Experience homesteading the natural way and self-reliance in all areas in Dragolj, Serbia

Details

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  Description

  Hi there.
  
  If you are looking for a slow countryside experience in a remote and quiet foresty area, or you dream of building your own Eden one day, read on.
  
  We are an offline couple living in deep nature in central Serbia, where we moved 10 years ago.
  
  We maintain two hectares of land and produce nearly all of the food we eat. You will find a rare diversity not often encountered elsewhere, such as over 150 varieties of fruits!
  
  Vegeterians. Treating animals as brothers and sisters and never selling them for slaughter.
  
  Living a modest life, not profit-oriented and working in somewhat primitive ways with a lot of manual labor. All of our produce is currently for personal consumption only, though it may change as our young orchards grow and our goat herd expands.
  
  Spring 2026 has concluded: our garden is set up and we've just made an espalier for our young vineyard. Next is some slow-pace house construction tasks as summer heat will allow.
  
  Our typical summer routine is: get up early and work for a few hours, spend the hot part of the day relaxing, often at the nearby lake Garaši, then work a few more hours in the evening (mostly watering our gardens and orchards).
  
  Consider visiting us if:
  - You'd like to get some first-hand experience with goats and chicken, growing veggies and fruits in a chemical-free way, picking wild mushrooms, storing food year-round...
  - You appreciate animal well-being and ethics in general
  - You seek functioning alternative lifestyles
  - You enjoy substantial conversations
  - You like to play board games
  
  We are also active in local community building and can share experience around that.
  
  Vegans are welcome. Couples are welcome. Please no drugs or alcohol. We are building a paradise and not everything is compatible.
  
  We expect help with seasonal work, taking into account your preferences and we're flexible about hours and such.
  
  We've always happily accepted guests and after 10 years we are opening up to volunteers, not as a means to economic gain, but as a service to humanity.
  
  Let's be responsible and engaging and make it meaningful.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Help with Eco Projects

  Light gardening

  Creative DIY projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals
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  Interests

  

  Sustainability

  

  Vegetarian or vegan

  

  Farming

  

  Animals

  

  Plant care

  

  Gardening

  

  Nature
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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

  Get to see the rural landscape of Šumadija (central Serbia) and learn how folks live and how they traditionally use the land.
  Then compare that with our innovation-driven lifestyle: from no-till/mulching-based gardening, to the particulars of water management, to free-roaming animals with their own android phone and google account, to construction with natural materials...
  Quite central to us is animal happiness, vegetarianism and its challenges.
  If you stay long enough, you will learn to develop and maintain a well-rounded, resilience-oriented homestead in all aspects.

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  Help

  In a diversified homestead there are zillion little tasks and they largely depend on the time of the year. If you visit in July, maybe we'll do a lot of fruit juicing and harvesting beans. In August we'll need to re-plant our strawberries. Every day we milk our goats and make cheese, which you can get involved with if you so desire. Perhaps you want to learn to use the traditional scythe? The goats love the grass I cut for them every evening, even though they have access to wild pasture all day.
  
  Maybe you'd like to learn about gravity-fed water pipelines or drip irrigation? Some pipe laying remained unfinished and I'd like to complete it this year.
  
  We might do some more fencing for the goats if time allows.
  
  We are in no hurry with any of the projects. You will be able to select a different type of work every day and some tasks can be solo, but we generally like to do things together.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  Serbian: Fluent
  Spanish: Intermediate

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  Accommodation

  Our large living room will be all yours - we don't use it in this part of the year.
  There is a regular bathroom with shower, toilet, washing machine.
  We prefer to use our outdoor toilet (odourless).
  
  Food is vegetarian (or vegan if that's your diet). The two of us usually eat fruit in the morning and have two regular meals later in the day, but you won't have to fit in that schedule - we will accommodate your preferences.
  We rarely go to the shop for supplies. Our menu consists mostly of our own seasonal produce: organic, fresh and tasty. The downside of eating seasonal food is that it may not be as diverse at any particular moment. We also like it simple and aren't into elaborate dishes. But if you want to get creative in the kitchen sometimes, go ahead.

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  What else ...

  The area is nice for cycling - very little traffic and nice views. We can give you our bike(s).
  Not far away there is a popular rocky peak Ostrvica that you can climb, offering a view of a large part of central Serbia. Another option for a day trip is Lake Garaši, 10 km from our home.
  There is a bus to the nearest town, Aranđelovac, 20 km away, with a beautiful park full of interesting sculptures and a spa, a historical museum, a prehistoric cave...

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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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  Space for parking camper vans

  Flat parking space with shade, water and electricity access.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  My animals / pets

  Beca and Lumi

  Chicken

  Goats

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