After the Greek madness, Nenad was kind enough to chauffer me past the Bulgarian border and through the fairytale like mountains of the Rhodopi. We battled ogres and wild horses before heading into the valley of Gotse Delchev where I met my hosts, a lovely couple from the UK who have decided to create a homestead in the Muslim village of Krushevo, successfully using their gorgeous piece of land to experiment with sustainable building methods and create a place to exchange ideas and experiences.
Time warp…..
While there, I spend some time out in the fields working with a kinship group in the community. The backbreaking labor is performed exclusively by hand or with the aide of a horse, and yet there is not one complaint. The hours depend on the day length; work can last for hours on end. Entire families go to the fields cultivating potatoes or their other cash crop of tobacco, working the land to benefit the entire village. The work is also seasonal, and the winter months bring a time to work with in the home and rest from the years work. There is a spirit to the people that I don’t see often, and the interactions between family members is endearing. Children are ever-present. During breaks in the field the family recollects fro tea and snacks and the children at times participate if they are strong enough to hold a tool. It is a collective effort and the job gets done. There is a social aspect to the work that you have to experience for yourself, and I really wish I could communicate on a higher level as I aided in the feels. It was a semi- surreal experience. As I looked beyond the fields at the green mountains and big- ever-changing skies I realized that hard work has incredible reward, and I take a lot for granted.
Both sides of the spectrum.
We went down to purchase stone from the roadside yards, a field trip of sorts. Series of palleted local stone are strewn alongside the road heading to Krushevo. Mountainside quarries extract a beautiful rock rich in mica and ranging on tone from greenish slate to a yellowish brown color. The high mica content gives it a glittery overlay, and leaves your skin with a costume makeup sparkle. The stones are hand cut with a chisel and the workers sit in the hot sun daily splitting slabs on small cushions. I was in a state of shock when I heard the prices paid for such amazing product. Having formerly priced stone, I could not believe the cost when purchasing direct from the source (pennies in comparison). Furthermore, I could not believe the prices we pay for similar, possibly the same, stone in California. It blew my mind how little is awarded to the laborer in comparison to the buyers. It also made me visualize the carbon footprint that trails the demand for such luxuries in life, and made me question: If the person buying comes from Bulgaria or California the worker gets paid the same, so why do we insist on not purchasing locally? One of the many questions that arise unanswered.
Village Homestead
Lily and Yan are an amazing and inspiring pair. They have managed to relocate their lives and become an active part of a village with very particular cultural values and living standards, enjoying and embracing every moment. It is total immersion and they handle the adjustment in a beautiful way.
As individuals, their wealth of knowledge and amazing patience makes them great teachers (or rather ‘sharing professionals). The practical knowledge I attained during my stay will stick with me for life (my cake baking skills have gone from dependent to equated and I will never NEED a basic cake recipe again, and that is only one newly developed skill!). It was valuable and memorable time spent, and I hope to re-vist the site as it shifts and changes in the coming years.
Thank you Lily and Yan for sharing your space, good luck with the developments to come.
Please check out the village website for more information and images (my camera was still broken at this point): http://krushevo.com/
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