Learn about organic farming and a rural lifestyle at the foothill of Rhodope mountains, Bulgaria

Details

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  Description

  Hello,
  
  We are Kris and Valentina. We are 45 and 32 years old and we used to live in NYC until 2016 when we decided to have kids and grow our own food. Originally we though we would build a tiny farm to supply our own needs, but 5 years later since our first growing season (we strarted growing veggies in 2015 but started creating the farm in 2013) we keep growing. We have two sons - Leo is 4 and Robbie is 1 and a half. We have 1500 sq. feet of greenhouses and about 4000 sq feet of uncovered gardens. The greenhouses are used all year. We are a 4 season farm but only grow seasonal veggies and fruits. We love to experiment with new seeds and varieties and try to learn new ways and tactics from farmers from all over the world.
  On the farm its only the 2 of us and my parents (Valentina's) so could really use a hand and would love to share our knowledge, home and food with you.
  We started building guesthouses when thr first wave of Corona started back in beginning of 2020 and arw almost done so we need help finishing them too.
  
  We can accept volunteers from march till november and it would be great if you can stay long term or at least 2-3 weeks. We are located 100 km from Sofia and about 70 km from Plovdiv. We have a railway stop in the nearest city Belovo, a bigger stop on the railway is Pazardzhik which is only 20 km from us.
  
  Feel free to reach us if you have any questions. We look forward to meeting you and having you be part of our family.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Farmstay help

  Babysitting and creative play

  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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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We hope that you will stay with us more than a week so we can teach you more about organic farming and rural lifestyle. We love cooking and bulgarian food is amazing, so if you love cooking we would love to share our favorite recipes with you.

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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 can accommodate up to 4 people at a time.
  The help we expect is 5 hrs per day 5 days a week, 2 days you can take off and explore the area which is quite beautiful. In the summer we work early in the morning from 6-7 to 9-10 and then again in the late afternoon when its too hot.
  Tasks that will be done:
  seeding, planting, hoeing, weeding, harvesting, pruning, spraying with our own homemade nettle teas or yogurt and water to fight off insects, canning for the winter. For men we might need you to help Kris with some building stuff - putting up a fence, building a wall, painting, putting tiles, etc. Nothing too difficult. We will be building 3 guest houses in summer of 2020-2021 and would love some ideas on how to make the place more artsy and beautiful, so if you love to paint/draw - we are open to ideas and help with that too.
  
  
  We need someone who speaks good english and even though between me and my husband we speak 6 languages - english and bulgarian are the only ones we can speak together. My parents dont speak english but we will always be here so no worries. In fact we hope having people speak english would help my parents learn :)
  
  BABYSITTING AND HELP AROUND THE HOUSE:
  We are looking for someone to help us looking after the boys who are 4 and 1 and a half :) No easy task :) They are full of energy but so sweet. We look forward to having you over and hope to make you feel at home.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  Bulgarian: Fluent
  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  Russian: Fluent
  Serbian: Fluent
  Portuguese: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
  You can contact them directly for more information.
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  Accommodation

  We recently built a wooden cottage on the farm that fits 2 on the 1st floor and 2 on the second, ideally if 2 people come you each get a room and it has an attached brand new bathroom that you would have to share. There is an outside brand new kitchen there too, but families with campers/vans with their own kitchen are free to use ours or theirs :)

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  What else ...

  The area around our village is incredibly beautiful. We are at the foothill of Rhodope mountains and you could go hiking and sightseeing on the weekends. Also Sofia and Plovdiv are very close. 1 hour by train to Sofia and a bit less to Plovdiv.

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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 have a wi fi connection so you can set up anywhere on the farm and work :)

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  Space for parking camper vans

  This host can provide space for campervans.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 5 hours a day, 5 days a week for farm work and 8 hrs a day for 5 days for child care and house help (paid)

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