Green Summit

The big ideas…

Green Summit or as we call it in Bulgarian “Зелен сбор“ is a project of Green Association which focus on the big ideas for the small settlements.

During the summer we organize a series of events, promoting living in small communities with environmental care.

…for the small settlements

Hosts of these events are the local people or communities, who have the opportunity to share their lifestyle with all its benefits and misfortunes to the public. All of them are young people or involve young people in their activities, they are all promoting social commitment at the local level, helping to protect the environment and climate, and entrepreneuring in severe social conditions, showing that everything is possible, if you have strong motivation.

The main obstacle that people face, being in a small community is the lack of social life and here comes our solution. Green Summit is an event based platform which raise awareness of the environmental ideas of these communities and promotes their unique sustainable lifestyle to the public.

Events consist of social, educational, artistic, sport, cultural and other activities that engage young people to spend their time in a beneficial way outside the rush of the big city and closer to the nature.

Besides our campaign, we believe that meanwhile people and communities will self organize through our platform and mutually benefit, raising awareness of environmental and climate issues and most important sharing their knowledge on minimizing them.

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The Story Behind

2024 less is more

12 volunteers helped us put the Green Place on the map of spaces to rent in a month and gave birth to Kikimora gathering, where we gathered to help all the kikimoras of the village. The first renters made a whole international Native American wedding and then were followed by a spiritual retreat with spirits all the way from Romania.

4 youngsters lived the Bulgarian rural fairytale and inspired us to open the Permaculture Design Course to the public.

2023 turning point

We set foot deep in Staro StefaNovo.

We initiated the beginning of a new era with 15 volunteers for one month at the new place of Green Association in Stefanovo, soon to be called the Green Place.

With the help of friends and like-minded people we carried out a Permaculture Design Course for our long-term volunteers, which this year numbered 5 people.

2022 jubilee year

The association celebrated 10 rounds around the sun, 12 volunteers from European Solidarity Corpse helped us build and make Wake up! and Beglika happen and 5 more had the chance to truly connect with rural life in Bulgaria over a long-term experience.

2021 just chill

In 2021, we welcomed 19 volunteers through the European Solidarity Corps.

Six young people had the opportunity to visit alternative places around Bulgaria for seven months, while thirteen joined us for a two-month experience.

Our main partner this year was Eco Farm Venets, where we got our hands deep in the soil and learned more about permaculture practices.

We visited 13 hosts, bringing them a breath of fresh air and new energy.

Green Association laid the foundations of its new space in the architectural reserve of Staro Stefanovo.

We played a key role in the organization of Beglika once again.

Our long-term volunteers and team also carried out a Permaculture Design Course, marking another meaningful chapter in our journey.

2020 almost pandemic

Right before the pandemic hit, we organized a signature event for our volunteers – Green Reunion.

That summer, Green Summit became a refuge for 15 young people and a way for them to explore both Bulgaria and themselves.

We kicked off the project with a few days of getting to know each other and a workshop on standing on stilts.

Then we headed to Beglika, where all the young participants took an active role in organizing the event.

Throughout the summer, we visited many of our long-time hosts with whom we’ve built strong partnerships over the years.

2019 we were on top

We welcomed dozens of volunteers from all over Europe through two short-term projects. We were everywhere, all the time. During the four most active months of the year, we were the volunteer heart of four major events – Wake Up, Essentia Gathering, Beglika, and Vazduharia.

Our green journey through small alternative communities brought us to two events in our sister country North Macedonia and took us all the way to the far northeast of Bulgaria, visiting 24 hosts during the season.

We even made it to national television!

2018 strategic year

We began implementing a three-year project for strategic volunteering service. Volunteers started finding us on their own, and the hosts we visited across several regions welcomed us with open arms. For the first time, our volunteer group reached the milestone of 23 people.

We created a highly successful shared workspace in the center of Sofia, where we could share our rural stories. We were the main organizers of Beglika Festival. We had a beautiful digital presence thanks to Emily and Roman, and Michele captured our entire journey.

2017 green summit

An incredibly active and dynamic year. We welcomed our first short-term volunteers. Locally, we organized events for children in schools, and Dani led Spanish language and dance courses for adults. We also became part of the “Wake Up!” experiment.

Green Summit visited ten different places, formally kicking off with an international event in the cradle of civilization – Macedonia.

2016 our first hosts

That year, we visited our first hosts – the Happy Farm in the Rhodope Mountains, the Green Gate, and Domashno. We got a lot of work done on the house, created amazing DIY gadgets like a pedal-powered machine and a can heater, made our own soap, creams, and laundry detergent, traveled, and took part in various events. Sasho (Alessandro Finello) even made an attempt to gather his impressions into a book.

2015 it all started

This year, our first volunteers arrived – Laura, Elena, Marco, and Renaud. Thanks to these green pioneers, we found the strength to initiate almost everything we’re still involved in today. The Green House lit up and came to life, we created our first garden, the van took its first kilometers on unexpected adventures smelling of oil, we worked with the local community, volunteered at Beglika, and took part in a number of events, where we met many new friends and like-minded people.

These, of course, are just the highlights — you can see the details here.