Help with our tiny family farm and enjoy pure rural life Valchanovo, Bulgaria

Details

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  Description

  We are a family of three with a tiny farm on half a hectar of land. We raise goats, keep two horses, a hive or two, some veggie beds. Always something to do. Besides, we have kept our remote jobs which makes the farming part even more thrilling. For which reason we really would appreciate some help.
  My partner is local but I moved here some two years ago having spent prior to that quite a few years in London's corporate world. The place we are living in now is a very quiet small village in the Southeast of Bulgaria. We very much appreciate that quietness, lack of that constant city noise and the fact that we are surrounded by nature.
  Population of our place barely reaches 50 people on the weekends :D In other words there is not much going on here. So if you are someone who wants to enjoy some quiet atmosphere here is the right place for you.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  What's this?
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Since we make cheese it would be a great opportunity for you to learn how to make white cheese the traditional way but you will not have to be involved in that, just if interested as is with everything else around our homestead. Traditionally made cheese is much different from all cheese that is made the commercial way nowadays in Bulgaria in regards to consumer's health. Anyone interested in healthy meals and cooking will be able to learn something from us and share their own experience. It is a small community where we exchange products so these occasions would be a great chance to interact with locals some of whom do speak English or other languages and are always happy to have a word with somebody as the number of people in our village isn't that high.
  We also keep a few hives but have so far been unable to get any honey out of them for the last 3 years since we have started them so lots of mistakes to share :D if you are interested in bee keeping.
  We could share any of the languages we speak as indicated in the other section.
  My partner could teach you Bulgarian folklore dances or have a joint music session if interested and have your instrument along. And I would love to speak with you about astrology and numerology should be interested in those.

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  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

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  Help

  We'd be happy if you could walk our goats for an hour or two as they almost never go out if no one is accompanying them. That would spare us time which we could devote to improving processes on the farm or do our remote work. The garden always requires some tasks to be done, we are afraid we won't be able to harvest and process the vegetables we've been growing.
  Some fencing and building of new sheds is also in sight. All these activities besides grazing the goats, we could do together. Our garden is an attempt of permaculture but we are still learning it so we could take advantage of your knowledge if you are willing to share with us. Same goes for the goats and the horses. Our two horses still need training, one of them - initial training, so if you are skilled in that and willing to help we'd be happy to hear more.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  Bulgarian: Fluent
  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  Japanese: Fluent
  Lithuanian: Fluent
  Russian: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  We speak two main langauages at home-Russian and English. I would not say we are interested in learning more languages than the ones indicated but we are very happy to share our knowledge of languages with anyone who is interested.
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  Accommodation

  The house has two storeys, you will be occupying the upper one where there is all you need such as bath, toilet, kitchen with fridges, stove etc. Kitchen will be shared with us though.
  We do eat meat too even though not very often.
  We take our breakfast after goat milking which is around 9-9:30 am but you are free to do so at any time or join us.
  Lunch is rarely earlier than 2 pm.
  Dinner is late too as we need to milk goats in the evening. At dinner we don't cook meat but make big salads out of cucumbers, tomatoes, onions etc from our garden with seeds instead. Again, if you wish so you are free to have your meals separetely at different times even though we'd be happy to have them together.

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  What else ...

  There is almost no public transport to our place. We travel to the nearby towns now every day by car so we could deliver whatever you need or give you lift if you need. We are an hour drive from the sea so we could drop you in the city (Burgas) when we have to go there for shopping so you can enjoy some time around the beach, dive into the salt-pans or have a bike ride /they got very nice municipal electrical bikes in Burgas/, we can suggest you some routes there.
  Hiking around is always an option even though there are no marked hiking paths. Yet, we will provide you a mountain bike and a GPS navigation to explore wherever you wish.

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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

  Internet reception here at the house isn't great. It could work out if you no require fast speeds.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  For campers there is a flat space covered with grass. We just pull a cable and plug you in. Unfortunately, we can't offer sewer connection.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  Hours expected

  4 hours a day, 5 days a week. No worries, you no need to do any work out when it is hot.