Shahe Leka, 91, shares the secret to her longevity: working in the village, eating organic foods, and she says she expects to live to 120

The years on Shahe Leka’s shoulders are just a number. The 91-year-old from the village of Spathar in Librazhd stays active every day. Life hasn’t been easy for her, as she became a widow at 25 and raised four children alone while doing heavy labor. Despite all the hardships, she never gave up.

“I got married at 13, and I have two sons and two daughters. My husband was a partisan during the war and passed away when I was 25. I never remarried.

I worked for seven years in construction. I made panels and fire stations as they did back then. Until the end, I was constantly in the cooperative, doing every kind of work.

I worked mostly with men, cutting oak trees; I didn’t worry about gossip. I focused on the work.

I would go up to the top of the mountain, where the cooperative’s livestock was, and carry 50 kg of fertilizer on my back down to the village. If I had had this modern time back then, I wouldn’t have suffered at all. Even now, if I have the strength, I take care of 20 goats.

Today, you have all the land, chickens as many as you want, livestock, and pigs. Live according to that; it supports the government too, not just yourself. People today don’t work,” she told the show “Një nga ne,” adding, “Work has kept me this strong.”

Besides work, which keeps her energetic and in shape, her diet is key to her health. She doesn’t take medicine, even for a cold, and trusts natural remedies instead, suffering from no health problems.

“I eat dairy, onions with cheese and curd, and thistles. I don’t eat hot peppers or tomatoes. Once I had a stomach ulcer. The doctor told me to eat honey and butter mixed without salt. After that remedy, I felt nothing. Medicines aren’t like they used to be, so I don’t use them. Don’t eat what your stomach can’t handle. When we had a cold, we used sheep wool on the body; the sheep’s sweat enters the body and cures the cold,” Shahe explains.

Longevity runs in her genes.

“My grandmother lived to 120. It’s God who decides, but I think I will reach that too, though you never know,” concludes the 91-year-old.

“KORÇA BOOM”