By Vyara
Hello, hello! My name is Vyara, twenty-nine-years old from Bulgaria. This week I began what I am aiming to be an adventure of a lifetime – my participation in the European Solidarity Corps project!
I have been interested in gardening ever since I was a little girl. My gardening journey started when I was planting onion bulbs with my grandmother in our countryside house. Back then I had noticed my grandmother planting onions next to carrots and lettuce, basil next to tomatoes. To me, back then, this seemed like an odd pairing, what was this woman doing? Tomatoes with tomatoes looked just fine to me. When I asked my grandmother what was the reason behind her actions, she told me that these plants are friends and by being close together they protect each other from harm. Later on, in my many travels around the world, I learnt that this unusual pairing is actually quite typical and people have given it a name – companion planting. My grandmother is my first permaculture teacher, she did not know it then, but she was introducing me to permaculture.
But, let me tell you more about my first week! My induction training started in Sofia where I met again Misha – my supervisor. She gave me yet another introduction to the European Solidarity Corps after my pre-departure training and my previous experience as a short-term ESC volunteer. The latter was in Spain last year, sent by Misha and the Green School Village, where I was helping out reforesting the only desert in Europe and learning about permaculture methods in extremely hot climates. During this on-arrival training, we had a session on Youthpass and its key competences, and a thorough introduction to the whole project. We did sessions on needs and expectations, goals and impact, roles and balanced use of time and energy. Time flew by as we were discussing topics related to permaculture, our future activities, and how I can apply my skills to the project. I am very interested in marketing and social media, and I used my knowledge to help promote the project and attract new volunteers to my beautiful country. Interviewing candidates with Misha and quickly confirming my next team mate, who’s been working with Green School Village’s team last year and surprisingly knew some Bulgarian language.
On the agenda was to spend a week in Kromidovo, a lovely little Bulgarian village near the Greek border. The weather in Sofia was dull and grey, but this is not what we encountered in Kromidovo. Much like our hosts, Sara and John, the weather was bright and sunny! We spent our free days going for mountain walks, herb picking and exploring the area. As nature lovers we couldn`t leave without filling a couple of bags with rubbish and throwing it in the appropriate place in the nearby town! In the village we met a lovely couple who were cultivating the land with one of the oldest methods known. Pictures speak louder than words, have a look 🙂
To put a face to word, you can check out our first video:
Hope you enjoyed this blog entry, there are many more to come from me and my team! If you want to know more about my project, or anybody who might be interested in joining me this year, please visit: https://europa.eu/youth/solidarity/placement/29760_en
