Learn new skills on our paradise near Sisak, Croatia

Details

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  Description

  We are Kruno and Tijana, a couple creating our permaculture paradise in a beautiful and peaceful rural area on the bords of Kupa river, in the continental part of Croatia. The central point of the farm is a mudhouse, surrounded by two natural lakes, a small fruit orchard, a garden with greenhouse, a chicken & ducks coop and woods. We also have beehives and bees.
  We have a big vision and many plans for the future, however our priority is finishing the mudhouse (we moved in in March this year, but it's still a construction site), and taking care of the garden and greenhouse that is feeding us.
  
  Having worked for 20 years as director in the TV industry, Kruno is a great organizer. He has attended and has experience in organizing many natural building workshops and projects, including a natural building academy. He loves construction work and woodwork, which is his passion and a source of relaxation and inventions.
  Having worked for 15 years in human resources management, Tijana enjoys working with people, spending time in the garden, learning from and about bees, sourdough bread baking and making sweet treats and cakes.
  
  As of now we are keen to welcome an independent couple (or friends) motivated to help us develop our farm project. Volunteer time is to be spent helping with the final construction of the mudhouse (upcoming: interior finishing - ceiling, walls, bathroom, kitchen... tasks with mud plastering and painting mud and wood), helping in the garden and greenhouse (weeding, hoeing, watering, harvesting) and feeding and caring for the poultry (they spend most of their time outside so we feed them once a day, and we like to maintain their coop reasonably clean and comfy). There are some occasional repairs and maintenance to be done, and if you enjoy cooking or making desserts - help with the preparation of meals and sweet treats is always welcome. We will try to make sure you can do the stuff that makes your heart sing, but some stuff needs to happen :).
  
  Off course we would welcome skilled carpenters and permaculturists, but if you are handy and motivated that is awesome. Any gardening and building experience is very welcome.
  
  We prefer if people would want to stay at least a month and are also open to motivated people who want to take on a longer term project. That said we had amazing experience with a couple passing by just for a week, who gave us an enourmous push in a short period of time. Whoever feels the calling, we´d love to hear from you!
  
  We like to live healthy and sustainably but don´t take things too seriously and like to have fun. We appreciate people who live from the heart and enjoy being themselves. We are all a work in progress :). In our time off, Kruno likes to go fishing or playing basketball with his 16-year old son Jan, when he's staying with us, while Tijana enjoys baking sourdough bread and cakes, singing and dancing. In summer we spend a lot of time on Kupa river taking long baths, going on occasional boat trips, renting canoes and having some fun paddling, etc. We enjoy spending most of our time in nature, but most of all we appreciate human connection and sharing this amazing life :).
  
  What we can offer:
  
  As we are still quite basic on the farm, our place would be most suitable for couples or friends who appreciate a back to basics and natural stay: think compost toilet, genuine well water, eating from the garden and nature, shooting stars, peace and calm, many birds and trees and the enchanting sounds of nature :).
  
  We offer meals, or in case you don´t always want to hang out with us, at least the ingredients and amenities to whip something up yourself.
  We offer a place for you to park your van or camper OR a comfy bed or sleeping bag in a tent.
  We have electricity and genuine well water always available.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  General Maintenance
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  Interests

  

  Sustainability

  

  Self development

  

  Pets

  

  Farming

  

  Plant care

  

  Languages

  

  Gardening

  

  DIY & crafts

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Carpentry

  

  Animals

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Team sports

  

  Sailing / Boating

  

  Outdoor activities

  

  Nature

  

  Mountain

  

  Hiking

  

  Camping

  

  Dancing
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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

  By no means are we experts in anything and we are trying to figure most things out by ourselves. We strongly believe in being students and teachers at the same time and welcome anybody who´d like to come figure things out with us. However, we have a lot to share: Kruno has a great knowledge and experience in natural building techniques, quite some knowledge and experience in gardening, he is a passionate collector (of anything, but antiques above all), he loves working with wood and restoring wooden furniture and he has made some amazing pieces of wooden art (tables, ceiling lamps...). We are newbees in beekeeping and enjoy learning about bees and natural beekeeping techniques. We like to eat well, enjoy cooking and baking. We'd love to hear what you would like to do, what you would like to learn, and we will enjoy learning from you, too.

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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

  Help in construction:
  The mudhouse is 75m2 big and there are still some interior tasks to be done: some mud plastering, a lot of painting (ceiling, walls and pillars), finishing the floors, finishing the bathroom...
  We plan to do also an outside spring&summer kitchen, as well as an outside toilet with shower and a wood storage place.
  
  People with golden hands and/or experience with natural building or general building would be extremely welcome :)
  
  Help in the garden:
  We love fresh veggies and have a big garden that is difficult to keep up with during the whole season because housing and infrastructure take up a lot of our time.
  
  Help with tidying and general maintenance

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Fluent
  French: Fluent
  Italian: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  I was always passionate for languages and besides the languages I'm fluently speaking now, I was learning also German, Japanese, Portugese, Ukrainian, Indonesian, Slovenian. It will be a pleasure to share my language skills, as well as to acquire new ones.
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  Accommodation

  Accommodation provided is camping style in tents. The place is ideal for travelers with their own campers or vans. There is a compost toilet available and water from the well for showering on spot. The river Kupa is also very nearby.
  A bathroom with hot water/shower and a washing machine are available in our village house 1 km away (where we lived until recently). If you like cycling, we can provide bikes to reach the village, Kupa river or the nearby town of Sisak.
  
  We are both omnivores now (Tijana was vegetarian and vegan/raw foodist for many years before meeting Kruno), but have many veg friends and love to prepare and eat/share veg meals. All lifestyles and choices are welcome.

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  What else ...

  We are situated in a rural village called Stara Drencina, stretching along the bords of Kupa river, where we spend a lot of time in the warmer months. Nature is great - for just chilling in the sun or in the shade, walking, biking... There are no shops nor cafes in the village. The closest town is Sisak situated 5 km away (one of the oldest towns in Croatia), and on the other side is Petrinja which is 7 km distant. Zagreb, the Croatian capital, is 50 km away or an hour drive, with regular bus or train lines departing from Sisak. If you have your own transportation, Hrastovacka gora near Petrinja is a beautiful place for trekking and hiking. Natural park Lonjsko polje near Sisak is well known for its bird fauna, with the village Cigoc named European Stork Village.
  
  Travel advice in Croatia: BlablaCar is a share ride website, fastest, cheapest and best in between bigger cities. Train is a good option for shorter distances and a great way to reach us from Zagreb. Bus is OK, too. We are available to pick you up in Sisak (or Stupno/Sela/Odra - any of the closer villages on the road to Zagreb) upon your arrival, if using public transport.

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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

  Decent wi-fi connection available.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  There's plenty of space for your campervan on the farm.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  Any house pets are very welcome.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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