7,022,268
Belgrade
Serbian
Through a partnership with an incredible young couple, Lana & Bojan Catic, we have supported a project involving a sustainable organic hazelnut farm in a small village just north of Belgrade. Through profits from this hazelnut farm which, after years of hard work developed into a hazelnut, honey, and fruit farm, the Catics aspire to provide infrastructural services to the local village, stimulate the economy, and protect the natural resources by utilizing organic and best practices in agriculture.
Simultaneously, the stakeholders are creating a high school service learning trip in collaboration with the S&C youth interns. Service trips will include full cultural immersion as well as collective work on the community infrastructure projects. This project is a great example of how to use the Sustainable Partnership model; the initial connection has developed into an opportunity to educate one another as well as international individuals which is inspiring the U.S. students, stakeholders, and the local community.
See the blog post of two interns who traveled to Serbia to work directly with Lana & Bojan on creating the Service Learning Trips.
Help us in our mission to connect people and cultures by fostering friendships, ideas, and inspiration.
Bridget is currently a junior at Marblehead High School. She enjoys Marblehead’s art programs and is involved in clubs such as Marblehead Interact, Exchange Students and Friends, Jefferson Forum, and Best Buddies! She fell in love with Bulgaria on her first trip and decided to return the next year! Ever since she has been eager to learn about the rest of the world. She has hosted exchange students from Thailand, Bolivia, and now Germany. She has now been to Bulgaria twice and is very excited to be working on the Serbia trip and the Bosnia trip. Her favorite part about being an intern is being able to learn about new cultures and meet amazing people!
Sarah joined Stone and Compass in her freshman year and has since cultivated a strong passion for cultural exchange and traveling with purpose. She is a Senior at Penguin Hall and is currently the President of the Exec Team, on which she helps plan local and global projects. She is excited to continue her journey with Stone and Compass as she enters college next year, and can’t wait to see new projects come into fruition!
Jackson is currently in his second year at Suffolk University in Boston, where he is majoring in Public Relations and minoring in Journalism. Through experiences in high school, Jackson has learned to foster a passion for graphic design and photography, which he hopes to soon utilize in his professional life. His first experience with Stone and Compass was taking part in the 2019 Service Learning Trip to Bulgaria and joined the intern program soon after, where he is involved with social media and outreach for the organization.
Ryan is a senior at Marblehead High School. He plays football, and is interested in politics, history, and agriculture. He went to Bulgaria last summer for his first trip, and will be going to Serbia this coming summer.
Jack is a senior at Marblehead High School. He runs on the Cross Country team and plays guitar in the Jazz Band. Jack is interested in studying history, politics, linguistics, and music, and has been to Bulgaria twice, once as an intern.