Join us on our adventure and help with DIY projects in Mihalci, Bulgaria

Details

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  Description

  Join us on our adventure of lovingly restoring charming 100 year old rural houses in Bulgaria! We live 30 minutes from Veliko Tarnovo, which puts us just a few hours away from the Romanian border, and 4 from Serbia. Veliko Tarnovo is our favourite city in BG, we find it outrageously beautiful. As is the local area.
  
  We're a couple in our mid-30s. Josh is Australian and Alex is South African. We've been nomads for a decade and lived in 10 countries together. We're fun and easy going, and like doing cool projects (any ideas welcome).
  
  Our village, Mihaltsi, was a thriving village in the 1900's and as per all villages here, they've mostly cleared out in the last 30 years. We have about 200 residents, and two shops, one even speaks English (which is incredible).
  
  We've bought 3 properties in the area and next year would like to buy land and build a rustic glamping site too. We have done most of the major construction, so the main house is rather pretty now, there's an indoor bathroom (next project to renovate) and hot water and a good kitchen.
  
  Josh is an excellent cook, and most afternoons/evenings are spent making huge fires, BBQ, playing guitar, and having a drink. We bake a lot too, so we hope you like rustic breads and cake!
  
  Come and join us working on things, painting, gardening etc, and then go and take all the time off you please. Our place is very quiet and tranquil, it's great for buying an art set and learning how to paint, or play the guitar or piano.
  
  Really, we are looking for guests who are relaxed, take pride in their work (there will be zero micromanagement here) - but also understand this IS rural BG. Sometime the power goes off for days, where we bring out puzzles, and painting and more fires. Sometimes the pipes go and there's no water... Or you get snowed in. It's all part of the adventure and we love it!

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Step away from work and society and unplug. We find the remote and semi abandoned villages fascinating. Our area of Bulgaria is super beautiful, and so lush. You can enjoy meeting all our fellow villagers (Google translate app works great!) and are free to visit all of the nearby cities, waterfalls, museums etc.
  Also we hope you eat meat because pork is 90% of the Bulgarian diet, as is rakia (the local alcohol), and local wine. Towards the end of the year there is lots of social fruit harvesting for wine and rakia production in the local towns.
  
  This is a great chance to come and try construction, if you're not a professional. We welcome all creative ideas, and there's always plenty to do!

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  Help

  These are all super fun DIY projects that we've learnt to do ourselves:
  - Gardening
  - Painting and wallpapering
  - New bathroom construction (plumbing, tiling etc)
  - Plastering
  - Clearing spaces
  - Reconstructing our barn
  - Building a kiln (so we can all make some fun mutant pottery!)
  
  We are very relaxed and do not work by hours or a schedule. We love this work and so naturally do it all the time sometimes, and sometimes not at all.
  
  We are looking for a variety of people with or without skills. Let us know what you've had experience with!

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Intermediate

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  Accommodation

  You will have your own room. Either the ultra-designer lounge (superb sleeper couch or luxury inflatable bed) while we finish the guest rooms, or a guest room. When a room downstairs is ready, you will have the whole floor (kitchen and bathroom) mostly to yourself too.
  
  We have lots of space and beautiful land, if you would like to camp or bring your RV or anything of the sort.
  
  It is not the easiest place for vegans or vegetarians here...
  
  There will be a basic 3 meals provided with us (as we cook and bake a lot) 4/5 days of the week. We'd also love for you to cook and share some of your favourite meals with us!
  
  There is a full kitchen for use which will also be undergoing refurbishment at some stage ;)

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  What else ...

  There are direct buses (and a train) to the nearby villages and Veliko Tarnovo - the gorgeous old Medieval capital in north Bulgaria. There's loads of hiking trails around us and the city.
  
  You will also have access to the car, to go forth and do what ever you like!

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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

  The internet here is excellent! More so than the UK haha. But also, sometimes the power is out in the village for a few days and there is nothing one can do about that :)

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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?

  Two

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