Selling farm products to restaurants and hotels: what buyers ask for and how to start
Restaurants and hotels want regular delivery, an agreed quantity, an invoice and information on origin. Hygiene rules require you to keep records for at least three years and show them to a business you supply. Small producers may sell to a local retail establishment, but the rules do not say whether a restaurant counts as one, so ask the inspector before your first contract.
Microcredit for farmers in Republika Srpska: who lends, what to compare, who supervises
Only a microcredit organisation licensed by the Banking Agency of Republika Srpska may give microcredit, up to 50,000 KM (company) or 10,000 KM (foundation). Compare offers by the effective interest rate (EKS), which the lender must show before the contract and in the repayment plan.
Off-season offers for rural guesthouses in East Herzegovina: autumn, winter, spring
Outside summer, the clearest reasons to visit East Herzegovina are the grape harvest and wine (confirm the harvest dates with the winemaker each year), woodcock hunting (1 August to the end of February), wild boar hunting and town events. Official statistics have no monthly figures, so hosts should plan from their own guest book.
Tourism organisations in East Herzegovina: who they are and how to contact them
The Tourism Organisation of Republika Srpska (TORS) presents destinations at tourism fairs. Local tourism organisations work in Trebinje, Bileća, Gacko, Nevesinje and Kalinovik. We found no official procedure for getting listed, so send your local organisation a description with photos, and this autumn ask which fairs it plans for 2027.
Insurance for a farm or guesthouse offering activities: the law and what to ask
The Republika Srpska Law on Tourism (no. 49/2026) requires companies and sole traders who commercially offer the sports and recreation activities in Article 57 to insure guests against accidents. A rural household with rooms has no such duty, but it is liable for harm to guests under the Law on Obligations, so a liability policy is a sensible choice.
Katuns and sir iz mijeha: summer grazing and the food rules
Katuns on Zelengora and Morine are still used in summer, and a visit to a herd must be agreed in advance. Transhumance is on UNESCO's list as an element of ten European countries, not BiH. Sir iz mijeha is not a protected designation of origin in BiH, while Gatački kajmak iz mješine is. A host who serves or sells the cheese must follow registration and hygiene rules.
Gatačko polje, Lebršnik and the waters of Gacko: a watershed between two seas and kajmak matured in a skin
Gatačko polje lies at 920 to 960 m and is drained by the sinking Mušnica, the headwater of the Trebišnjica. Part of it drains underground to the Black Sea, the rest to the Adriatic. "Gatački kajmak iz mješine" has been a protected designation of origin since 2024 and is made from 1 May to 1 November, and at the end of February the Tourist Organisation of Gacko holds the "Svi na snijeg" event on Čemerno.
Karst of East Herzegovina: polje, ponor, estavelle and spring in local examples
Polje, ponor, estavelle, spring, doline and sinking river are explained with examples from Gacko, Nevesinje, Bileća, Berkovići and Popovo polje. The Trebišnjica hydropower system lined the riverbed through Popovo polje with concrete and changed the water regime. The Dabar hydropower plant, announced for 2028, carries water from Nevesinjsko polje into Dabarsko polje and on towards Bileća lake.
Nevesinjsko polje, the Zalomka and Morine: a karst polje, a sinking river and summer katuns
Nevesinjsko polje is one of the largest karst poljes in BiH, with about 18,000 ha of arable land. In summer the Zalomka flows underground for most of its course, and the Ovčiji brod bridge has been a national monument since 2018. The Pošćenje dam for the Dabar hydropower plant is being built on the polje, with the reservoir due to fill by the end of 2027, and Nevesinje potatoes and skin-matured cheese can be bought from producers on the platform.
Trebinje: the Arslanagić bridge, Tvrdoš, Leotar and the Trebišnjica
The Arslanagić bridge of 1574 was flooded in 1965 and rebuilt in the centre of Trebinje in 1972; according to the KONS decision it has been a national monument since 2006. Tvrdoš monastery is 4.5 km from town, and the tasting room of its cellar seats up to 150 people with advance booking. The Trebišnjica's surface course used to vary from 35 to 90 km, and Orjen Nature Park lies south of the river.
Bileća lake and the Grančarevo dam: drowned villages and the nature around the lake
Bileća lake was formed by the 123 m Grančarevo dam, completed in 1967. The houses, graveyards and roads of Panik, Orah, Čepelica, Zadublje and Miruše lie under it, though Čepelica, Orah and Miruše still have residents. The lake covers about 33 km², and the Somovijada catfish competitions take place at the end of July and the beginning of August.
Dabarsko and Fatničko polje near Berkovići: floods from late autumn to spring and birds
Dabarsko and Fatničko polje near Berkovići are under water from late autumn to spring, and cranes and lapwings stop there on migration. The gaovica fish comes out of the Vrijeka springs in spring and autumn, and the waterfall by Ratkovača runs in winter. A canal for the Dabar hydropower plant, announced for 2027 and 2028, is being built across Dabarsko polje, so flooding may change.
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