Whatever you might think about The Beautiful Croatia, it's not all that bad. The state will occasionally throw an opportunity your way – for example, if your lifelong dream was to escape annoying crowds and live like a hermit on your own microscopic parcel of land far away from the coast, you can now apply for funding to make your house more energy-efficient.
The Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund launched a public tender to provide funding to people living on the islands who are looking to renovate their homes in an eco friendly way. The state offers to cover 80% of expenses for energy efficiency refurbishment of private homes located on islands of the so-called first category. Where's the catch? Well, there isn't one – apart from the amusing fact that the first-category list includes hundreds of islands, islets and rocks that are not only uninhabited, but don't exactly provide any kind of infrastructure.
As stated in the entertaining piece at Morski.hr, the Republic of Croatia included every bit of land protruding from the sea, no matter how small, on the list of locations that qualify for energy efficiency renovation, "so the seagulls and lizards can apply for a new layer of styrofoam on their facades". The tender was first published in 2015; so far, the Fund received a total of 29 applications.
Not a problem in Croatia. / Very Funny Pics
The initiative officially aims to support and entice growth of the island population and improve living conditions on the islands, but when you take a look at the list, the whole thing gets downright funny. For example, there's Galijula near Palagruža island, the southernmost point of Croatia whose surface measures a handful of square meters. Perfect, right? No one would bother you, as there wouldn't be any place to set foot on the islet anyway.
Galijula island / Panoramio
There's also the better-known Jabuka island, one that's always been uninhabited – and so steep, even professional mountain climbers would set up a rope or two to avoid breaking their necks.
Asked about the parametres selected for the list, the Energy Efficiency Fund replied the list of islands was "meant to have an informative character, as the Fund's intent certainly wasn't to support energy efficiency renovations of nonexistent houses built on random rocks." However, as the list in its current form was taken directly from the Islands Act, they weren't legally allowed to intervene and modify the list in any way. Considering that anyone applying to the tender needs to provide certain documents such as the certificate of residence and a deed to prove ownership of an existing house, the Fund was counting on residents of inhabited slands such as Zlarin or Silba, not Jabuka or Galijula.
They can justify it however they want, it remains the brightest point of my day. In case you're planning to relocate and add to the island population in Croatia, take a look at what's on offer here.
