Frach Collective was a self-organized, grassroots volunteer collective that supported people on the move in the Una-Sana Canton of Bosnia and Herzegovina from December 2020 through autumn 2022. It was co-founded together with the KochKollektiv, a Zurich-based action kitchen that normally cooks for demonstrations and climate camps. With their existing infrastructure, network, and fundraising experience they helped get the project off the ground quickly - the first group was on the ground in Bihać within weeks of the Lipa Camp fire in December 2020, a month earlier than originally planned.
I took part in the initial organization, and two months present in donation runs, on-the-ground distribution of non-food items and administering medical aid in Bihać and the surrounding area.
What We Did
Operating out of Bihać, a bottleneck city on the Balkan route near the Croatian EU border, the collective:
- Distributed food, sleeping bags, tents, clothing, shoes, hygiene supplies, medicine, SIM cards, and firewood to people living in informal settlements and jungle camps around Bihać and Velika Kladuša
- Maintained direct contact with people on the move (POM) and responded to their needs after violent pushbacks by Croatian police
- Coordinated with other NGOs and local partners, including eventually handing organizational continuity to On the move e.V. (Tübingen) in mid-2021
- Continued operations for two full years, far beyond the originally planned two months
Crowdfundings
Three campaigns on wemakeit, raising a total of over 93’750 CHF:
| Campaign | By | Raised | Backers | Concluded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frach | Frachkollektiv | CHF 42’803 (535% of goal) | 337 | Feb 2021 |
| Wie weiter in Bihać? | Frachkollektiv | CHF 29’137 (116% of goal) | 161 | Apr 2021 |
| FrachCollective | KochKollektiv | CHF 21’810 (109% of goal) | 105 | Dec 2021 |
Combined with private donations, we generated more than 120’000 CHF which all went directly to aid and relief.