Zene Tradicija I Ruralne Kulture
34 images Created 8 Sep 2024
There are only a handful of places left on Earth where cheese is still produced in the most ancient of ways - in a sack made from the skin of an animal – and these cheeses are disappearing. That is, going extinct. The makers and knowledge keepers are aging. The rural life holds little appeal for many in the younger generations. The land is no longer being maintained for agriculture. And thus, the connection between place and product and the very product itself is being lost.
One such cheese, called Sir iz Mijeha/Mješine/Mišine, is made across portions of Historic Hercegovina (east central Croatia, through Southern Bosnia and Hercegovina, into the Sinjajevina mountains in Montenegro) but its range has slowly been shrinking.
Originally my intent was to create a record that this cheese had existed. An obituary if you will. Because all available data indicated it was on the verge of extinction and would essentially cease to exist within one generation. Initially this even seemed true. But, over many field visits to the supposed “last producers of this cheese” it became clear that while production has declined precipitously and is still in danger, there might just be more producers than previously known.
And there may just be some in the younger generations that will keep this alive.
These photographs are a selection taken from tens of thousands of images I’ve made over the last decade. They are both a reflection of and invitation to listen and learn about the cheese, about the producers, and about the place itself.
Come along as we visit the women and the places where this tradition is alive and well.
One such cheese, called Sir iz Mijeha/Mješine/Mišine, is made across portions of Historic Hercegovina (east central Croatia, through Southern Bosnia and Hercegovina, into the Sinjajevina mountains in Montenegro) but its range has slowly been shrinking.
Originally my intent was to create a record that this cheese had existed. An obituary if you will. Because all available data indicated it was on the verge of extinction and would essentially cease to exist within one generation. Initially this even seemed true. But, over many field visits to the supposed “last producers of this cheese” it became clear that while production has declined precipitously and is still in danger, there might just be more producers than previously known.
And there may just be some in the younger generations that will keep this alive.
These photographs are a selection taken from tens of thousands of images I’ve made over the last decade. They are both a reflection of and invitation to listen and learn about the cheese, about the producers, and about the place itself.
Come along as we visit the women and the places where this tradition is alive and well.