Community permaculture project and educational centre. Family homestead
Bulgaria
Welcome to Honeycomb Homestead! We are part of the creation of the first ecovillage in Bulgaria, and with our neighbours have created the NGO 'Foundation Ura Gora' (Hurray for the Forest!) for our ecology work, regenerating the landscape here and creating a model of off-grid living and reuse of ex-agricultural land..
Our close friends and neighbours "Izvorche- Little Springs" are also wwoof hosts so it is possible to visit two projects in the same place and get a wider experience by staying for longer and volunteering in both places and also participating in joint community projects.
Our long term vision is creating, in partnership with our neighbours, a vibrant community for creation, learning and experimentation, with a series of permaculture edible forest gardens to cover this land in lush, beautiful, tasty abundance!
On our homestead we live simply in a small cob house we built, with a little lake, vegetable garden, orchard, swales, bees and a lot of beautiful open sky over us. We are 100% off-grid and have solar panels for electricity, a ram pump for water, compost toilet, solar shower outside and a handmade rocket stove.
We are currently developing a large swale system with mixed forest and fruit trees, propagating a wide range of plants in our nursery, grafting fruit trees, getting the gardens ready for seasonal vegetables, preparing our bees and new hives. We are also building an extension on the side of our house this year, repairing the roof, bigger nursery greenhouses and repair of our existing cob cottage. We have a community off grid water system that we've made that we are always improving. Also many community projects such as shared food growing, forestation and creation. We will also be hosting workshops for young eco-activists and youth groups over the summer.
We are happy to share our experiences of living harmoniously with nature and our love for this land. We have completed our Permaculture Design Certification and are implementing our design part by part and running permaculture courses here. I am a permaculture teacher and facilitator.
We also have knowledge in Natural beekeeping, electronics and alternative technology, woodworking, clothes making, herbal medicine, holistic nutrition and more.
Accommodation in the warmer seasons is in tents or there is space for your camper van. Food is healthy vegetarian/ vegan food, a lot raw in the summer and from our own garden. We eat together twice a day, mid morning and mid afternoon. We don't eat meat/fish or smoke and we ask you to respect this while you are with us.
We have mobile reception and quite limited internet. We are 20km from the nearest town, but can arrange to pick you up in our car.
We do a lot of communal activities with our neighbours, other families with similar dreams- helping each other with building projects, a shared garden on a river island, yoga, dancing, singing and celebrating! Nearby we have small areas of forest, a river for swimming and big lake. Its possible to also go on trips to ancient historical sites, the sea, national park, mountains... Bulgaria has a very rich, diverse and beautiful nature.
We look forward to meeting dedicated, open minded volunteers, who share our passion for caring for nature and enjoying the simple pleasures of life. Its best if you can come from one week to a month, to have enough time to get to know the place, really be useful and learn something for yourselves.
The daily hours depend on the weather and the tasks, usually 6 hours a day..In the summer we start very early and rest in the hot time then continue in the late afternoon. With days off for resting and exploring!
We are looking for motivated, energetic, focused volunteers to help us with the development with our project. Be ready to work in all weather, have an adventure and learn about permaculture and off-grid living!!
Organic methods: We use permaculture to design the different combinations of methods and techniques used on our land.
Certifications: We do not use any chemicals or chemical pesticides on our land, but are not certified
Current projects: -Forest garden maintenance
-Community garden planting and maintenance
- Herb and vegetable gardens
- Water system maintenance
- Construction on natural house
Internet access available
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Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Fruit or nut farming
Beekeeping
Wild foraging
Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas
Seed saving or production
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Natural cosmetics fabrication
Traditional crafts
Renewable energy production
Methods or systems
Holistic management
Permaculture
Regenerative agriculture
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
Former WWOOFer
2
Hectares
|
4.9
Acres
Sophia
Member since 2020
Languages spoken:
Bulgarian, English
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Response rate: 100%
Response time: typically within 6 days
Bulgaria
Elhovo
Reviews
Anna
Germany
•
May 2024
I had a wonderful experience at the Honeycomb Homestead! Sophie and Krasi are very lovely, caring, inspiring and heart- centered personalities. They made me feel at home and I quickly felt like part of the community. Thanks to their patients, their willingness to share their knowledge and experience and the varying tasks in the garden I learned a lot about permaculture, agroforestry, community building, remote living, delicious food, herbs and so much more. It’s incredible how they created a little permaculture and agroforest paradise. The tasks were various, never boring and it was always fun to spend the day working together and enjoy the delicious meals Sophie prepared!
Thank you so much for everything!
I am looking forward to visit you again
I can definitely highly recommend volunteering here
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Jonas
Germany
•
October 2023
What wonderful, magical and inspiring place, with worm and open hearted people.
This time didn’t felt just like volunteering, more like being co-creative and being part of the community.
I felt welcomed with all of me, wishes, concerns, feelings…
The tasks are very various, almost everyday we did other activities. From harvesting tomatoes and drying them, processing herbs, cooking, honey harvest, dealing with the water supply (ram pump), playing with the children of the community, working in the community garden…
So if you searching for a place to learn about forest gardening, self sufficiency, permaculture in general, community building, being in nature, singing, dancing, doing arts, and enjoy everyday the fantastic taste of the products from the garden and how Sophie prepares them to delicious meals, you might be at the right place!
I can highly recommend this place!
I am looking forward to visit you again, I left with warm gifts in my heart and in my pockets!
~thanks for everything!🤍🌱
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Zuan
Norway
•
June 2023
Sophia and Krassi are wonderful, warm and inspiring and the work itself was varied with plenty to learn from very knowledgeable people. Great social atmosphere as well and I was always cared for regarding essentials. Highly, highly recommended.
Zuan
Pierre
Bulgaria
•
August 2022
I had a wonderful time at Sofia and Krasi's Honeycomb homestead.
From the outset, this awesome couple made me feel at home in their beautiful place.
Located near the town of Elhovo, the eco-village they are part of aims at regenerating the forest and being a place where humans and nature can live in harmony. Everyone there is happy and healthy, the gardens are beautifully harmonious and provide a lot of delicious veggies, fruits and berries.
I got to learn a lot there, in fields as diverse as Permaculture, herbology, construction, DIY, agriculture and gardening. Sofia is a great teacher with an impressive knowledge and Krasi is a creative genius who can literally build and fix anything. Both have contagious energy and good mood.
Living there reconciles you with the most essential things in life, and makes you forget about the futile. There is nothing like shared meals, chants and laughter, after a good day of work.
I very strongly recommend this place.
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Matthieu
France
•
June 2022
Wonderful place and people. This community (a bit of mine now) shows a lot of inventive manners to build a sustainable and respectful model of living within it's environment and very quickly you'll feel that you are part of it ! Very interesting sharings of knowledges and opinions. Super tasty and surprising food. The chants of the Ura Gora family will miss you.
