Learn about natural building and beekeeping and co-create our permaculture paradise near Sisak, Croatia

Infos

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  Description

  We are Kruno and Tijana, a couple creating our permaculture paradise in a beautiful and peaceful rural area on the bords of Kupa river, in the continental part of Croatia. The central point of the farm is a mudhouse, surrounded by two natural lakes, a small fruit orchard, a garden with greenhouse, a chicken & ducks coop and woods. We also have beehives and bees.
  We have a big vision and many plans for the future, however our priority is finishing the mudhouse to be able to move in before the end of this year (we now live in the village one kilometer away from the farm), and taking care of the garden and greenhouse that is feeding us.
  
  Having worked for 20 years as director in the TV industry, Kruno is a great organizer. He has attended and has experience in organizing many natural building workshops and projects, including a natural building academy. He loves construction work and woodwork, which is his passion and a source of relaxation and inventions.
  Having worked for 15 years in human resources management, Tijana enjoys working with people, spending time in the garden, learning from and about bees and having some (sweet) fun in the kitchen.
  
  As of now we are keen to welcome an independent couple (or friends) motivated to help us develop our farm project. Volunteer time is to be spent helping with the construction of the mudhouse (upcoming: interior finishing - ceiling, walls, bathroom, kitchen... a lot of tasks with painting mud and wood), helping in the garden and greenhouse (weeding, hoeing, watering, harvesting) and feeding and caring for the poultry (they spend most of their time outside so we feed them once a day, and we like to maintain their coop reasonably clean and comfy). There are some occasional repairs and maintenance to be done, and help with the preparation of meals and cooking is always welcome. We will try to make sure you can do the stuff that makes your heart sing, but some stuff needs to happen :).
  
  Off course we would welcome skilled carpenters and permaculturists, but if you are handy and motivated that is awesome. Any gardening and building experience is very welcome.
  
  We prefer if people would want to stay at least a month and are also open to motivated people who want to take on a longer term project. That said we had amazing experience with a couple passing by just for a week, who gave us an enourmous push in a short period of time. Whoever feels the calling, we´d love to hear from you!
  
  We like to live healthy and sustainably but don´t take things too seriously and like to have fun. We appreciate people who live from the heart and enjoy being themselves. We are all a work in progress :). In our time off, Kruno likes to go fishing or playing basketball with his 14-year old son Jan, when he's staying with us, Tijana enjoys baking sourdough bread and cakes, in summer we spend a lot of time on Kupa river taking long baths, going on occasional boat trips, renting canoes and having some fun paddling, etc. We enjoy spending most of our time in nature, but most of all we appreciate human connection and sharing this amazing life :).
  
  What we can offer:
  
  As we are still quite basic on the farm, our place would be most suitable for couples or friends who appreciate a back to basics and natural stay: think compost toilet, genuine well water, eating from the garden and nature, shooting stars, peace and calm, many birds and trees and the enchanting sounds of nature :).
  
  We offer meals, or in case you don´t always want to hang out with us, at least the ingredients and amenities to whip something up yourself.
  We offer a place for you to park your van or camper OR a comfy bed or sleeping bag in a tent.
  We have electricity and genuine well water always available.

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  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Aide avec des éco-projets

  Jardinage

  Bricolage et construction

  S’occuper des animaux

  Aide dans une ferme

  Entretien général
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  Objectifs de développement durable de l’ONU que cet hôte essaie d'atteindre

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  Qu'est-ce que c'est ?
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  Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

  By no means are we experts in anything and we are trying to figure most things out by ourselves. We strongly believe in being students and teachers at the same time and welcome anybody who´d like to come figure things out with us. However, we have a lot to share: Kruno has a great knowledge and experience in natural building techniques, quite some knowledge and experience in gardening, he is a passionate collector (of anything, but antiques above all), he loves working with wood and restoring wooden furniture and he has made some amazing pieces of wooden art (tables, ceiling lamps...). We are newbees in beekeeping and enjoy learning about bees and natural beekeeping techniques. We like to eat well, enjoy cooking and baking. We'd love to hear what you would like to do, what you would like to learn, and we will enjoy learning from you, too.

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  Projets impliquant des enfants

  Ce projet peut impliquer des enfants. Pour en savoir plus, consultez nos directives et conseils ici.

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  Aide

  Help in construction:
  The mudhouse is 75m2 big and there are still some interior tasks to be done: mainly a lot of painting (ceiling, walls and pillars), finishing the floors, finishing the bathroom, equiping the kitchen and bedrooms...
  We plan to do this year as well an outside spring&summer kitchen, as well as a new outside toilet and wood storage place.
  
  People with golden hands and/or experience with natural building or general building would be extremely welcome :)
  
  Help in the garden:
  We love fresh veggies and have a big garden that is difficult to keep up with during the whole season because housing and infrastructure take up a lot of our time.
  
  Help with tidying and general maintenance

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  Langues

  Langues parlées
  Anglais: Courant
  Espagnol: Courant
  Français: Courant
  Italien: Courant

  Cet hôte propose un échange linguistique
  I was always passionate for languages and besides the languages I'm fluently speaking now, I was learning also German, Japanese, Portugese, Ukrainian, Indonesian, Slovenian. It will be a pleasure to share my language skills, as well as to acquire new ones.
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  Hébergement

  Accommodation provided is camping style in tents. The place is ideal for travelers with their own campers or vans. There is a compost toilet available and water from the well for showering on spot. The river Kupa is also very nearby.
  The kitchen is equipped with cooking basics, and we live close by for other needs (bathroom with hot water/shower, washing machine). We spend most of our time on the farm so meals are shared either on the farm or in our village house nearby (1 km away). You'll be provided with bikes to reach us there. We are both omnivores now (Tijana was vegetarian and vegan/raw foodist for many years before meeting Kruno), but have many veg friends and love to prepare and eat/share veg meals. All lifestyles and choices are welcome.

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  Autres infos...

  We are situated in a rural village called Stara Drencina, stretching along the bords of Kupa river, where we spend a lot of time in the warmer months. Nature is great - for just chilling in the sun or in the shade, walking, biking... There are no shops nor cafes in the village. The closest town is Sisak situated 5 km away (one of the oldest towns in Croatia), and on the other side is Petrinja which is 7 km distant. Zagreb, the Croatian capital, is 50 km away or an hour drive, with regular bus or train lines departing from Sisak. If you have your own transportation, Hrastovacka gora near Petrinja is a beautiful place for trekking and hiking. Natural park Lonjsko polje near Sisak is well known for its bird fauna, with the village Cigoc named European Stork Village.
  
  Travel advice in Croatia: BlablaCar is a share ride website, fastest, cheapest and best in between bigger cities. Train is a good option for shorter distances and a great way to reach us from Zagreb, not as fast as you might be used to, but comfy and cheap. Bus is OK, too. We are available to pick you up in Sisak (or Stupno/Sela/Odra - any of the closer villages on the road to Zagreb) upon your arrival, if using public transport.

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  Informations complémentaires

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    Accès Internet

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    Accès Internet limité

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    Nous avons des animaux

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    Nous sommes fumeurs

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    Familles bienvenues

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  Possibilité d’accueillir les digital nomads

  Decent wi-fi connection available.

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  Espace pour garer des vans

  There's plenty of space for your campervan on the farm.

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  Possibilité d'accueillir les animaux

  Any house pets are very welcome.

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  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Deux

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  Nombre d'heures attendues

  5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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