Solar Pecka: Crowdfunding campaign for a solar power plant in the village of Pecka

The initiative “Solar Pecka” was launched by the Visitor Center Pecka from Mrkonjić Grad and the Center for Environment from Banja Luka in May 2019. The ‘Coalition for Sana’, which has been working for a long time to protect this area, is also involved.

As part of this initiative, an online crowdfunding campaign was launched to raise funds needed to install a system of solar panels and collectors on the roof of the Visitor Center Pecka, located in the village of the same name near Mrkonjić Grad.

It is an old school building which, with the support of the Municipality of Mrkonjić Grad, was given for use to a group of enthusiasts and lovers of villages and nature in 2014, and which was then reconstructed into a center for sustainable tourism in this rural сommunity. This Center enjoys the full support of the Municipality of Mrkonjić Grad and all the locals of the village of Pecka who are happy to participate in its work and contribute to this success story.

Thanks to the effort and love invested in the Center, it quickly became an unavoidable destination on the map of many tourists, adventurers, families who want a short escape to nature, but also the destination of many school excursions and visits of domestic and international guests.

The online crowdfunding campaign “Solar Pecka” was successfully completed in July 2019, and through it 6,687 US dollars were provided.

This amount is enough to install solar collectors to heat 300 liters of water and part of the photovoltaic panels that produce electricity on the roof of the Visitor Center Pecka, which was the goal of the campaign.

The crowdfunding campaign is available at this link.

The “Solar Pecka” campaign lasted 26 days, and 226 individuals and organizations invested money in it. This campaign is the first civic initiative that will bring solar energy to the rural area and is the first step of our initiative.

Solar energy is the future that awaits us, and with the small example of Pecka, we want to together encourage and promote this type of sustainable energy sources and show that energy can be obtained in this way.

In addition, we will add a new socio-educational dimension to the Visitor Center: the example of using the sun to produce energy through the direct participation of citizens and private individuals, through this unique model of joint investment. The positive outcome of this campaign will be directly enjoyed by the local community and all visitors and users of the services of this center.

A total of 13,000 USD (US dollars) is needed to install the complete system (5.4 kWp) on the roof of the Visitor Center and realize the idea, which is our ultimate goal. Thanks to the success of the online crowdfunding campaign we have already entered this second phase, which we plan to realize with the support of associations and companies.

Within the Center, it is possible to rent bicycles, organize trips to the springs of the Sana, and organize numerous family events with local food. 

The Center also hosts a two-day OUTDOOR festival that brings together families with children from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a socially responsible and sustainable tourism product that, by popularizing beautiful Pecka, promotes active and healthy living, cycling, hiking and natural beauty, as well as strengthens the local economy and encourages the development of the entire region.

The Center for Environment has been cooperating with the Visitor Center Pecka since its founding and together we have decided to make this success story even more successful by promoting renewable energy sources and investing in a sustainable future.

The success of our joint campaign is a confirmation of the commitment of a large number of citizens to invest in renewable energy sources, but also small successful projects that, thanks to work and effort, today contribute to the development of the entire region.

You can watch the final video at this link: