We are Jolana (Czech) and Michael (Dutch), and we are creating a space where people and wildlife can connect, learn, and thrive. To make this vision a reality we need to drill a well, as well as to dig swales for recollecting rainwater in the landscape. Your support can make a real difference!
Our Vision
We see "home" not just as a physical house, but as a safe space of unconditional love. With a passion for responsible ecological landscaping, medicine, nutrition, social services, and art, we aim to elevate regional standards here in country-side Croatia while stepping into a new life, nurturing the natural environment.
Who We Are
Jolana is a painter at heart, a teacher, a homeopathic therapist and herbalist producing medicinal teas. Michael is a landscaper, passionate about permaculture, natural construction as well as jewelry-making. Both artists, experienced in nature-education working with young people. We organise painting classes and nature-education for kids and teenagers. Most of all we wish to inspire them, broadening their horizon by inviting them to our off-grid home.
To us living off-grid is like an invitation to a more peaceful life - although not more easy. What we see is that when people find the space to be more in touch with their true feelings, the emotions that stir them seem to come from a deeper place. Daily life tends to become more rich in experiences but more complex and confronting by times. And these confrontations are here to teach us to love unconditionally.
Our Future Plans
- Organic farming: wild teas, vegetables, mushrooms
- Healthy eating initiatives: workshops and restaurant experiences
- Constructing an art gallery/studio that functions as a tea house
- Organising weekend retreats focussed on art and therapy
- Landscape preservation: restoring native ecosystems
- Wildlife rescue and rehabilitation
Why We Need Your Support
A vital next step for hosting people is ensuring reliable water access. A local company can come and drill a well for approximately EUR 4.000. And to sustain the groundwater level and our meadows we will require to dig bioswales for collecting rainwater. The local price of a second-hand mini excavator for such landscaping is about EUR 6.000.
How You Can Help
We are seeking funds to support these essential infrastructure projects. Your contributions will help us build a resilient center with lush meadows and forest, harbouring food and nesting place. Initial funds will be used to dig a well, and purchase a mini digger!
Please Note:
Croatian bank accounts are not supported by GoFundMe, so all donations will be transferred through Jolana’s brother in the UK, who is kindly assisting us.
All questions and comments are most welcome.
Thank you for supporting our vision!
Organizer and beneficiary
Michael den Boer
Organizer
Radomir Witek
Beneficiary