Čuvarica (“the keeper” in Bosnian), is a photo project about Nermina Alić. Born in 1981 in Sarajevo, she is currently the only woman working as coppersmith in whole Bosnia, and one of the last artisans to keep this traditional craft alive.

The art of working copper was brought to the Balkans in the 15th century by the Ottomans. Some records say that there were hundreds of coppersmiths in the beginning of the 20th century in Sarajevo, but nowadays (2025) Nermina reports that there are only about 15 left.

About the role of women in this art, she believes that there should be more of them, but she doesn't see this happening any time soon, mainly because of the prejudices and pressure from bosnian society, which still sees this craft as “men's work”.

Fortunately in her case the process was more or less natural, since she inherited and learned this profession from her father, having started attending the workshop from an early age, and so people gradually began to get used to seeing her dedicated to this activity, although she cheerfully confesses that occasionally nowadays she still has people coming to her door and asking “where is the master of this shop?”, especially from older ladies, but she has good relations and is respected by male neighboring artisans

On the other hand, Nermina also sees with apprehension the future of this craft in general, since she does not see young people interested or passionate about Arts anymore, as it used to happen in her time. She shares with me in a caricatured and also worrying way that during the Covid-19 Pandemic she taught for 2 years at the School of Arts, and the questions she received most from students were "how to do this in the quickest, easiest and least complex way?"

Despite this, she says that she keeps the same motivation as on the first day and that her work is quite rewarding, mainly because she can apply her creativity and do different things every day (something she confesses she couldn't live without).

In addition to the traditional coffee sets, Nermina even created a piece that only she sells - candle lamps.

Finally, I asked her if she didn't feel threatened by the increasingly frequent souvenir shops that sell overpriced items of dubious quality, but she is confident that the quality of her work will always bring the right customers.

Nermina ends with a humbling lesson that resonates with me to this day. saying “as long as I have my nafaka, it’s enough.” (turkish word, meaning everything that one needs for one's subsistence).