Since spring 2017, GAIA Kosovo started to be present in Bozevce village. After the initial renovation and preparation of the place, the first volunteers arrived in 2018. The idea of the program is the creation of a permaculture educational space, which will be the permaculture learning and practicing point for Kosovo and the Balkan region. The goal of program is to promote and spreading the permaculture way of thinking, as it offers tools for dealing with challenges today’s world is facing. Permaculture reaches all aspects of life, from resource management to relationships with persons and communities, but in Bozevce we currently focus mostly on natural building and food production. These activities provide a big potential for storing carbon and thus are important for mitigation of climate change, and the sustainable practices which follow building and agriculture are not very known in Kosovo.
In 2021, volunteers joining the program will participate in natural building activities, by building a house with straw, which will later serve as a kitchen and food production facility at the estate. The volunteer will be able to learn about natural building techniques, and practice many parts of it (preparing the materials, plastering, making furniture, setting the wood frame and strawbales…). If it will be possible, we will also build an outdoor classroom, which will include lots of wood working.
The volunteers will also take part in the food production, by helping with gardening and caring of the plants we grow, harvesting them and also processing them. The ecological footprint of the food is generally quite high in Kosovo, and by producing our own food, while at the same time building the soil, makes a tremendous difference in the way we consume. The food production program does work on site in Bozevce, but it also includes guiding others to grow food, creating workshops and events for about agriculture and food (for kids and adults), getting connected with other farmers and spreading the knowledge of regenerative practices.
In the summer of 2021, we will host a group volunteering activity, a workcamp and a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course. It is also in our plan to host several smaller activities and events during the year, such as introduction to permaculture, workshop about bees, workshop about gardening, composting and similar…
The call for volunteering team! Soon…
Practicalities: Volunteers in Bozevce live in shared rooms, 2 or 3 volunteers per room. There are 2 houses at the estate – the white house, where there are 3 rooms for volunteers, the kitchen and the shower, and the red house, where the workshop, office and the common spaces are. Volunteers and the coordinators have weekly meeting where plans are made and the tasks are shared. The volunteers live, cook and clean together, and they take care of the animals that live at the property. Currently, there are dogs, cats, chickens and geese with us, so it is important to mention that you will be living with animals.
We host long-term volunteers as part of program (European Solidarity Corps, French Service Civique, German Weltwärts, etc.), but also outside the programs.
Short-term volunteers, on the other hand, come as individual volunteers for a certain period, participants of workcamps and workshops, volunteers in group activities, etc.
