Franjo Sablic - Unsung Hero

Franjo or Franz as he was known was quite simply mad!

Franz was responsible for organising who did what each day at the Eco centre in Croatia. He would make sure no one was at a loss for things to do - even if it meant lifting donkey poo (thanks Franz!).

He seemed to work at the centre 7 days a week and 12 hours a day (mind you he did have 3 kids back home including a baby so the eco centre might have seemed a blissful paradise in comparison).

After work he would organise things like boat trips or guided bus tours but when he had to be he was strict in making sure everybody knew what they had to do - His catchphrase was "After eating is Meeting!" and boy did he make sure of that.



Franz doing his Sami Selio impersonation.

A couple of other things about Franz.

He is a coach for a local kids football team and is fanatical about the game (well betting on it anyway)

He is licensed to hunt wild boar. I will do a minor Ray Rant here. Wild boar were introduced to the Island in the 50's or 60's so that rich hunters could come and hunt when ever they wanted. (they are not native to the island) They have bred out of control and cause immense damage to the land and even kill lambs and sheep. The locals are powerless to react as they are not allowed to shoot the boars (only the hunters are allowed and they do not give out their licenses easily). As a result of this some locals have tried to illegally poison boars by placing out poisoned meat. This has also resulted in deaths to griffin vultures and was one of the biggest reasons for their decline on the island. The hunters keep the boar population high by only killing a certain numbr of boar at a time - Franz is the only hunter trying to actually limit the population.