Rodopi mountains B&B in Bulgaria
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
Preservation of wildlife is very important here in Bulgaria. Bulgaria is still relatively unknown, and still harbors bears, wolves, wild boar and deer in the wild. We try to educate the people in the village on the practice of hunting and how it will destroy the environment if it keeps happening. Bears inhabit the forests surrounding the mountain villages, and conservation centres have been set up in various locations to observe the bears rather than kill the bears. Education is very important in this underdeveloped society. Hunting is quite prevalent here, so educating the local people on the benefits of leaving the local wildlife and nature alone is very important.
Ruined abandoned buildings are abundant in Bulgaria. We have restored a stone and mud built house back to its heyday using natural materials, ie mud, but also including insulation materials mainly of straw and mud, to decrease the wasted heat output. Heating is provided by wood burning stoves, hence reducing the need for electricity. This helps to encourage the local people to invest in restoring their homes rather than leaving them to fall down, even if they can only afford to re-build a little at a time. Old Rodopen houses are beautiful once restored and encourages more visitors to the region to experience the old way of life.
Community
The village people are always friendly and willing to share a little piece of their loves with you. They produce their own milk, cheese, butter, all courtesy of their home owned cow. All villagers use their land not to display varieties of flowers, but to grown their own produce, including tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, cabbages, pumpkins, carrots, beans and many more. The local restaurants use all home grown produce and we encourage our guests to sample the tasty quality of local vegetables, as they really do taste quite different from the usual supermarket varieties. And of course, it supports the local economy which is quite poor. Our guests may buy locally produced milk, cheeses and yoghurt from the villagers, encouraging them to produce their goods in a natural way, and they will benefit from this by the sale of their goods.
Local woodcarvers in the village create unique carvings and we encourage guests to buy from these talented but little known craftsmen. Guided walks are available to a wood carver who lives in the forest and has made his home from the forest. He has his own water source, a spring that comes from the ground, and has constructed his home from old fallen down trees and branches and lives quite happily there.
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