A Living Lab meeting under the RUSTIK project brings together dairy producers from the Municipality of Boljevac and Sokobanja’s flagship hotel to shorten the farm-to-table chain.
On 27 April 2026, Hotel Sunce in Sokobanja hosted a Living Lab meeting organized by RARIS (the Regional Development Agency for Eastern Serbia) and the Municipality of Boljevac. The gathering brought together dairy farmers and cheese producers from the Boljevac area and representatives of Hotel Sunce — one of the most prominent hotels in the Sokobanja tourist destination.
The meeting was convened to address a well-documented gap in local food supply chains: despite the richness of the region’s agricultural output, locally produced goods remain underrepresented in the menus and offerings of tourist facilities. A group of family farms and dairy company attended, each presenting product samples directly to Hotel Sunce’s management team.
The session concluded with a concrete agreement: Hotel Sunce will purchase trial quantities across the full range of products offered by the participating producers. Based on guest feedback received during this pilot phase, the Hotel intends to move to regular orders from local suppliers.
Research backgroundThis meeting is a direct practical outcome of data experiment carried out under the RUSTIK project to improve short food supply chains in the region. In Sokobanja and Boljevac, researchers interviewed 37 restaurants, hotels, and rural tourism households, 29 agricultural holdings, and 12 small and medium-sized agri-food businesses. A key finding was that local products are insufficiently present in the tourist offering — a gap this partnership now directly begins to close. “With today’s concrete agreements, we are creating the conditions for a stronger connection between tourism and agriculture.” — RARIS / RUSTIK project team. |
