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Woman carrying a bag of fresh cut grass up a steep hill

Women of Lukomir – Ramiza

Life in a remote mountainous village is by no means an easy life. Yet its simplicity and a healthy outlook on life of its inhabitants hold some appeal for us. 

Every morning Ramiza cuts fresh grass to feed her sheep

After meeting Rahima and Vejsil and having a look at their way of life, I met Ramiza Čomor, a widow who lives with her son, daughter in law and grandson. From working the fields for the few crops that grow at this altitude to tending the livestock there isn’t much sitting around to do for the hard-working women from this tiny highland settlement.

Ramiza talks about her everyday chores in Lukomir
Ramiza talks about her everyday chores in Lukomir

The work isn’t easy but, she claims with a smile, ‘you have to do it. I have to take care of my animals. They are my livelihood. They give me cheese and milk to live off of and the extra I can sell so I can buy oil and flour.’

Woman carrying a bag of fresh cut grass up a steep hill
Ramiza carrying a bag of fresh cut grass up a steep hill

Despite this kind of life Ramiza as well as Rahima have kept their kindness and warmth. There is not a single grain of impatience or harshness in them, not only towards people but in the way they handle animals as well. Gentleness and care this good – natured old woman shows towards her animals touched my heart deeply. Ever since one of her sheep hurt her leg and is unable to go out grazing, Ramiza goes out every morning to cut fresh grass from her garden to feed her. That often means lugging large bags of heavy, fresh cut grass from her garden to her barn. She does it every day in order for her sheep to get the most fresh and tasty grass.

Barn where she takes the fresh grass to feed her sheep
Barn where she takes the fresh grass for her sheep
Ramiza and her sheep inside the barn
Ramiza and her sheep inside the barn
Ramiza talks to me about her life in the barn

Whenever I meet such people and see their approach to life I feel somewhat ashamed of my own impatience and dissatisfaction with life. And I am certainly not the only one. Dissatisfaction and impatience are the plagues of today’s society, particularly in the west and they are far more prevalent in the cities. There are many reasons for that, but being disconnected from nature is the major one. The complexities that come with a modern lifestyle, fast technology as well as the abundance of choice in all matters of life (even as small as which brand of detergent to buy) simply overwhelms us. Though I certainly love a lot of the comforts of modern life, I do feel it is important to strike the right balance and, for a while now,  I do feel that my days of living in the city are slowly coming to an end. More and more I prefer simplicity to complexity, nature to city, wisdom to knowledge. 

Ramiza picking up a shovel in front of the barn

Life is not easy in Lukomir, but it is simple and honors the fundamental values of life. Maybe that is why some people here grow wise.

One can learn a lot from them.


Google maps: Lukomir