në Kelmend përmes një programi të gjerë që synon fuqizimin e aktiviteteve që sjellin të ardhura, duke përfshirë shumë prej tyre të bazuara në turizëm dhe gastronomi) dhe mbështetet nga Aleanca Slow Food e Kuzhinierëve, e themeluar në Shqipëri në vitin 2015, e cila u krijua pikërisht për të mbështetur produkte ushqimore cilësore të prodhuara në shkallë të vogël. Presidi është pjesë e aktiviteteve të ESSEDRA, projekt i bashkë-financuar nga Bashkimi Evropian nëpërmjet Drejtorisë së Përgjithshme për Zgjerimin dhe i promovuar nga Slow Food me objektivin për të shoqëruar procesin e integrimin në Evropë të vendeve të Ballkanit dhe të Turqisë, përmes forcimit të shoqërisë civile dhe aftësisë së saj për të ndikuar në politika dhe për të promovuar modele zhvillimi rural të qëndrueshëm.

Kelmend, në veri të Shqipërisë

Prodhuesit
17 familje, në fshatrat e Lepushës, Budaçit dhe Vermoshit: Kole e Marie Aliaj; Luigj e Lumturie Çekaj; Zef e Vjollca Nilaj; Tom e Luçie Dragu; Besnik e Drita Pepushaj; Rrok
e Lule Vushaj; Ndue e Flora Vushaj; Nua e Anxhelina Neçaj; Rrok e Gjyste Neçaj; Ndoc e Lumnie Aliaj; Sokol e Dila Dacaj; Ilir e Fellënza Grishaj; Pashko e Drane Grishaj; Lin e Gjelina
Çekaj; Lulash e File Daci; Pashke Dukaj; Kanto e Lumturie Vushaj

Pikat e kontaktit të Presidit
Pier Paolo Ambrosi
VIS Albania
tel. +355 682056693 a.pierpaolo@gmail.com

Drita Tanazi
tel. +355 695719099 vis.nordalb@gmail.com

Presid i financuar nga
Projekti ESSEDRA
www.essedra.com

The Presidium will work together with producers and cheese making experts to come up with a production protocol that will facilitate higher quality standards, including reviving the use of traditional wooden barrels for aging. The next step will be to bring the pro- duction and conservation facilities up to standard, so that Mishavinë can meet European food-safety regulations and be sold on the national market. The Presidium has been star- ted on the initiative of VIS Albania (which has been working in Kelmend for years with a wide-ranging program of income-generating activities, including many based on tourism and gastronomy) and is supported by the Slow Food Chefs’ Alliance, launched in Albania in 2015 and created to support small-scale quality food production. The Presidium is one of the activities of ESSEDRA, a project co-funded by the European Union through the Directorate-General for Enlargement and promoted by Slow Food with the aim of assisting the process of integrating the Balkans and Turkey into Europe by strengthening civil society and its capacity to influence policy and promote sustainable rural development models.

Production area
Kelmend, northern Albania

Presidium supported by
ESSEDRA project

17 families, in the villages of Lepushë, Budaç and Vermosh: Kole and Marie Aliaj; Luigj and Lumturie Çekaj; Zef and Vjollca Nilaj; Tom and Luçie Dragu; Besnik and Drita Pepushaj; Rrok and Lule Vushaj; Ndue and Flora Vushaj; Nua and Anxhelina Neçaj; Rrok and Gjyste Neçaj; Ndoc and Lumnie Aliaj; Sokol and Dila Dacaj; Ilir and Fellënza Grishaj; Pashko and
Drane Grishaj; Lin and Gjelina Çekaj; Lulash and File Daci; Pashke Dukaj; Kanto and Lumturie Vushaj

Drita Tanazi
Tel. +355 695719099
E-mail: vis.nordalb@gmail.com

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