Serbia's sustainable sorghum brooms sweep through European markets

On the quiet plains of northern Serbia, where golden fields of sorghum shimmer under the late autumn sun, an old craft is thriving in a new era. 

Once a humble village trade, broom-making has become one of the region's most successful export industries – powered by tradition, resilience and the growing demand for sustainable, plastic-free products.

Sorghum, a hardy crop that withstands drought and high summer heat, has become an agricultural mainstay in areas where other staples like soy and corn have suffered from erratic weather. 

On his 50,000 square meter farm near the village of Selenča, farmer Viliam Škabla harvests about 20 tonnes of sorghum each year. The plant, he explains, is used in more ways than one.

"The seeds are used to feed livestock, mainly cows and sheep, and brooms are mostly made from these small branches," Škabla says. "Some people use the leaf waste, which occurs during pre-processing here, and later in broom production, for bio-pellets used for heating."

From field to market

Just a few kilometers away, the rhythmic clatter of machinery and the hum of music from an old radio fill a modest family-run factory. Here, the factory owner Franja Gašparovski and his 20 workers transform bundles of dried sorghum into handmade brooms. 

Each year, they produce around 200,000 pieces – most of which are shipped to Italy and Croatia, where consumers are embracing natural, biodegradable household tools.

But Gašparovski says the biggest challenge isn't production: it's finding skilled hands.

"Our biggest challenge is workforce," he explains. "It takes a lot of time to learn to make a broom. It's a manual process and a lot of young people are leaving the country, and they don't want to learn."

Inside his workshop, workers meticulously tie, sew, and trim each broom by hand – a process that demands patience, precision, and experience often passed down through generations. Rows of finished brooms line the walls, ready for export.

As global markets shift toward sustainable living, Serbia's traditional broom makers have found themselves at the right place at the right time. Their sorghum brooms, once seen as relics of rural life, now symbolize eco-friendly craftsmanship and low-carbon production.

With climate change reshaping agriculture, sorghum's resilience offers a rare combination of economic stability and environmental sustainability – breathing new life into an age-old Serbian craft that continues to sweep across Europe.