Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
7 May 2025
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 2 days
Feedback
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Badges (3)
Details
Description
We are a British/Serbian couple who left our London office jobs eight years ago and started living simply and learning how to create an organic farm in the mountains of Western Serbia. We have two adult daughters who still live in the UK. We now have an established orchard and grow many fruit & vegetables successfully. We have a tractor and have corn in one of our fields - we have about 7.5 hectares of mountainside most of which is still wildflower meadows. We also make award-winning organic wine and fruit brandies, keep free-range chickens and bees. Our friendly dog, Banjo, is a big part of the family.
Now we are anticipating spring and all the work that it brings; pruning, weeding, orchard preparations etc as well as construction of a drystone wall around the firestation and there are always multiple building and repair tasks of course!
We would welcome volunteers who are fit, energetic, easy going and willing to get their hands dirty!
Apart from farming we have some other projects: We run the local volunteer fire brigade and have built a fire station for our 1957 Green Goddess fire engine. We also teach local children to swim in our pool every summer and run a mobile library project for 20+ village schools in our region. We have three properties, a large chalet style house and two 'etno' wooden cabins which we offer on other site.
Our house backs onto miles of pine forests which smell wonderful in summer, the countryside here is stunning with lots of beautiful hikes and unspoilt nature all around. Local wildlife includes many birds (inc golden eagles and 3 varieties of owls), hares, deer, wild boar, jackals, foxes. We are quite far from restaurants and shops if that's what you're looking for :)
Types of help and learning opportunities
Charity Work
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
General Maintenance
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Learn about life in rural Serbia, meet local people and get involved in the community. And live in totally stunning countryside.
Learn about bee keeping, wine making (fermentation) and brandy making (distillation), chicken care and organic orchard practice
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
General help is what we are after, depending on the season:
help in the garden and orchard - watering, planting trees, weeding, harvesting and processing produce
mushroom foraging (under guidance),
assisting with wine and brandy making
wood chopping, stacking, clearing woodland, help with small building projects. Winter projects also include clearing the snow, chopping and stacking wood.
We drive the tractor and operate the chainsaw and workawayers help by stacking the chopped logs and using the wheel barrow.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Serbian: Fluent
Accommodation
Most bookings are for the cabins so we stay in the big house, but occasionally we rent the house so we, and any workawayer, would be in the cabins instead. Yes there’s a good internet connection! Generally breakfast is 'help yourself', lunch is the main meal with local cheese, lots of vegetables and salads and we have a light supper (usually with wine).
What else ...
Winter offers skiing at the small resort (Divcibare) at the top of the mountain, (8km away) as well as tobogganing on our hill. In summertime there are wonderful hikes and we have a huge low-chlorine swimming pool and plenty of sunbeds. We enjoy a simple life surrounded by beauty and try to live in harmony with nature,
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
My animals / pets
Feedback (11)
Marion is not only hard working and energetic, she's calm, funny, smart, modest, cultured, kind, enthusiastic,… read more
Melissa and Zoran are very… read more
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Communication:
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Marion is not only hard working and energetic, she's calm, funny, smart, modest, cultured, kind, enthusiastic,… read more
Melissa and Zoran are very… read more
We helped prepare the pool for summer with grouting and cleaning.… read more
They were great company and very considerate house guests. We wish them well… read more
They made me feel very welcome. If there was anything I needed such as warm clothes, they were quick to provide them. Melissa made us very nice… read more
Rose was with us for a month, helping with all our spring farming activities. She planted trees and potatoes, weeded and spread manure, moved shrubs to better locations and brought her skills to bear wherever she went. We also learnt lots… read more
I really felt at home since I arrived there, so much I end up staying almost 10 months. Melissa e Zoran are such amazing persons that you don’t want to leave from there. They are very kind, communicative, patient, always willing to teach you and concerned about… read more
He is very skilled, careful, patient, hard-working, strong, thoughtful, calm, self-reliant, modest and gentle with… read more
I learned how to make brandy from plums, and Serbia traditional pepper salad. During the stay beside routine veg/fruits-picking works I also distillated two big barrels of brandy and bottled a lot of wine with wax tops, both of which I have never tried before. Very good… read more
Thank you for caring for us any way possible. For kindly providing everything from amazing lunchpacks :), to the foods or drinks we like, and wanting to help with everything needed! The work there is really varried, and there is always… read more
They worked hard to very high standards and were full of good humour. During their time with us they worked on a number of house maintenance, construction and… read more
