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26 Oct 2024
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Building a permaculture garden and renovating an old house in the magical wild mountains!!
Slovenia is the greenest and by far one of the most beautiful countries in Europe. Full of pristine mountains and rivers. And I would say after travelling to 22 countries and counting these are some of the warmest and friendliest people I have ever met, the true Balkan spirit! The culture here is also very special, one of music and poets, nature and mountains. Oh and people here are hilarious and will constantly play jokes on you, so be ready!
Hi! My name is Keira 32 year old male originally from Sri Lanka but I have lived all over the world. I am a nature lover and crazy about outdoor sports, I work in the permaculture and land restoration field, mostly in the tropics but now trying to start this new project in amazing Slovenia!! I am into a lot of sports from, climbing, mountaineering, paragliding, motorbikes. I teach kitesurfing and have kited 400km in 4 days in Sri Lanka. I recently drove 9000 km around the Mediterranean on my motor bike. I used to be a musician. Random facts.
I have a nature camp and hostel at one of the kite surf spots in Sri Lanka called the Kite House Café (@kitehousecafekalpitiya), this was a down to earth place buzzing with activity built from the ground up by ourselves and countless amazing volunteers who joined us over the years. We also have a farm and land restoration project there.
I have been travelling and working for the last 2 years as kite instructor, builder, and permaculturist in Europe, Mexico and Brazil.
Now I am going to stay put in Slovenia to and work as an arborist while studying microbiology and to turn this old house into a green garden compound, and to be a place for all the adventurers and travelers to come and relax, have a beer, tea or wine and gaze upon the mountains and streams.
The garden is massive and 2 mountain streams meet on 2 sides of the land, you can constantly hear the sound of the water, we are surrounded by mountains home to many animals including bear and wolf and very few people, its magical.
We are running a full organic garden here and test out many old and new sustainable agriculture methods. Slovenia has a very strong culture of home gardening so I hope to learn from the locals as well. Anyone interested in self sustainability and growing food this may be interesting for you. We have a flock of about 12 chickens. Fresh eggs!!!
The house belongs to my friends farther who is an energetic and funny guy and happens to be one of the main wild mushroom and beekeeping experts in the country. A super interesting person!
Slovenia is the ultimate adventure travel destination. The small country is full of mountains and many things to see and do. Italy, Croatia and Austria are within 2 hours drive from the house.
The house is located in a valley called Nova Stifta (46°16'40.8"N 14°46'25.4"E). This is 4km from the mountain town of Gornji Grad. Google search the coordinates or just google Gornj Grad. All very beautiful places with lots to see and do. This is a nature area if I didn’t mention before. We are on the foot hill of the Kamnik-Savinja apls, a magnicifent 2000m mountain range. The mountain Lepenatka in front of the house is 1400m high and there are hiking trails all around. After Lepenatka it’s the alps. In 30 minutes you can drive to the main entrances of the mountain range which is a nature park. These are Kamnik and Logarska dolina which is a super cool area. Triglav national park and the famous Soca river are just 1.5 hours away. Just in our local mountains you can hike and climb for weeks on end. We are friends with all the alpinists and mountain people here so we can give you all the best advice or better yet go explore to together.
So basically I need help with getting the house together (never ending renovation) and maintaining the garden. Jobs could include, cleaning, organizing, sanding and painting, moving stuff. Lots of work with the garden, planting, weeding, making compost, taking care of chickens, dealing with plants. All are welcome here whether you have experience or not with this stuff.
We can make schedules depending whatever works, I will be working in the day during the weeks. We have some bicycles for people to use. I can provide basic food supply’s and we can cook separate or together, whatever works, there will also be fridge space for you to keep your own things. We will provide a bed most likely in a private room, there are good hot showers and nice kitchen (its now under renovation). But keep in mind this is for the adventure oriented or seeking people as this is a work in process and we all have to adapt.
This will be a funny, interesting and sometimes wild experience. I am open mined and pretty flexible with ideas and situations. There is obviously a lot to do and see in the area and country, if you have a car or van this might be the perfect base for you to go exploring. If you have a van you can park and camp here easy. If you are on foot, I can help much as possible with transport if needed. We are easy going people that love nature, sports, cooking food together, making bonfires and enjoying life. Hope you join us!!
The profile photo is Logarska Dolina, an amazing place 30 min from here that you must visit! All other photos are from our land and valley.
Update: We have had a very successful 2022 season with projects and the garden went better than expected and handled the drought very well, full of life! I am now also joined by my girlfriend Bibi who is a vegan chef and our 7 year old daughter Jasmine. They are also nature lovers, originally from S.C Brazil, and now becoming mountain farmers too!
Update 2024 season:
As my partner will be travelling from April to end of June we are looking for people who can stay for 1 month at a time or even longer to help with the garden preparation and also some babysitting during the week, people with experience with kids would be great.
For the full July and August we are looking for someone or a couple who can stay and look after the garden, cat and chickens. This would be for 2 weeks, month or even all 2 months. Some experience with this would be helpful and if you have your own car it would be better for you. Our volunteer manager Judith will always be around to help, she lives in the next village, she is actually one of our first volunteers and now lives in Slovenia full time!
Please write me for more details if you are serious interested, cheers!
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Babysitting and creative play
Help around the house
General Maintenance
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
I would say there is a huge amount of cultural exchange here, you can interact and experience a lot from the locals here, many are experts on the forest, herbs, plants and animals. This is also an area that produces top alpinists (mountaineers). I my self have lived and travelled in many countries had have a wide range of skills and experiences that i am happy to share with others.
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
Garden, working with plants, planting, sprouting seeds, weeding, mulching, fruit trees, compost making, chickens and eggs, permaculture, land restoration, sustainability, house renovation, sanding, painting, cleaning, moving things, wood work, basic cement work, laughs and good times.....
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Sinhalese: Fluent
German: Intermediate
Spanish: BeginnerThis host offers a language exchange
I would like to improve my German and Spanish!!!
Accommodation
Bed in single room. At times could be share room if agreed upon before. House is warm in summer and heated by wood fire stove when cold. Nice hot showers. Huge amount of chill space and outdoor space with 2 rivers on the land!
I can provide basic cooking supplies (veggies, rice, pasta eggs, tea coffee....) but you may have to cook for your self breakfast and lunch as i will be working in the week. Dinners we can do together.
What else ...
Kamnik-Savinja Alps, Triglav National park, locally so much to see and do.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
This could be possible
Space for parking camper vans
This host can provide space for campervans.
Can possibly accept pets
Should be ok if you have a dog... as long as it gets well with our cat and chickens.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (9)
They are very friendly, and they make you feel at home as soon as you arrive !
Their house is such a great place with a beautiful garden and the river runs next to it 🦦 and there is a lot of beautiful Slovenian mountains, valleys and cities nearby :)
Blisa is a very lovely and… read more
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They are very friendly, and they make you feel at home as soon as you arrive !
Their house is such a great place with a beautiful garden and the river runs next to it 🦦 and there is a lot of beautiful Slovenian mountains, valleys and cities nearby :)
Blisa is a very lovely and… read more
I spent two amazing weeks with Keira and his family. I helped with sanding windows and floor while watching the stunning view of the surrounding mountains and listening to the river running right next to the house.
After work they took me everywhere with them, so I… read more
I spent marvelous days helping them in their new projects. That was a very nice experience and I met a lot of people.
I help with the renovation of a room, however, there is also a lot of thinks to do outside, and a lot to learn about the permaculture (a subject that Keira masters).
The atmosphere in the house and the garden relaxed me a lot, thanks to the sound of the river and the nature, but also Keira's music playlist during the work (:
I helped Keira renovating the house (sanding, moving some stuff), maintaining the beautiful… read more
