You can get a lot of the information that you need from looking around this website or at least you’ll get a feel for what’s going on here and who I am – read the blogs especially. Very briefly, I am English, from Newcastle and I have lived a pretty nomadic life since my first adventure when I was 17 and I set sail (on a ferry) across the North Sea to Denmark – I’m 55 now – but don’t be put off by that if you’re not that old! I’ve lived in a lot of different places since then and after 4 years in the gloom of Manchester, I am delighted to be living in such a beautiful place as this.
My daughter bought this place 2 years ago and I agreed to live in it and manage it for her – she’s beginning her career as an engineer and has no immediate plans to live here. My usual attention span in any one place is around 5 years but it could be more here because its just so lovely and there is so much potential to do interesting things.
I live in the village of Voditsa with lovely neighbours who generally live a subsistence life. They work very hard,have almost no disposable income and use the resources around them. The houses are mostly made of cob and everything is repaired and reused – no throw away society here!
There is work to do on the house although it is livable and quite comfortable right now. My main interest is the land – I am learning about biodynamics and I would really love someone to come here who has experience of this way of working. I’ve had lots of volunteers here this year and last helping me with allsorts of work and we all live communally but really I would like some other people to share the responsibility of the place and the potential. Its very cheap to live here and I reckon that if I run 5 or 6 week long workshops each year, its possible to generate a good income even when the costs of the workshops are as low as 200 euros a week. There is also potential business in organic hemp, making organic liqueurs (one of my more tasty ideas), alternative building and technology and bee keeping. I worked as community and rural development consultant for some time before coming here and I am looking for the opportunity to share those skills in Bulgaria (not speaking Bulgarian is a slight problem here).
So maybe you’re interested in living communally where nothing is already set up and we have to make it up as we go along but where there is potential to do some exciting things? Its peaceful, quiet, healthy and fun here but I would love to have some other people stay on a longer term/permanent for 4/5 years basis. Its really difficult to live as fully as I would like to from the earth when I’m on my own. Having volunteers is great but it also takes up loads of my own time and energy and however much they get into being here, they’re not responsible for the whole place and of course they don’t have a long term view. It would also be good to have children living here and I think it’s a great place for them to grow up.
Property and the cost of living is very cheap in Bulgaria but a lot of people don’t have the 6 or 7grand you might need to buy a farm here – I don’t – this is my daughter’s place – but by living communally and sharing our skills and time, we can all have the opportunity to live here.
This all sounds rather idealistic! I’m also into loud rock music, I smoke and I’m interested in making and drinking alcohol. I like talking and good conversation and I like hanging out with people who are fun, interesting and have something to say. If any of this is at all interesting to you and you fancy a change for a few years, email me or call me on 0035960386286.