SLOVENIA'S 5 CORE VALUES

This is how a village community is formed, in which people trust one another, are honest, and know they can count on each other.

On the village road between Zagrad and Štore, near Celje, last year a homemade wooden stall stood by the road, full of homegrown organically produced vegetables. The mastermind was Ana Kolar, who, together with her sons Tim (14 years old) and Mark (9 years old), first drew a plan for the stall, and then they built and set it up together. It was made from leftover wood they had at home. In a prominent place, they wrote a simple message take it if you need it.

The idea was very simple. A family has a garden where they grow vegetables organically. Although the garden is not big, in the season they often produce more food than they can consume themselves. There used to be too much courgettes, cabbage, parsley, celery, rosemary, sage, basil and other vegetables and herbs for a single family.

It would be a shame for the vegetables to stay in the garden and end up rotting, so they preferred to put them on a stall where anyone who needed them could take them. The vegetables and herbs were added continuously, little by little, and according to what had grown at a given time of year.

The idea was Ana's and stemmed from her own personal experience. As a child, she had herself experienced hardship, which is why she believes it is wonderful to be able to give something we no longer need to someone who will find it useful.

Everything at the stall was free, but if anyone so wished, they could leave a voluntary contribution. Alongside the usual vegetables and herbs, the stall also featured things that were a bit more unusual. For tasting, they had, for example, cola-flavoured southernwood. They certainly didn't lack ideas and good cheer.

At first, people walked past the stall a little cautiously, not knowing whether they could really take the vegetables. Then, however, they slowly plucked up the courage. Some also left a voluntary donation when collecting the food.

A very special and lovely little story also took place. In the summer, someone took some vegetables and left a voluntary contribution in the box provided for the purpose. Later, the box was gone, but the same person, when they took vegetables again, left their contribution to the side. Such a gesture left them almost lost for words.

Even otherwise, people welcomed this idea well, as they talked about it a lot and gave it kind words and praise.

Unfortunately, this year the stall was not in operation due to the drought. The weather was not on their side, so they didn't grow enough vegetables to be able to share them with others. However, they haven't given up on the idea. If the weather is more forgiving next year and the harvest is better, they will set it up again.

Ana hopes that the idea will gradually spread and perhaps inspire someone else to do something similar. She says that they have already done their bit, having brought their idea to life.

In all of this, it is also very important that Ana, together with her sons, did something for the common good, thereby showing her sons how important the values of kindness, moderation, mutual help and care for one's fellow human being are. In doing so, she taught them that they can everyone contributes something of their own and that sometimes even a small gesture is enough to brighten someone's day or help someone in need.

Andreja Bakšič Grozdina