Invest in a new rural community center in Hungary

Invest in a new rural community center in Hungary!

Join me and my small yoga community in Hungary in creating an ambitious new "Master Unit" in the village of Vejti, on the Croatian border, next to River Drava. Master Units are multi-purpose rural development projects emerging all over the world to set an example of community living, organic farming, and providing social services to disdavantaged people.

Your investment will secure a 32.260 euros contribution.

So far, I have personally invested all of my resources to purchase lands (total 0.8 hectares) with two family-size houses, two barns and a shed. Acknowledging that one of the houses was built in 1895 and is part of Hungary's historical heritage I secured a goverment grant of 32.260 Euros. This will give the chance to do an extensive renovation that will also restore the building’s original authentic look.

Urgent deadline by end of October

However, I must provide 20% own share. The project will be succesful, if with your support, I am able to secure 8064 euros (20% of the total cost).

The deadline given by the funding organization got extended, but is still tight: by the end of November 2023, the renovation must be completed. This is such a unique once in a lifetime opportunity. I am fully committed, and have already invested all of my resources, but there is a risk that I will lose this opportunity without your support.

All kinds of contributions are needed and welcome.

To give you an idea of the impact of your donation:

1000 euros will renovate the wooden structure of the whole roof;

500 euros will paint the whole house inside and outside;

300 euros will build a new chimney;

100 euros will reconstruct the 8 arches of the porch.

Construct a place for ecological and personal renewal

This is your opportunity to not only give new life to a historical building, but also to give so many people who will come to Veijti in the future, the chance for personal, spiritual renewal and to experience an ecological, sustainable lifestyle.

About the historical charm of house:

This cool house - as it is mostly mudbrick :-) - has a "soul". It carries the vibration of an era when families lived self-sufficiently and in harmony with nature. The wooden back-section - once used for storage and drying crops - has been preserved in its original form, that's why the building was eligible for a grant. About 50 years ago, the rest of the house was transformed according to the trend of the day: in the front, in place of the two small windows, a single large window was made; the "soul door" - a special door that was only used to carry out the dead - was walled up; every second pillar was removed from the porch and arches were straightened. All these will be restored to their original form. In the two rooms, wooden floor will be made with gaps along the walls to allow the moisture from below to evaporate. The whole roof will be renovated, and all the doors and windows will be made anew as per the archive photos or copying similar historical ones.

The vision

The building will give accomodation to staff, volunteers and guests, and it will showcase folk objects. It will be the emblametic part of the Master Unit, which as a whole is striving to be self-sufficient – cultivating the spirit of the late farmers who built it 128 years ago. As the project expands, it will provide opportunity for an ecological and universally spiritual life-style for an increasing number of people. We are developing the Master Unit into a service center to provide all-round service to the local population: humans, animals and plants.

Drava was once part of the Iron Curtain thus this region - called Ormánság - was not developed. During the last hundred years the area became impoverished, lacking job opportunities, and the population is dwindling. Vejti village used to have more than 500 inhabitants, but by now only 140 people live here. Sadly, orchards have been mostly cut down for firewood. The ratio of Roma population has increased many-fold, the reason being that the Roma minority in Hungary is severely discriminated against and they are being ”pushed out” to marginalised areas.

Our mission is to help Roma families develop skills for self-sufficiency. Furthermore, to serve all children in Ormánság (about 35 settlements, mostly with 100-300 inhabitants), we are planning to establish a mobile eco-education project as well as hold summer camps. The Master Unit - beside being an organic farm and retreat center - will also serve as a wellness center and accomodation for tourists who like vegetarian food. Opportunities for special services for the surrounding environment: joining other eco-groups in fighting for the re-establishment of wetland areas; teaching farmers about no-tilling agricultural methods; teaching locals composting and other organic gardening methods as well as ways of utilizing herbs growing wild; cultivating still existing orchards that „gone wild” and planting new orchards with indigenous varieties of fruits.