Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
16 Apr 2024
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 13 days
Feedback
18
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Badges (2)
Details
Description
Hello. I am Lalla, a Bulgarian woman, owner of the property where the project is based.
This is an eco project, oriented to developing more conscious and sustainable lifestyle in nature. It is a space for transformation and opening of your heart. We aim to place life in its true dimension, which is seeing, understanding, and living through the heart. We believe that spirit is not part of our lives, but in fact our lives are part of the Great Spirit.
The inspiration for this project came from the spiritual school and non profit organisation created by my beloved teacher Sahajananda and his great teaching of the yoga of The Spiritual Heart. Come and help us co-create this paradise where the highest authority is the Spiritual Heart and discover your true authentic essence.
Lalla studied film directing & visual art but then she was attracted to travel and spiritual search. She is a talented musician, playing drums and guitar and applied artist. She studied eco-building in Denmark and is very keen on mindful life in nature. The last few years she is working for non-profit spiritual school teaching ancient vedic non-dual phylosophy and now she practices meditation every day and yoga very often. Through a holistic approach she is healing her body, mind and soul.
I am happy to share with work-exchangers many practices and ways of living that are helping me to become more happy, healthy and loving. Through meditation, consecrating every action and offering it to the Divine Source, opening the heart, opening to our Dharma, working joyfully, building, gardening, sharing in excitement, creating food, art and music, we slowly discover the inherent peace within and witness more and more the miracle and gift of life. I am happy to welcome you in this forest sanctuary.
The project is located in a mountain forest valley about 1 hour drive south west of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It is close to the town of Kjustendil, in the Konyavska planina (The Horse mountain) and very close to Macedonia.
I prefer skilled volunteers who know about building, carpentry and gardening. I am also open for people who like to learn stuff, I like sharing and exchanging practical and theoretical knowledge such as self-healing, emotional growth, physical and mental balance, raw food and fasting, meditation, energy healing, gardening, herbal and alternative medicine, carpentry, masonry, building with eco-materials, working with clay, music, drawing, smiling a lot (because laughing is the best medicine:)
And a remark: Even though I may sound very spiritual and serious I am not. I am down to earth, easy going smiley person and i enjoy life in each and every moment as a gift.
I adore music and often I play guitar or tambura, percussion, chant, sing, also read mystic poetry from the sufi poets Rumi, Hafiz, Tagore. I would love to get to know you and share together the sweetness and beauty of life. Come to play! Here is an inspirational poem:
I am bewildered by the magnificence
of your beauty
and wish to see you
with a hundred eyes
My heart has burned with passion
and has searched forever
for this wondrous beauty
that I now behold
I am ashamed
to call this love human
and afraid of God
to call it divine
Your fragrant breath
like the morning breeze
has come to the stillness of the garden
You have breathed new life into me
I have become your sunshine
and also your shadow
My soul is screaming in ecstasy
Every fiber of my being
is in love with you
Your effulgence
has lit a fire in my heart
and you have made radiant
for me
the earth and sky
My arrow of love
has arrived at the target
I am in the house of mercy
and my heart
is a place of prayer”
― Rumi, The Love Poems of Rumi
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
General Maintenance
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We offer yoga and meditation instruction and sessions, holistic health coaching, community living experience and other recreational practices. You may well learn more about the "meaning of life" and become more aware of your true self, leading to increased health and happiness.
You can learn many ways of how to interact with nature, how to plant and grow, how to work with clay and other ways of eco-building.
Help
We specifically require experienced people to help in the garden and for construction projects.
But also there is a lot of house work and cleaning and cooking is highly appreciated.
Garden - making flowerbeds, weeding and propagation. Permaculture knowledge also helful.
Construction - We work with clay and wood, and stones, so masons and carpenters are
particularly welcome. Electrical and plumbing experience will also be very useful.
Some of our current and future projects include:
Construction of Summer Kitchen
Creating vegetable and herb garden beds
Upgrading Water System
Creating central heating system for guest house
For people with extensive construction and/or gardening experience we offer a help exchange of accomodation + food (3 meals per day) for 25 hours work per week.
For people with less experience, but still with some construction and/or gardening experience, we offer a work exchange of accomodation only for 15 hours per week (no food).
There are also other options for staying so feel free to ask
Languages
Languages spoken
Bulgarian: Fluent
English: Fluent
Spanish: FluentThis host offers a language exchange
French Russian
Accommodation
Shared bedroom or camping.
We have a space in our eco house which we offer wth a simple mattress in a shared room for our work-exchange guests.
People who prefer to be more private can bring a tent and camp in the garden.
We have a private kitchen which we use for ourselves and to prepare meals for work exchangers receiving meals. One of our top priorities is to construct an outdoor covered summer kitchen (part completed - see picture) whichever can be used by those work-exchangers who prepare thier own food.
As we are an eco-project, we have an outdoor compost toilet and an outdoor summer shower with solar heater so warm showers should be available from about 10am onwards depending on sunshine. There is an outside sink for washing and cleaning teeth and a kettle for making tea or coffee.
Our site is no-smoking, no recreational drugs or plant medicines, and limited alcohol for special occasions. No drunken-ness! If you wish to smoke tobacco you may go outside one of the gates. Also we are vegetarian (doing our best to move toward vegan) so no meat is allowed on site either.
We have wi-fi internet using a mobile connection with limited data, so although you are welcome to share our wi-fi for checking e-mail and messages and for limited internet browsing, you are asked not to view videos. We have a very extensive library of uplifting videos and e-books which we are happy to share, so you might like to bring a large memory stick/hard drive with you. To conserve energy and reduce electro magnetic frequencies {EMF's) we tend to turn the router off at night and at other times especially during work periods. Our helpers are encouraged to turn off mobile devices, or switch to airplane mode when not required for the same reasons, and also to help bring more presence to each moment.
What else ...
We live in a beautiful valley in south-west Bulgaria and in the free time our helpers can go for a hike, read or use internet.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
This host can provide space for campervans.
Can possibly accept pets
This host has said they are willing to accept those travelling with a pet.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
15 or 25 hours per week depending upon experience
Feedback (9)
The valley is truly astonishing, wild, raw nature and Lalla's place and the view from it are just beautiful.
We did a lot of gardening while I was there and we had a great time doing it. We even build a wall with natural stones which was a lot of fun.
In the mornings we always did some yoga and meditation… read more
Lalla is super kind, loving, welcoming, open minded, knowledgeable, tolerant, sweet and generous. When we first met I could instantly feel her amazing energy and we clicked right away. From the first day on we… read more
Photos
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Accuracy of profile:
(4.9)
Cultural exchange:
(4.9)
Communication:
(4.9)
The valley is truly astonishing, wild, raw nature and Lalla's place and the view from it are just beautiful.
We did a lot of gardening while I was there and we had a great time doing it. We even build a wall with natural stones which was a lot of fun.
In the mornings we always did some yoga and meditation… read more
Lalla is super kind, loving, welcoming, open minded, knowledgeable, tolerant, sweet and generous. When we first met I could instantly feel her amazing energy and we clicked right away. From the first day on we… read more
As it was raining and… read more
PS
Look out for the spiders ;)
PS
practice your chess game brother :)
