Permacultural farm in the countryside of central Slovakia

Slovakia

8 reviews • Updated 7 months ago

Hello, we are french-slovak couple, Sebastien and Jana. Together with our daughter Lily we live in the countryside of a bit forgotten south region of central Slovakia. There is an old house, one livable trailer, small forest, wide pastures, a pond and a yurt on the place. When we came here in 2020, the place was partially neglected and polluted. Slowly we are reshaping it into our idea of eden. What helps us are the ideas of permaculture, self-sustainability, degrowth and localisation. Our main aim is to create a good place to live - to have our food from garden and animals, to produce honest products, to do as much by our own hands as possible, to invite people to our place and show them the different way in comparison to coventional approaches, to be an active part of the community. Beside us, the humans, there are chickens, rabbits, dogs, cats, a pair of geese and plenty other wild animals, sharing the life on this beatiful piece of ground. We would like to ask WWOOFers to help us with: - taking care of the garden (watering, planting, cleaning, taking care of seedlings, compost, mulching) - processing the harvested (making jams, compots, sauces, fermenting, drying, etc.) - foraging (herbs, mushrooms) - processing the hay - taking care of the animals (feeding, cleaning of their shelters) - helping us with small constructions, which are in the process or on the plan (for the moment chicken house, solar drier and tool shed) We will be more than happy to share our experiences and knowledge we have so far with permacultural gardening, taking care of the animals, proccessing the harvest. We are not experts - we are open to new ideas and will be happy to implement useful information. For the food: We offer 3-times a day meal, in majority made with our own vegetables and fruits. Usually we have meat from neighbours or local sources. In the beginning of volunteers´s arrival we explain the common rules considering the life in our place and schedule also cooking activities for the week. We expect to share all the daily tasks with volunteers (cooking, dishwashing...) For the accomodation: The volunteers will be accomodated in the old house. It is basic accomodation, we arrange it best we can, but it is basic. The toilet is compostable and outside, the shower is run by compost energy and also outside. We try to live as much as possible in accordance to our ideals and we would like to ask the wwoofers to accept it fully, while they will be staying with us (for example to use only biodegradable cosmetics). How a day of a volunteer could look like? Mon-Sat til 9:00 breakfast 9:00 - 12:00 (3hrs) planning circle, after working with us where planned (including a small break) 12:00 - 14:00 (2hrs) lunch & lunch break (in summer it might get really hot, better to rest :) 14:00 - 16:00 (2hrs) working with us where planned - this is our plan, but we are totally open to discuss and be flexible with the schedules if needed. People should be feeling well while being here :) - During the free time, it is possible to swim in our pond, play outdoor games, riding bike, making barbecues and fire (if the weather allows us), we will be happy to share the life with people. Sun We consider this day as free day. What is possible to do around? - Just over the hill you can find a ranch, where it is possible to ride horses. - We can recommend some nice walking tours around in the country (for example Hike to the Trumpet stone :) - You can borrow bike and enjoy the country on the wheels. There are some lakes or dams in a bike distance. - In the closest town Krupina there are some nice sightseeing monuments, also there is cinema, pubs and restaurants, water dam. Or you can visit ruin of a castle hidden in the forrests. - App. 1hr from us you can find a beautiful UNESCO city - Banská Štiavnica, which has it all :) (hiking paths, water dams called teichs, cultural life, party life). Also more north you can reach the biggest city of central Slovakia - Banská Bystrica. - We are also not that far to Budapest (3hrs by train conection), the central of Hungary. - If interested we can reccomend interesting festivals and events during the summer season.

Learning opportunities

Vegetable farming

Fruit or nut farming

Poultry farming

Wild foraging

Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas

Seed saving or production

Vegetable or fruit preservation

Methods or systems

Biological pest control

Holistic management

No-till farming

Permaculture

Regenerative agriculture

Host type

Self-sufficiency property

Former WWOOFer

2.3 Hectares | 5.7 Acres

Accommodation

2 WWOOFers

Bedroom

Campsite

Children accepted

Pets not accepted

Meals

Omnivore

Vegetarian

Vegan

Length of stay

1-2 weeks

3-4 weeks

Over a month

Jana

Member since 2017

Languages spoken: English, French, Slovak Response rate: 91% Response time: typically within 2 days

November 2025

Open

Planned visit

Closed

MapLibre | Protomaps | © OpenStreetMap

Slovakia

Krupina

Reviews

Martin

Slovakia • September 2025

I spend majority of my days in city centre, and this "lazy escape" was a life-changing experience for myself. Peaceful atmosphere coming from vast meadows and forests surrounding the family farm, combined with working in the permaculture garden was an unreal mental reboot.

Saša

Slovakia • August 2025

I had the pleasure of staying with Jana, Sebastian, and their lovely daughter Lily for a week, and it was an experience I’ll never forget. From the moment I arrived, I felt incredibly welcomed and well cared for. The environment around their home is absolutely beautiful-peaceful, natural, and inspiring, a perfect place to enjoy both work and relaxation. The tasks were easy and well-paced, and I always felt that Jana and Sebastian were patient and kind. I learned a lot while also feeling appreciated for my help. I absolutely recommend staying with Jana and her family to anyone considering a WWOOF experience. Thank you for everything!

Dag

Slovenia • August 2025

Lovely. The place. The family. The food. The various tasks. All lovely. If you want to know in more detail what I mean by "lovely" - go there, experience it and you'll never regret it.

Charles

United States • July 2025

Jana, Sebastian, and Lily have such a spectacular and inviting nook carved out in the Slovakian countryside. They welcomed us in immediately and were not shy as to sharing their way of life. It was a pleasure to be taught the ways of rustic eco consciousness and deliberate, earth-first living. The work was varying, either leisurely in the garden or more extensive projects, but no matter what Jana and Seb were patient and direct with their instructions. Even when we were sick, they took great care of us and made us feel at home. Great farm, great hosts, we cannot thank you enough! Merci and dakujem!

Tereza

Czechia • September 2024

We had a wonderful time there, memorable I could say. The work was not as intensive as expected, and we really enjoyed all of it. Seb and Jana were great cooks, and the food was delightful. During our stay we felt at home, and hope we can come back one day. We would definitely recommend this experience to anyone. :)

Iñaki

Spain • August 2024

I really had a Great time in this farm!! sweet people, lots of interesting talks and tasks, learning a lot about Permaculture with nature just next door.