Free (or Cheap) Volunteer Work in Bulgaria
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Grassroots Volunteering in Bulgaria
The organisations listed below have either got in touch with us to add their details to this or another of our websites, or we otherwise have reason to believe they are actively looking for international volunteers and charge reasonable or no fees to join in, live and work with them:
St. James’ Park
www.stjamespark.biz
Kathy and her daughter Ella have welcomed around 300 volunteers from around the world since they moved to their village in Bulgaria, buying a house and naming it after their favourite patch of green, Newcastle United’s football ground. They’ve since expanded to several more properties locally. Work is five hours a day times five days a week, on tasks as varied as cooking, laying floors, building garden structures, painting and chasing sheep.
They generally need volunteers from the beginning of March until the end of October. Most people come for two or three weeks but there are opportunities to stay longer, plus a work experience position in natural building. Their youngest volunteer was 5 years old, and focused her attention on walking the dog a lot, and the oldest 73.
Where: Voditsa, in Varna province.
Accommodation & Costs: Volunteers work for their keep, and are housed in the center of Voditsa where there is an apartment for volunteers. Anyone who arrives in a Newcastle shirt gets an extra piece of cake.
Festival Volunteering in Bulgaria
Typically the rewards of volunteering at a festival are a free ticket and a better camping pitch.
Meadows in the Mountains
www.meadowsinthemountains.com
Doors are always open to like minded people who volunteer for this festival in the Rhodopes Mountains held each June. In return for your help they hand over a festival ticket and three meals a day per working shift. Accommodation is free to campers or help is arranged to stay in a house in the village. Positions include build and decor crew, artist liaisons, runners, production office attendants, info point crew and gate stewards.
More Festivals
The organisers of Bansko Nomad Fest look for volunteers to help with various activities before and during the June event. In exchange, there’s a free ticket, an invite to their volunteer dinner and one month of free coworking membership. The event is a celebration of the location independent lifestyle and nomad mindset with hundreds of nomads, remote workers and freelancers that will take over a beautiful village in Bulgaria for a week of presentations, workshops, sports, mindfulness and nature. If you’ve missed it this year, check their website after January for volunteer opportunities.
Alter Ego Theatre Festival is one of the biggest alternative festivals in Sofia, Bulgaria, gathering artists, dancers, theatre directors, and critics from all over the world. During the festival, volunteers take part in cultural activities such as para-theatrical games, performances, online streaming, workshops, integration activities, and discussions. For more information, their listing on Voluntouring.org is the best place to go.
Hostel Work Exchanges
We’ve noticed 10 Coins Hostel in Sofia posting a graphic to their Facebook page simply showing the word ‘Volunteer’. This could of course mean anything, from encouraging us to do the washing up to joining the army, but further investigation suggests they use some of the work exchange networks to hire volunteer staff. On our latest update, we thought perhaps this hostel had closed. Their Facebook page is pretty neglected and the link to their website is a dud, but according to their reviews, people were staying there recently and mentioning their volunteers too.
Nearby Hostel N1 does the same but was far more informative when posting to their Facebook (though they use it much less now, preferring WhatsApp, Telegram or Viber +359887153079). They said they needed helpers to receive and entertain guests and to clean out. They provide a bed, a kitchen, basic food, free trips and Wi-Fi in return for five hours a day.
Other Opportunities to Volunteer in Bulgaria
Christine Thompson, a regular poster to work exchange Facebook groups such as Work Exchange for Campers & Nomads UK & Europe, is often looking for help with her orchards in Stolat, between Sevlievo and Gabrovo. DIY and handyman jobs are another possibility. Join the above group and keep an eye on her user profile for her latest requirements. In exchange for your help, she offers all meals and accommodation if needed, or a park up for a van if not. Use of house for showers etc. Wifi is available too.
When we spotted Elizabeth Derham posting “We have a little homestead in rural Bulgaria and are always looking for an extra pair of hands,” we checked out her social media and discovered that not only is she a friend of a friend of ours, but she had also used the Jobs Abroad Bulletin in her younger days to find jobs abroad. Now on the other side of the equation, Elizabeth intends to add a volunteer page to her website, The Crafty Balkan Homestead.
Help Exchange Networks in Bulgaria
Workaway – https://www.workaway.info/hostlist-BG.html
Other Ways to Travel or Stay for Free in Bulgaria
Stay free in return for caring for local residents’ homes or pets. Join Trusted Housesitters to live rent free as a house sitter.
Image courtesy The Refugee Project
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