Domagoj Šejatović, PP Lonjsko polje: The purpose of the new logo is to support farmers and encourage entrepreneurship

The public institution Lonjsko Polje Nature Park presented a new logo Originally from Lonjsko polje and slogan From the swamp (k)paradise for local products and services in the Park area. 

The purpose of the logo with the corresponding slogan is to unite producers and offer quality products and services from the protected area, the area of ​​influence and the transition area of ​​the Nature Park in order to ensure the recognition of quality products and services on the market.

Director of the Park, Domagoj Šejatović, commented for HrTurizam that the presentation of the logo and slogan at the Osekovo Visitor Center was a big day for their institution, but also for the entire area of ​​Lonjsko polje.

"The logo came from the idea of ​​an association of manufacturers, which is the meaning of the whole story. We want to gather quality products and services from the protected area in one place", said Šejatović, emphasizing that these are primarily ecological products. The goal is recognition and quality of these products and services on the market.

"I mean agricultural products, food, handicrafts, souvenirs, even catering menus that have at least one third of characteristic dishes from Lonjsko polje - they will be able to get that mark on their menu", explains the director of the Park.

Future users of the logo will benefit the most. Products with this mark will primarily be sold in their souvenir shops - in Krapje, Repušnica, Čigoč and Osekovo - where the visitor centers are located.

It will additionally promote all users to website, as well as on other promotional materials and on social networks. They are also considering the idea of ​​opening a new Facebook page that would promote only products with that label, and would be linked to the existing page.

"Once a year, we plan to hold events where all holders of the label will socialize with the aim of exchanging ideas on how to improve everything together. Workshops will be organized in every city that has a spatial coverage within the Lonjsko Polje Nature Park, where potential users will be able to find out how they can become bearers of the logo.", reveals Šejatović.

Park employees will hold presentations and answer questions from interested manufacturers and service providers. The plan is to hold events in each visitor center, and by the end of this public call, 8 or 9 workshops will be held. The public call will be open until the end of March 2025.

They are also thinking about re-launching a public call for new users every year, and the logo assignment contracts will be valid for five years.

"The basic meaning is to support agricultural production and encourage entrepreneurship in the Park area, but the project will also result in the visibility of the protected area itself. The first place is certainly the local population, because without them there is no Park", emphasizes the director of PP Lonjsko polje. 

Namely, he believes that people should be helped in the marketing of products so that they can continue to do what they are doing and continue to live in this area.

When asked where the idea for this move came from, he replied that it came from various workshops and fairs where local producers exhibited their quality products. 

There are 14 settlements in the area of ​​the Park with a population of about 4000. The park has four visitor centers and an increasing number of guests who want to enjoy the natural beauty of Lonjsko polje, as well as quality local products.

Before releasing the information to the public, the director, as he states, talked to a lot of farmers, on the basis of which he expects the project to be sustainable.

"The logo is a stylized stork because the Park is best known for that species. Foreigners know us primarily because of the white storks, so the logo was designed with the aim of maximum recognition. Let's remind you that in 1994, the village of Čigoč was declared the first European village of the genus, and since then we have been continuously holding the Štrokovo event.", describes Šejatović, adding that strok is masculine, and the name is used only in Čigoč.

It invites all potential users to sign up for the public call if they meet the required conditions, so that the overall offer is as diverse as possible, which would result in a wide range of products being offered. Those interested can apply HERE.

At the end of all invitations to visit the Lonjsko polje Nature Park, which he considers to be green gem which with the new logo and slogan - and above all future users - forms a complete story.

Photo: Tomislav Koran