This is a story about a hardly known and forgotten place in Bosnia and Herzegovina - and a lot can be said about this place. It is the youngest, smallest and most rural municipality run by the youngest mayor in the country's Federation entity - Dobretici.

It is considered to be the sixth most war-torn municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where even today a large number of the houses remains unrestored. Some three hundred locals live here today, and the local grade school is attended by a mere 16 students.

But life goes on as normal around here. The small municipality spreads across 65 square kilometres at the slopes of the little known mountain Ranca in mid-Bosnia, between the towns of Travnik and Jajce – 1.000 metres above sea level. One must travel via a dirt road to reach this place, which is almost hidden from the eyes of the whole world.

The view from a distance entails destroyed houses, empty streets and a view into a forgotten world. Only when one descends towards the center of this municipality can the first signs of life be found. This is the image of the youngest, smallest and most rural municipality in Bosnia's Federation Entity.

It is run by the Federation's youngest mayor – Ivo Cakaric. This 27-year-old left his birthplace when he was two years old because of the war. Two decades later, after a life in Croatia, he decided to trade the city, noise and the life on the concrete streets in for a life in his birthplace.

“I decided to leave Rijeka and my job at the university because my heart longed for my birthplace. I won the election and I found that this was the right choice, as I am happy that after 24 years I feel the joy of living in my birthplace”, he said.

But the process of post-war returns has been far from successful. Some 4.700 locals lived here before the war. According to the latest census, today some 1.629 people are registered.

But only some 300 people now actually live here.

While 1.200 students once sat at the local grade school's desks, today there are only 16 of them. Dobretici is mostly home to older population. As other municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dobretici has a church, post office, electrical utility, a school and a municipal government building.

However, it does not have a store. The local coffee shop is the heart of this place. It is the only place where the locals gather, talk and laugh together.

Regulars Jozo and Nikola are here every day.

“I don't know where we would be gathering if it wasn't for the coffee shop. I don't know what we older people would do if it wasn't there. We can't go to town, or anywhere”, said Nikola Slipcevic.

“I drink coffee… I can't drink anything alcoholic, I take medication, somtimes I have a beer, but… the prices are very good for us older people.” , Jozo added.

Gordana Ilinkovic owns this place for the past 18 years. The shop she once ran has failed, but the coffee shop she owns now is, for her, a worthwile business.

“I am satisfied, the guests are good and we know each other. I love this job and I spent time in a coffee shop with my parents when I was a child. I only know how to do this and I don't know where else I could work and live”, said Ilinkovic.

This small municipality is also characterised by a very unusual fact. In the village of Brnici, at nearly 1.500 meters above sea level, lies a house where someone can always be found. This is where family Juric lives – counting six members. Although it is the most unusual house in Bosnia and Herzegovina, life is normal for those who live there.

“It's a good life, on my own property. We have enough, we are not hungry or thirsty, we have clothes, but we have to work… I prune the wool and knit socks out of it, and as it is cold we wear slippers. This is how my days go by, my feet hurt, I can't go anywhere,”  said Mare Juric from Brnjici.

“Rarely anyone comes here, sometimes in the summer, but rarely in the winter and when someone does arrive, we are keen to talk to them”,he added.

Only two children were born in this village since the end of the war – and both in this house.

Valentina, a 23-year-old mother, said this is the life she always wanted.

“I tend to the children and the cattle. We are getting by through the winter, we have internet, it is not as it used to be. We work, and this is how our days pass by. I am happy, the children are healthy, my husband works, and I am doing great. At least our lives are calm, there is no gossip or conflict. You just work, and that's it,” she added.

The future is not uncertain for the people in this house. Although it remains forgotten, this municipality prevails and everyday life in it goes on. For nine months a year, this life takes place under a layer of snow.