Fatmir Zeneli
Chairperson — forest management specialist
Thirty years in state and communal forestry. "A management plan that the households did not write themselves is a piece of paper. Ours were argued out in the village hall."
About the association
A communal association rooted in the mountain villages it serves
Shoqata e Përdorimit të Pyjeve dhe Kullotave Komunare "Hazgeri" — the Hazgeri Association for the Sustainable Use of Communal Forests and Pastures — is a registered Albanian non-profit (TIN K84812391P) formed by the households who use, and depend on, this land.
Mission & vision
Mission
To safeguard Albania's communal forests and pastures through participatory management: halting illegal cutting and overgrazing, reversing soil erosion, restoring native woodland, and ensuring that rural families draw a lasting livelihood from land they keep in good condition.
Vision
Mountain communities in which forest, pasture and village prosper together — where every hectare has a named guardian, every grazing season has a plan, and the next generation inherits more woodland than the last.
History & communal roots
The slopes around Hazgeri were held in common long before any association existed. Grazing turns, firewood rights and the repair of stone boundary walls were settled by agreement between households, enforced by nothing more than reputation and the presence of neighbours. That informal order broke down in the years of transition: the state forestry service withdrew, boundary markers vanished, and whole hillsides were cut in a single winter.
The association was constituted in 2009 by twenty-eight households who had watched the erosion gullies widen after each rain. The first year's work was unglamorous: a hand-drawn map of user rights, a rebuilt stone wall, and four thousand pine seedlings carried up by hand because no vehicle could reach the planting line. Several of those first trees now stand above head height on the ridge road.
Registration as a formal non-profit followed so that the community could sign management agreements with the municipality, receive seedlings from state nurseries, and account publicly for grant funds. The association's registered seat is in Tirana at Rruga Dritan Hoxha; its work remains in the villages, on foot, season by season.
Executive board & field coordinators
Mimoza Dervishi
Deputy chair — community council delegate
Represents the pasture-using households. "Conservation must leave families better off, or it will not last one winter."
Arben Meta
Field coordinator — reforestation and nursery
Runs the seed collection and nursery cycle. "We grow local provenance only. Seed from this mountain, back onto this mountain."
Elira Kurti
Volunteer coordinator & environmental education
Organises school field days and volunteer intakes. "Children who have planted a tree do not set fire to a forest."
Gëzim Prifti
Treasurer — financial reporting
Keeps the books and the annual statement. "Every seedling, every litre of fuel, recorded and reportable."
Shpresa Balla
Fire watch and forest protection lead
Coordinates the summer watch rota with the municipality. "Ten minutes of warning is the difference between a scorched hectare and a lost hillside."
Non-profit governance & transparency
Shoqata e Përdorimit të Pyjeve dhe Kullotave Komunare "Hazgeri" (TIN: K84812391P) is an officially registered non-profit association in Albania, established for environmental public benefit. It does not trade, does not sell goods or services, and distributes no profit, dividend or surplus to members, founders or staff.
The general assembly of member households meets annually, approves the work plan and the financial statement, and elects the executive board. The board authorises expenditure above defined thresholds and reviews field reports each quarter. Conflicts of interest are declared in writing; a member with a declared interest takes no part in the related decision.
Accounting records are kept in accordance with Albanian requirements for non-profit entities under TIN K84812391P, and all filing and tax registration obligations are met. Planting counts, grazing rotations and erosion works are logged per parcel and are open to inspection by the municipality, by donors and by any member household. Independent ecological audits of restored parcels are welcomed and have been carried out with partner institutions.