Albania Tirana
Food production
Social and Economic Equity
Supply & Distribution
Sustainable diets & Nutrition

Blerina Farm & Restaurant

Private

Blerina Farm & Restaurant

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Context

Blerina Bombaj is a dietician in Tirana who is committed to promoting fresh, balanced and nutritional food. Convinced that it is impossible to have healthy food without a healthy environment, she started producing her own ingredients, in 2016, to guarantee her customers quality products. This event gave birth to the Blerina Farm initiative. 

Its main goal is to offer healthy and sustainable food to the Tirana region’s residents while presenting them with an opportunity to reconnect with nature.

The project

Seven years ago, the Blerina Farm initiative started on a small plot of land in Laknas, on the outskirts of Tirana, that belonged to Blerina Bombaj’s family. In a few greenhouses, herbs and seasonal fruits and vegetables began to be produced all year round, using agroecological practices. Over time, thanks to increasing demand from the local population for fresh, local, and quality products, the project expanded. A kitchen was created, followed by the organisation of school workshops regarding food and agricultural production. Various educational games related to agriculture, plant culture, and cooking were notably organised for children during the weekends. Blerina Bombaj then started a restaurant in the centre of Tirana. In 2022, the farm expanded to accommodate cows and sheep and became involved in agritourism.

Today, the project revolves around three main objectives: to produce and transform healthy, fresh, and quality products; to promote a healthier and more nutritional approach to food among urban and peri-urban residents of Tirana’s region; and to offer seasonal and healthy meals to local children while educating them on the workings and benefits of a farm. Throughout its activities, Blerina Farm is characterised by its commitment to agroecological values of respect, collaboration, and education.

Blerina Farm is a family business, employing about fifteen people. It is a self-financed initiative that does not receive state aid because it is considered an urban project (agricultural and food aid is directed towards rural areas in Albania). To gain visibility, Blerina Bombaj therefore regularly appears on television shows and in magazines, where she promotes healthy eating and local consumption.

Results

For seven years, Blerina Farm has actively promoted food and agriculture as means of accessing good physical and mental health. In Tirana and its surroundings, many people of all ages and backgrounds have benefited from this initiative (accessing better quality products, receiving nutritional advice, and food education, for example).

To improve the working conditions of all those involved in the agricultural sector and facilitate the creation of positive impact initiatives like Blerina Farm, Blerina Bombaj recently participated in the development of an agritourism association. Through it, she hopes to establish forms of collective action and advocacy at the local and national level to: motivate the creation of better infrastructure in rural areas; establish an agritourism certification that would legally recognise the existence and importance of the sector; encourage the population to work in the agricultural field; and develop the use of renewable energy in agriculture (which would limit the impact of power outages on agricultural production in rural areas and thus improve local food security).

Little extra

This project is particularly interesting for its multidisciplinary character. While Blerina Farm was initially dedicated to agricultural production, the initiative then developed around a strong nutritional identity (e.g. creation of food programs) and includes a restaurant as well as entertainment and educational programs. In all of these activities, particular attention is paid to the contacts between farmers, chefs, and consumers to create a long-term community and ensure the well-being of all. 

This sheet was written by Camille Perigaud, an intern at Let’s Food in May 2023.

Last modification : 10 May 2023.

Blerina Farm & Restaurant

Blerina Farm Laknas Albanie

Blerina Farm is a project that aims to produce and process healthy, fresh and quality products and to promote a healthier and more nutritional approach to food among the inhabitants of the region of Tirana.

Contact

Blerina Bonbaj