Interview with Mr. Josip Klarić

For "Living History" this month, we highlight the interview with Mr. Josip Klarić about Vareš yesterday, today, tomorrow.

I want to thank you for your time and speaking for our Eastern Mining
newsletter, which is part of the Living History Project. For the start, tell us a little
more about yourself?
My name is Josip Klarić. I am 75 years old. I currently live in Zvijezda, Šimin Potok.
Vareš tied me up and I stayed here. I often wonder if the Zvijezda captured me or am I
in love with Zvijezda. I traveled around the world, but I simply couldn't stay anywhere,
my hometown was calling me back. I am currently retired. I have a small property
where I work in the summer, and in the winter I open the ski lift and socialize with
visitors.

What was your first job?
I am an economist for tourism and catering by a profession. My first job was at
Ponikve Hotel as a director. Then I worked at Željezara where I managed a resort in
Srebreno near Dubrovnik. After 3 years of successful business, I realized that catering
is my calling. Guided by this, I opened, at that time the first restaurant in Vareš,
named "Stari Podrum", and today it is the restaurant "Stari Dani".
Can you make a comparison of life as it was before and as it is now in Vareš?
I have a small problem here, because I used to have those years, and now these years.
When a man is young, everything is fine, everything is good. However, now that gap
is big and compared to that time, Vareš is empty now. In the past, 5 buses full of
workers came to Vareš through Zvijezda, and now even the van is not full. The city
was full of youth, full of everything, full of perspective. However, time took its toll.

How important is it to raise tourism in to a higher level in Vareš?
I am perhaps the first from this area who had some real ideas with tourism and who
graduated in this area. I finished the higher school for tourism and catering in Banja
Luka, and then I enrolled in the third year in Opatija. In the meantime, I got married,
started my own business, unfortunately left college, money was the main thing. It was
good money, but it always remained in my heart to somehow start and develop
tourism in Vareš. Vareš was one of the first places where rural tourism began to
develop. In order for tourism to develop, you need to bring people, host them, give
me an atmosphere and invite them again. If you provide them all of the above, they
will definitely come back. Vareš, apart from the mineral riches that have been
mentioned lately in Borovica, has another gold, and that is green gold. It is nature, the
nature of Vareš, the people of Vareš and the environment of Vareš.

Are you familiar with the mining project in the area of Rupice and Veovača?
Yes, I have been following the development of the project since the beginning. I can
tell you that last year I led two groups, one from Italy, the other from here, to show
them the area of Borovica. Because Borovica is an extremely interesting area that is
part of the old town of Bobovac and the medieval state of Bosnia. However, I took a
group to a locality, to a tailings dump where we found a lot of pyrite waste. Due to its
shiny surfaces, pyrite looks a lot like gold, it was interesting to watch them rejoice in
the "gold". It will be interesting to follow the further development of the project.

What impact the opening of the new mine will have on tourism and therefore on
your business in the area of Vareš?
When it comes to that, the area of Vareš has a lot of hills and valleys. Vareš contains
many micro-tourist locations and in this area due to this configuration, forests and
high hills, mining and tourism can develop in parallel. And until now there was an iron
ore mine, but the hills hide the view and do not allow dust and noise.

How do you see Vareš after the opening of the mine, what kind of future awaits
Vareš in your opinion?
The mine will bind the workers here, those workers will bind their families, their
children. In addition to the basic occupation in the mine, these workers need rest.
Now that vacation should be used in this area that we have. We have the mountain
Zvijezda, we have tourist destinations on Zvijezda. The mine is very close to the old
town of Bobovac. Borovica is an interesting tourist place. Nearby are the Igrište
hunting lodge, the Mrestilište catering facility, which is very popular, the villages of
Pogar and Borovica, Sjenokos. With that, I think that in addition to the basic activity of
mining, tourism could also be developed. Because if a couple of hundred workers
work here, they are busy 8-10 hours with the mine, they have to spend their free time
and rest. It is up to us in Vareš, how we will use it. Tourism requires a few things,
namely: drink well, eat well, have fun, hear the story of the place you are in and
experience life in that place. When these elements are satisfied, tourism is successful.
Vareš, if would get a little more serious and follow the example of Eastern Mining, and
bring in people who know how to work and how to develop tourism, then could
benefit greatly from it.

Do you think that Vareš will experience its resurgence as it had in some past era?
It is very difficult to reach the heyday of Vareš at that time, due to the structure and
number of the population. But I think that these figures should not be reached, my
opinion is that what is left should be preserved. The regions have relaxed, but again
when I look at tourism, people could be attracted here by building cottages, tourist
facilities, offering facilities, because we are extremely close to Sarajevo, the airport,
and Sarajevo is the source of all potential users of this area, and Vareš is located in the
golden tourist ring around Sarajevo.

At the end of our conversation, do you have any message for the young people of
Vareš?
Death is behind us. Let's look to the future, and the future is you, our children,
scattered around the world. We have Zvijezda, houses, fields, electricity, water,
telephone, road, hometown. Let's do something together. We old people are waiting,
we are slowly leaving, and it is up to you that this earthly work does not devastate it,
that it is not inhabited by other people. Let each of you arrange your property as you
have seen in the world where you live now, each of you does something of your own,
and together we create a pleasant and attractive whole. Staying in this area is possible
both in summer and winter. Come and rest. Bring your friends. Show the world who
you are and where you're from. That is my message to the young people of this
region.