Help with improving a small community and NGO in Latinovac, Slavonia, Croatia

Croatia

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Host rating
Feedback
7
Last activity
29/09/2020
Nº of Facebook friends
192
Reply rate
87.5 %
Average reply time:
within 1 day
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Availability

2020

Min stay requested: at least a week

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What's this?

Details

Description
My name is Branka, guider of this place. After a career of 25 years as a psychologist in the city, I retired to live in a simple way. In 1998, I bought a small house in the Latinovac village, Croatia. Over the years, lot of people from all over the world brought their help to make this place what is it today. A peaceful place, very simple and basic. This is all we really need to be happy in our community.

In 2019, my goals are to work on progress in permaculture gardening and reach sustainablility in a way of having most our own food. Also working on maintaining and rebuilding the house (painting the walls and mowing the grass). Continue on designing the place making more fncional).
Continue with zen meditation and working permaculture garden.

With this project, we´ll continue to cooperate with the Zen sangha from Germany, in Steerberg, and we will contibute in growing the sangha mentoring, by Zen master Christoph.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
DIY and building projects
General Maintenance
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Farmstay help
Help with Eco Projects
Help around the house
Art Projects
Help with Computers/ Internet
Teaching
UN sustainablity goals this host is trying to achieve
...
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What's this?
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Simple life in nature, meet different people and contribute to a growing spiritual life in a multicultural communitiy.
Help
Volunteers are welcomed to share this space and help with design, build, cooking, cleaning, gardening, permaculture, helping with the website and bring new ideas. They are welcome to be creative and have initiative.

Guests can stay up to two weeks.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Croatian: Fluent
Accommodation
Two volonteers can be accomodated in one house, and two others in an other house. Travellers will be accomodated in one/two beds rooms using common bathroom with washing mashine.
What else ...
In the village, there is a bus connection with places up to 30 km: Nasice, Osijek, Slavonski Brod, Požega.
It is possible to reach the village from Zagreb by the train

Piano players can play, you can read books, walk, etc.

Our place is non-smoking, alcohol and drug free.
A little more information
- Internet access
- Limited internet access
- We have pets
- We are smokers
- Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
Maximum 5 hours a day, 5 days a week

Photos

Workawayers from Amerika and Colombia, In the permaculture garden, April 2019

Workwayer fro Germany is preparing"ajvar" traditionala prepared paprika

Workwayer from USA is working on wood for the winter, 2019

Garden mandala and art work by colombian girl workwayer in the yard in Latinovac, 2019

Siesta time after lunch with villagers, May 2019.

Show all photos

Workwayrs from Canada, after morning zen meditation , 2018.

Zendo

After zen training 2018.

Workwayer from Brazil in Latinovac,2018.

Summer 2018, workwayer from Canada

Summer 2018

Feedback left by and about host (7)

These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.

Accuracy of profile:
(4.5)

Cultural exchange:
(5.0)

Communication:
(3.8)

22/11/2019

Left by Workawayer (David) for host

I will write this feedback from an objective point of view trying to include as much information as I can so future workawayers know what to expect.

I stayed at this place for 20 days. Branka is a kind host. The house where I stayed, although simple, cover all the basic needs. The village is really small, is set in a rural area and has a few… read more places with very nice views. If you decide to come you can rest assure that you won't end up in a bad place or with a bad host.

The main reason why Branka hosts people is to teach them about Zen. And within Zen, she focuses mainly on the forms and the rituals. You can expect to chant a lot of songs in Sanskrit, learn different terminology and learn how to move while practicing Zen. For me this is one of the most important distinctions to make: the way we meditate here follows a very defined set of rules and manners and she makes a special emphasis in following them. During my time there I didn't have many conversations with Branka about the more subtle aspects of Zen: The teachings, the concepts, the history, etc. The focus was almost always on the outer aspects. It's like learning the "how, when and what" but not the "why". Without that understanding, it was hard for me to understand which rules came from the Zen tradition and which ones came from personal ideologies which made some rituals to feel arbitrary. I know the zen tradition is known for it lack of explanations but this felt messy to me.

The strictness, tidiness, and clarity of the outer aspects of the Zen practice contrast with everything else. There is no structure about what to do and misunderstandings are common. The work is really light and none of the volunteers who were there worked more than maybe 2 hours a day but because of the lack of structure and clarity, I found it hard some times to fully enjoy my free time.

In the last 3 days of my stay, we had a Zen Session. I didn't know what to expect from that when I first exchanged emails with her, so I would also like to leave feedback or a better description of that. A Zen Session is sort of a retreat. For 3 days (in my case) we practiced Zen from 7 in the morning till 9 in the evening. Throughout the day we were encouraged not to talk, not to use our phones and stayed in a meditative state. These rules were not super strict, if needed you could still talk or use your phone. We all agreed to this and I think it was very interesting to commit in this way just for a few days.

I can't leave a low rating to this place because there's nothing inherently wrong with it. I personally prefer places where communication is more clear and straight forward, but I had a nice time here and I learn many things about Zen. I would describe this experience as interesting, curious, intense from time to time but not particularly joyful or peaceful. I experienced a lot of things inside me. I was not used to meditating and after this experience, I have continued doing it almost daily. It's definitely an interesting experience but not necessarily a comfortable one.

If you decide to come, make sure you have Branka's phone number and address before taking the train. Check the trains time schedules and keep in mind there are not many trains daily. Also, be prepared for changes of plans with very short notice. Have a plan B.

(Very good )

31/08/2019

Left by Workawayer (Clara & Carsten) for host

We have spent one week at brankas house and from the first moment we felt like home. We are very grateful for this inspiring experience. Branka has three houses in that small village Latinovac. We had a room with badroom and kitchen for ourselfs with a cosy backyard. Every morning you are invited to join the meditation. It is really a new,… read more

(Excellent )

22/08/2019

Left by Workawayer (Aylin) for host

Dear Branka, it was a pure pleasure to stay here. So much peace, so much time, so much to learn from you. I am very grateful for this experience and for your generosity.
For interested people: This is not a usual Workaway, Branka wants to share her knowledge about Zen meditation in the first place.

(Excellent )

14/08/2019

Left by Workawayer (John) for host

Branka is the most amazing woman, she is on a mission once again to help young people from across the globe find balance and peace in this ever frightening modern world.

Although I felt like the grandfather of the ‘mob’ , Branka and the others welcomed me with open arms and I learned much about Zen meditation and have continued the methods… read more

(Excellent )

06/05/2019

Left by Workawayer (Davide) for host

Branka hosted me for 2 weeks. My experience with her in the zen-house and in her little village was amazing. There you can learn a lot about yourself and enjoy the silence and the simple things that place can give you. Branka is absolutely lovely: she is really kind all the time and she never miss a chance to thank you for your job (which is not… read more

(Excellent )

05/10/2018

Left by Workawayer (Anikó) for host

I've stayed in Branka's place for ten days, and it was one of my best decisions to choose this small village for my first workaway experience. Branka is the sweetest and most incredible host you can imagine! She was very enquiring, always ready for new information and she learnt new things (like Hungarian language, or bread making) with such… read more enthusiasm! She was flexible, because I changed my arrival date I think three times, but it wasn’t a problem at all for her. We had a lot of joyful conversations on various topics, and I learnt soo much from these exchanging of thoughts. She even gave me a nice book to spend my time with.

The atmosphere was quite relaxing. During my stay there were no other workawayers, so I stayed in the house alone with Branka, but I didn’t have time to be bored. Everyone in the village was incredibly friendly, both locals and other volunteers in the center, so sometimes I met them, or went for a ride on a bike (what Branka lent me), because the landscape was stunning! No wonder that the region is called Golden valley. We started our day with meditation, and first I didn’t know what to expect, as I have never done this before, but this wasn’t a problem. I was curious and excited to see how this works, and soon I started to like it! This one-hour long process helped me to get more focused, to slow down and listen to myself. At the house I could finally be more self-aware, and I try to keep on this mentality in my life. After the ceremony, we had breakfast, then a bit of a foreign language learning and talking, and then we started to do what Branka planned (mostly in the garden, or around the house). The work wasn't hard, and suggestions and initiatives were warmly welcomed, so you can get creative on what to do? I worked 2 hours in the morning and 2 in the afternoon, and after lunch we had a rest, (we didn’t work in the heat). Our big project though was, to renovate an old adobe house, to fix the cracks on the wall and to paint it. We had lunch around 12, and dinner time was around 6 or 7. The dishes were all vegetarian, and Branka made delicious desserts (her gibanica is the best). But after a long week of working, we took the afternoon off and went for a small picnic to a little lake. And this is a one of the lessons I learned there, that keeping balance (not just between work and rest, but in general) is highly important.

I got memorable experiences and important things from the ten days I spent there. The lifestyle in Latinovac was completely different from my usual, and I hope that more or less I can absorb it. I’m immensely thankful for everything to Branka. Not just for the lot of ice cream we had, but for the many new things she taught me in a lot of field. For her kindness, her incredible, energizing, yet calming personality and for showing me a new perspective on life. I would definitely recommend this marvelous place for everybody, to go and experience it by yourself!

Anikó

(Excellent )

28/06/2018

Left by Workawayer (Veronique & Emilie) for host

Branka hosted my sister and I for 8 days. We arrived right in time for the meditation week-end. It was an awesome experience. We had never been meditating before, and now we started with 3+ times a day. At first it was hard, but then we came to enjoy that time of the day that you take only for yourself. After that weekend, we continued to do… read more

(Excellent )

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Host ref number: 155473326615

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