The Kostel Tourist and Sports Society

The Kostel Tourist and Sports Society (TSS), which unites all the creative forces of the young municipality of Kostel, has made outstanding achievements in the area of promotion of lifelong learning. Since its establishment in 1991, education has been one of the Society's priorities. At the heart of these activities is the president of the Society, Dr Stanko Nikolič, an organiser, strategist and a coordinator of the desires, plans, projects and dreams of the local population.

Until recently, the Kostel region was a neglected, closed area. Residents therefore had to tackle tasks that do not strictly belong within the narrow frame of tourism. They assisted in the reconstruction and asphalt paving of roads, construction of the water supply network, telephone network, collecting and depositing of waste, electrification, outdoor lighting and other. Previously the region had been unfamiliar with items that most areas of civilisation take for granted. In 1998, the Society's efforts towards establishing a normal life for the people from Kostel contributed to the forming of an independent municipality with a population of 700 residents.

The activities of the Society include the areas of sports and recreation, celebrations and customs, lifelong learning, tourist promotion, public utility infrastructure, international cooperation, designing development programmes, organising lectures, seminars, international volunteer work camps, research camps and various courses.

In the countryside, wintertime is traditionally a time for studying, and during this time of year a range of activities was born spontaneously. The Society become a Winter University of Kostel of sorts prioritising practical knowledge, such as cultivating fruit trees and medicinal herbs, arranging gardens, bio-farming, healthy nutrition, the efficient use of renewable resources of energy, tourist-related business opportunities, environmental development, provision of running water for human consumption, acquisition of a trademark, international cooperation and sustainable development. They also prepared a number of tourist brochures, tourist guides, postcards, books, souvenirs and other promotion material. They also endeavoured to promote local delicacies. Their way of celebrating the Lifelong Learning Week 2000 was to issue a book on Kostel dishes, customs and - jokes. That is their contribution to the preservation of heritage, boosting the self-esteem of the once ‘forgotten' residents of the Municipality of Kostel.