Help us bring our old house to new life

Our family wants to make our charming old farm house into B&B and we need all your help! We are living in a beautiful area that is suffering from migration, but we decided to stay and create an open house for everyone.

There comes a time in life when one needs to make some firm decisions and even get out of one's comfort zone. And that time for our family is now. After thinking about leaving the country like so many others, we decided we are staying and going to try and make it here. Why? It turns out we are all very passionate about the "Old House" in a small village called Milivojevci. All my husband Nemanja wants to do is to be a farmer and take care of his father´s land. Our little boy Marko shares the same passion. And my daughter Olja and I enjoy the peaceful surroundings, and want to plant a garden and host visitors from all over the world. We want to build a life we don't need a vacation from!

With your help we can give a new life to our family farm that was destroyed in war in 1991. The farm consists of a house, a barn, a stable, and a garage surrounded with one hectare (approximately two acres) of orchard.

The old house was built in 1948. It has four rooms, a big bathroom, storage, an attic and two basements. We would like to make it a Bed and Breakfast with four double rooms with bathroom and a joint kitchen. The house today has basically just walls and roof; everything else was destroyed during the war.

The barn is older than the house (built in 1946) what is left today are just beautiful brick and limestone walls. We want to make this barn our family home with a kitchen, a living room, an open terrace on the ground floor, and bedrooms on the upper floor. We want to keep the style of the house and the barn the way it is and to furnish it in rustic local style by using natural materials in the restoring process. I have worked in hospitality for the past 15 years and I know the importance of personal or custom service and for that reason we want to live on the premise.

So far we have planted about 120 new fruit trees in the orchard. The farm is certified as organic and we are currently engaged in crop production (8 ha/19 ac). Our goal is to produce organic food for both the local community and our guests. We also plan to have animals on the farm and to make it as much sustainable as we can. All our guests will have a possibility to participate in day to day activities on the farm (to pick their own fruits and vegetables, to collect eggs, etc). Apart from working on the farm our guests will also have the opportunity to hike or cycle in the beautiful intact nature, to go and pick mushrooms, to harvest herbs, to observe wildlife…

Who are we and why we need you help­­­­­?

We are a young family trying to start a small business in a region that has been facing numerous problems for the past 30 years. My husband lived on this farm until he was 10, now our children are almost that age and we want to bring them to their roots and give them a sense of belonging. I have years of experience in the field of hospitality, which will come handy in a small business we are trying to start. My husband is experienced farmer wanting to produce healthy and organic products. With your help we can get a kick start and give a new life to our farm.

Where are we located?

Continent: Europe (SE Europe)

Country: Croatia (one of the former Yugoslavian republics)

Region: Slavonija

If you ever heard of Croatia or visited Croatia surely you know about Croatian coastline, Dubrovnik or Plitvice lakes. We are nowhere near any of these places. We are located in a region famous for great food and wine, hospitable people and fertile land.

Even though we are not located in the most popular region of Croatia we believe this is an advantage. Since we live in a global village when talking about tourist trends we all know they are changing rapidly. Today there are more and more tourists interested in eco travel, local experience, "digital nomads".

The reason we want to start our small business is the fact that we can see this trends happening now. Every year more tourists are coming to our region and with your help we would like to make them feel at home.

We will be a perfect destination for all those who think we need to go a bit back to our roots; those seeking tranquility, a place to get their thoughts together, to be inspired or to let go....

What's to experience nearby?

• Zagreb - our capital city is only a two hour drive ;
• UNESCO geopark and nature park Papuk - a 15 minute drive;
• Pozega – a small baroque city- a 15 minute drive;
• Spa in the city of Daruvar - a 45 minute drive.

Thank you all for your donations! We understand not everyone can donate but you can also help us by spreading the word!

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for taking the time to read about us!

Look for us on Instagram @newlife_oldfarm