Learn how to grow food and manage your own regenerative farm one hour from Bucharest, Romania

Details

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  Description

  We are the Permaculture Research Institute of Romania, an NGO developing projects in the field of regenerative agriculture & ethical entrepreneurship, ecology, supporting the practice of permaculture in Romania with a multidisciplinary approach.
  
  We invite you to volunteer at Sol și Suflet, the first regenerative farm in Romania - the Permanent center for Production, Innovation and Education in Regenerative Agriculture. We aim to research and develop a profitable and scalable regenerative farming model which will empower old and new farmers with the knowledge necessary to efficiently grow food, manage their own regenerative farm or enterprise while providing quality, fresh produce to local communities, growing soil, educating prospective farmers and increasing their quality of life.
  
  Through our project, we want to research, implement, promote and teach regenerative food production practices which improve soil fertility, protect biodiversity, mitigate climate change, create a profit and offer healthy food to local communities and a high quality of life for farmers. We aim to help develop a network of regenerative farms which act as demonstration, production and educational sites, support the environment, regenerate soil and biodiversity and supply quality fresh produce to people.
  
  We use techniques such as biointensive regenerative-organic market gardening, minimal till on a 10 year crop rotation, mulching, cover crops & green manure, natural stimulation of soil microbiological activity. We only use naturally-based inputs approved in biological agriculture and lots and lots of compost.
  
  Our farm was started at the beginning of 2021 and is located in Vlădeni, Dâmbovița, 1 hour away from Bucharest), near the forest and a river, in the Romanian countryside on 4 ha of land.
  Currently, we are developing our production infrastructure, our camping & residential site, developing our production model, producing regenerative organic vegetables and herbs and preparing for winter.
  We take volunteers 12 months a year.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance

  Help with Computers/ Internet
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We love to share our knowledge about regenerative agriculture, permaculture, construction, tools, food & cooking, off-grid living and community living.
  At the farm, you can learn regenerative agriculture techniques and practices that you can then apply in your own projects, and learn to use various kinds of tools which make our work more efficient.
  
  We are actively trying to create a space where people can exchange knowledge and insights and get a better understanding of regenerative agriculture and to create a living & farming community through community-living technologies, respecting and integrating individual authenticity,
  
  We host residential interns, volunteers, work-awayers, WWOOFers and we organize various activities like Permablitzes, hands-on courses, workshops, permaculture community festivals, open days, so there will be plenty of opportunities to meet new people with shared interests and expand your knowledge about regenerative food production.

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  Help

  We invite volunteers who are passionate about growing food in a way which is beneficial to both nature and humans and are interested in developing their own regenerative agriculture project.
  
  We need help with the usual farm activities: preparing beds, seeding, weeding, planting, taking care of the seedlings and plants, watering, harvesting and other tasks, like construction work, general maintenance & upkeep, repairs etc. Previous experience in farm work is appreciated, but not mandatory, as you will be generally accompanied by experienced people.
  
  We love creative people and we'd also like volunteers with skills in photography, videography, graphic design, web design, marketing & sales etc. to give us another perspective on our farming adventure.
  
  We would also love to have a chef on the farm! We always have an abundance of fresh vegetables to get creative with, So if you have experience in vegetarian and vegan cooking, let us know! You would mostly be doing cooking and kitchen maintenance, and occasionally farm work.
  
  In 2024 a videographer is also very welcome, to help make documentaries and other types of video content.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  French: Fluent
  Romanian: Fluent

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  Accommodation

  --- IMPORTANT SPRING 2024 UPDATE
  
  We have an insulated dome (8 meter diameter, so it's rather big) with gas heating, which can accommodate a couple, or two people who get along.
  
  We've had volunteers in the past who came in their own camper van during the winter and that turned out great :)
  
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  During the summer the situation is easier: we offer accommodation in the farm's camping area and 3 meals a day (we always eat lunch together, for the rest of the meals we provide ingredients and, occasionally, we will share other meals). The schedule is 25 hrs / week (5 hrs/day and flexible enough to suit your needs) Our food is always freshly cooked & from the field and we rely mostly on farm-grown vegetables for our meals (we grow on average ~20 varieties at any time). We cook, serve and eat vegetarian & vegan food, but there is access to clean meat, milk, cheese and eggs from our neighbour's animals.
  
  Volunteers will be hosted in the camping space at the farm (during summer).
  
  We have all the necessary facilities to ensure the volunteers’ comfort: internet, fully equipped kitchen, bathroom, washing machine, bed sheets and towels.
  
  The farm contains indoor & outdoor kitchens, an outdoor compost toilet and a solar-heated outdoor shower, as well as Wi-fi, office and chill-out spaces.

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  What else ...

  The farm is located in a peaceful rural area with rich biodiversity, surrounded in part by forests and with a small river passing by, about 30 minutes away by car from the nearest city of Ploiești. You can spend time enjoying the rural rhythm of life and exploring the nature around villages in the area, visit the nearby Wild Bison reservation or plan a trip to the mountains, which are less than 1 hour away. The capital city, Bucharest, is located one hour away.
  
  Guidelines:
  
  The main rules of living at the farm are:
  - No drugs & alcohol
  - No physical or verbal violence
  - Common spaces are shared by everyone but we are responsible for cleaning after ourselves.
  - We can pick you up from the city of Ploiești.
  
  If we missed anything, ask us!

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  We can host digital nomads during the summer, when the outdoor office and camping area are available, as long as they can respect the working hours at the farm. In summer, they can work on their own projects in mid-day hours, or in their spare time. Usually, the internet connection at the farm is good. Occasionally, the connection might interrupt or have a few speed glitches, but not for very long. (less than 5-10 minutes).

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  Space for parking camper vans

  Our parking space and camping area are large enough to accommodate camper vans of any size (even a school bus!) You can plug in to electricity and fill up on water, there is a farm Wi-Fi, an extravagant outdoor kitchen, washing machine, swanky compost toilet and oh-so-beloved solar-heated outdoor shower.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

  5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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