Hello,

we are Darjan Lorenčič and Alen Šarkanj, the young and enthusiastic creators of the Pekouče Onej brand, where we grow chillies with great dedication and use them to make fermented hot sauces and other homemade products.

Last year, we were given shared use of a greenhouse in Bratonci, on the main road between Murska Sobota and Beltinci. The greenhouse had been damaged in a storm years ago, as the wind had partially blown the roof off. Despite this, we decided to bring it back to life. With a great deal of effort, time, sacrifice and stress, we spent several months restoring and re-covering it. We put in a huge amount of manual labour, energy and our own funds to get it ready for the new season.

Just a few days ago, we had even added extra ropes to secure the greenhouse as best we could against the forecast hurricane-force winds. We hoped that would be enough. But the worst happened – the wind blew the greenhouse cover off again and destroyed a large part of our work. All the effort of the past few months was wiped out in an instant.

The biggest loss is the new plastic sheeting, which we had only just installed . We need around €2,000 to re-cover the entire greenhouse . This is a huge expense for us, especially as we are building the project alongside our regular jobs and with limited funds.

We are both still young and believe in hard work, perseverance and an honest approach. Darjan Lorenčič teaches history at the Sveta Trojica Primary School and Nursery and at the SPTŠ Murska Sobota, whilst Alen Šarkanj works in the hospitality industry.

Despite our full-time jobs, we invest all our free time in building something of our own – something local and of high quality. The greenhouse was not just a space for growing seedlings, but also a source of hope, development and a step forward in our story.

That is why we are turning to kind-hearted people with a request for help. Every contribution will help us to cover the greenhouse again and continue with the work we do with all our hearts. As a token of our gratitude, we will send each donor a message containing discount vouchers for online orders of our sauces:

• €5 – 5% discount
• €10 – 10% discount
• €20 – 20% discount
• €50 – 50% discount
• €70 or more – 70% discount

Thank you to each and every one of you who will contribute and share our story. Every bit of help counts and means more to us than we can put into words.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Darjan Lorenčič and Alen Šarkanj

Pekouče Onej