Our Story

It all started in October 2024. We were accepted into a training program called "Creative Campaigns Laboratory". Within two days, with the help of mentors, we had to develop an idea for an impactful campaign.

We found ourselves in a place with people from all over the country who wanted to run campaigns for the protection of LGBTI rights and social inclusion, to change attitudes toward stray animals, to promote innovation in Bulgarian education, and so on.

And we went with the idea… to build a straw house in our ecocenter in the village of Ezerets. Were we in the right place? Our hesitation was so obvious that at the end of the training, Aylin from the Bulgarian Center for Not-for-Profit Law (the event organizer) pulled us aside with the question: "You are going to build the house, right?!"

We looked at each other. And… we nodded in agreement. While our heads were swimming with questions like: How do you build a house with sheer enthusiasm?

First, we drew up a plan. After all, that's why we went… And it included 4 steps:

  1. Creating an architectural design for a house made of natural materials and obtaining a building permit.
  2. Creating a website/landing page to raise donations for the implementation of the project.
  3. Organizing a campaign to raise funds and volunteers for the construction.
  4. Execution of construction activities.

So here we are at steps 3 and 4. The hardest ones.

If you are still reading, you are probably wondering—why do they need a house in a tent camp? The simplest answer, which we have shared most often:

  1. So the campers have a place to hide when it rains, thunders, and their tents get soaked.
  2. But not only that. We started the Ezerets Eco-Center 15 years ago with the idea of having a place where young people could escape far from the concrete city in the summer. In tents.
  3. With food they prepare themselves over a slow fire. And which they share. To practice building with natural materials.
  4. To live for a few days without a television, a computer, and forgetting about their phones.

It's incredible. But it happens. Young and old come, children, complete strangers, friends, camping fans, and those who have never slept under the open sky… To leave after four days better, more loving, and more appreciative of everything that nature gifts us.

And this idea naturally aligned with the mission of our 30-year-old association, the Public Environmental Centre for Sustainable Development. Namely—to make environmental protection a personal interest for everyone.

That's it. And it's not just a straw house. It's a dream. And everyone can add their straw brick to making it come true. Will you do it too? For yourself, right here!

Buy a straw brick

The straw house at the Ezerets Eco-Center has a total area of 24 sq. m. with a single common room. It will be built from 80 old car tires for foundations, 240 straw panels, 16 roofing elements, 3 windows, and a door. Every straw panel is made of wood, straw, clay, and additional fasteners. The roofing elements contain timber and a special rubber coating to ensure the construction of a green roof.

Like the other elements in the eco-camp, the straw house is being built by volunteers. It will become a "school" of eco-construction. And after its completion, it will also serve as a demonstration center or a "living" laboratory for sustainable development, where every one of our donors is welcome during the eco-camps.

Get your brick and place it in our straw house now from here!