Nevena Čule (Institute of Forestry Belgrade)
In the rural mountainous areas of Serbia, women face significant challenges due to traditional patriarchal norms. These norms have long marginalised women, limiting their participation in economic activities outside the household and excluding them from decision-making processes both at home and within their communities. Despite legal prohibitions against gender discrimination, women in these regions still face substantial barriers to achieving equality.
Women in rural areas are often overburdened with household responsibilities, childcare, and intensive agricultural work. They have limited access to health, education, social services, and financial resources. Patriarchal and cultural norms further restrict their rights, and women are often unaware of their legal protections and entitlements. Women’s marital and family statuses also significantly influence their treatment in the community, with widows, divorcees, and unmarried women facing social stigma and exclusion (Beker et al., 2017). Many rural women lack health and pension insurance, and healthcare services are frequently inaccessible, requiring travel to larger towns for specialised care, and associated additional costs.
As well as the increased risk of ill-health and imbalanced power structures, the marginalisation of women also effects local economies. Emigration trends are more prominent among women (40% among men, 60% among women according to the 2022 Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in Serbia (Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, 2023)) and are driven by the lack of opportunities associated with their marginalised status (Pantić and Čolić, 2023). This, in turn, reinforces the patriarchal structures for those who remain. Local customs and discriminatory practices continue to exclude women from community life, making gender inequalities more complex and pronounced. In remote and mountain villages, the absence of women’s organisations, poor infrastructure, and limited resources exacerbate these challenges.
Social Entrepreneurship: Empowering Rural Women through Economic Initiatives
Crucial efforts to empower rural women are driven by civil society organisations, economic initiatives, and educational, skill development, or leadership programmes. Introducing women to the sustainable use of natural resources and social entrepreneurship can have positive sociological and cultural implications, promoting sustainable development, and improving their socio-economic status. By securing their active participation in such initiatives, women can become influential agents of change and contribute to the overall advancement of their communities.
Social entrepreneurship, based on the principles of the circular bioeconomy, can also offer significant opportunities for empowering women in mountainous areas. By creating enterprises that utilise local resources efficiently and sustainably, such initiatives can provide women with stable employment and skill development opportunities. These enterprises, which often focus on producing eco-friendly products, can enhance women’s roles in promoting environmental stewardship. Moreover, by reinvesting profits into community projects and education, social entrepreneurship fosters a supportive ecosystem where women can thrive as leaders and innovators, driving both economic growth and sustainable development in their regions (Thomas, 2024).
Bio Idea: Transforming Women’s Roles in their Communities
In the mountainous regions of southeastern and southwestern Serbia, Bio Idea stands out as a beacon of social entrepreneurship in the field of circular bioeconomy and female empowerment. Founded in 2015, Bio Idea was created to address the real needs and challenges faced by women, particularly in rural areas, through innovative and sustainable solutions. The association’s mission revolves around environmental protection, sustainable development, and advocating for human rights and gender equality.
Bio Idea empowers women by providing them with the skills, education, and support needed to embark on entrepreneurial ventures within the circular bioeconomy. By tackling patriarchal norms, limited access to education and resources, and lack of community support, Bio Idea aims to create an inclusive society that empowers women entrepreneurs and fosters local development.
This approach not only promotes sustainable practices, but aims to reduce bio-waste through solidary industrial symbiosis. Industrial symbiosis is a key circular bioeconomy model whereby companies collaborate to share resources, reduce waste, and enhance environmental performance. Its subtype, solidary industrial symbiosis, emphasizes cooperation, solidarity, and social justice. This approach, as seen in the MISS project, fosters job creation in rural areas by connecting women who produce ajvar with those making soaps and cosmetics. These strategies also help reduce poverty, improve community well-being, and promote social inclusion.
Uniting Women Through Eco-Friendly Soap Production
Bio Idea’s leading initiative is the “Bio Idea Soap Social Franchise,” a training programme designed for vulnerable groups at risk of social exclusion and poverty. This ecological social franchise operates through a main workshop in Belgrade and several smaller workshops on rural farms and in craft workshops or social welfare institutions. The programme trains women to produce eco-friendly soaps and natural cosmetics using leftover cooking oil, which helps generate additional income and reduces environmental waste.
Bio Idea recognises the vast potential of leftover cooking oil as a resource for bio soap production. Given that Serbian households consume approximately 2,300 tons of cooking oil monthly, with a third ending up in waste, this initiative not only benefits the economy but also significantly reduces environmental pollution. The production of bio-soaps is advantageous as these products are biodegradable, allergen-free, and do not emit harmful gases while they are manufactured. For example, one litre of used cooking oil is enough to produce 10 bars of soap. This also saves 3.8 kg of CO2 emissions if they were to be produced industrially.
Bio Idea, in collaboration with The Institute of General and Physical Chemistry and Ekoera, has patented innovative equipment for soap production. This system includes two recipient containers made from recycled materials, connected by a mesh that filters the oil. The filtration process uses zeolite to remove water and other impurities, resulting in purified oil. Sodium hydroxide is then added to initiate saponification. To enhance the fragrance, coffee, orange peel, or dried herbs can be incorporated into the mixture. After 24 hours, the soap is ready for use.
One notable example of Bio Idea’s impact is the region of Sjenica, a mountainous area with significant natural resources and a diverse population. Here, Bio Idea has engaged around 500 households in soap production, providing women with an opportunity to earn income and save money. This initiative is particularly crucial in Sjenica, where the poverty risk index is high at 46.6% (UNDP Serbia, 2022). The workshops also promote social cohesion by bringing together women from various ethnic backgrounds (Bosniaks, Serbs, Albanians, Montenegrins, Turks, Roma, and members of other communities).
Empowering Women Through Learning
The Bio Idea workshops target women from difficult-to-employ categories, including those living in remote mountain rural areas or unemployed women over the age of 45. During the training, women gain valuable knowledge in circular bioeconomy principles and ecological innovation, which empowers them to potentially start their own businesses and become advocates for environmental sustainability.
To date, over 2,050 women from various parts of Serbia have acquired entrepreneurial skills through Bio Idea’s programmes. The formation of the Network of Industrial Solidarity Symbiosis (MISS) is a testament to their efforts, where trained women collaborate with those in fruit and vegetable processing, further strengthening the local economy and raising awareness about women’s rights and environmental protection.
Training sessions are provided free of charge, with the only requirement being a commitment to pass on the acquired skills to others. Beyond the Soap Social Franchise, Bio Idea conducts various workshops that promote gender equality, sustainable business practices, and environmental protection. These activities not only empower women but also enable them to influence local policies and practices by collaborating with local authorities and decision-makers.
Bio Idea’s Initiatives in Action: Observing their Effects on Medvedja, Serbia
In response to the specific needs and opportunities in the region of Medvedja, one of Serbia’s most underdeveloped mountainous municipalities, Bio Idea is currently establishing the Center for the Support of Women’s Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development. The Center will offer training, mentoring, and support to women, focusing on green economy entrepreneurship. It will also promote inclusivity, gender equality, and sustainable development, fostering networks of support and cooperation among entrepreneurs. Through initiatives like industrial symbiosis, the Center also aims to reduce waste and enhance the waste management system in collaboration with local entrepreneurs.
A fascinating example of waste reduction comes from the women entrepreneurs in Medvedja. Traditionally, producing one kilogramme of ajvar generates an equal amount of waste, including stalks, seeds, and other pepper parts. In southern Serbia, the ajvar production season yields an estimated 21,000 tons of this bio-waste, which often ends up in illegal landfills.
Bio Idea saw an opportunity to turn this waste into value and included the women from Medvedja in their franchise. They empowered these women to dry and repurpose the ajvar waste as an active component in soaps.
Additionally, Bio Idea helped establish sales channels, enabling women to earn an income not just during the 2–3-month ajvar-making season, but throughout the year. This initiative thus reduces waste and provides sustainable economic opportunities for women in the region.
Bio Idea exemplifies how social entrepreneurship, grounded in circular bioeconomy principles, can transform the lives of women in the rural mountainous areas of Serbia, fostering empowerment, environmental sustainability, and local development.
One thing stands for certain: empowering women by providing education, skill development, and leadership training is essential. Sustainable practices offer economic opportunities while preserving traditional knowledge and fostering community cohesion. All the while, social entrepreneurship based on circular bioeconomy principles provides stable employment and promotes environmental stewardship. Through such innovative solutions, women in rural Serbia can become influential agents of change, driving economic growth and sustainable development.
Read & See More
Pucar, M., Nenković, M. (2006). Rural population and renewable energy sources: Experiences of the Republic of Serbia. Spatium, (13-14), pp.1-7.
Pantić, M., Čolić, N. (2023). Digital participation framework for mountain areas in Serbia. Transylvanian Review of Administrative Sciences (68), pp. 78-95.
Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (2023). Migrations – Data by municipalities and cities. 2022 Census of Population, Households and Dwellings. p. 257. ISBN 978-86-6161-241-1.
Thomas, A. (2024). The Role of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): A Comprehensive Review. Journal of Biotechnology & Bioinformatics Research Volume 6(2): 1-11. SRC/JBBR-202. DOI: doi.org/10.47363/JBBR/2024(6)174.
Beker, K., Gujaničić, R., Rudić Vranić, R., Ćelović, Z., Nešić, R., Simonović Veljković, G. (2017). Situation of rural women in Serbia – report. Shadow Report to the Committee for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women regarding the fourth reporting cycle of Serbia. The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). p. 96. ISBN 978-86-900100-0-4
UNDP Serbia (2022). Bio soap production creates jobs for women and helps preserve the environment
Bio soap production employs women and protects the environment –
