Women Innovators in Slovenia - Farming Fact Sheet #067

Damjana Ostanek, an agronomist, revitalized her family's 2-hectare vegetable farm, expanding it to 7 hectares with 80 acres of covered area. Through innovative pickling processes and strategic investments, she created a leading Slovenian pickled vegetable brand, achieving full on-farm resource utilization, solar energy use, and technological upgrades like computerized irrigation and cold storage. The farm now supplies over 100 outlets nationwide, including schools, restaurants, and retailers, and has created multiple jobs. Her entrepreneurial vision, supported by her agronomy background and accounting experience, transformed the farm into a model of sustainability and resilience.