The Bulgarian village of Gudevica, nestled in the mountainous border area with Greece, has a population of just 24, and the youngest of its residents is in his sixties. Like many frontier communities, the village seems to be gradually dying out as its population dwindles.
In 1931, the community built a cultural centre, which was the only educational institution in the area for some time. Now, the building is in desperate need of repair and a local NGO has taken up the challenge, hoping to secure regional funding and develop a model of green schooling. Its ideas have sparked interest and gathered fans.
"When I first came to Gudevica in 2002 and saw the building, I felt connected to it immediately. There is something very special about this place," says Teodor Vassilev, a founder of non-profit organisation NarodnoChitalishte - 'Badeshte sega' (People’s Community Centre - 'Future Now').
In an interview with Dnevnik, EurActiv's partner publication in Bulgaria, Vassilev explained that he had convinced the local authorities to let by contract the cultural centre, which had remained closed and unused for almost 20 years. The young ethnology graduate firmly believed that the educational function of the building should be preserved instead of converted into a hotel. In 2005 he won the contract.
The non-profit organisation is now determined to fully repair the Gudevica centre, so that educational activities can take place there throughout the year.
The birth of Future Now
The NGO was established in 2006 after Vassilev met Milena Leneva, a mother of two children with solid professional experience in cognitive science. Both of them, driven by their academic vocation, considered the Gudevica cultural centre as a source of inspiration and a symbol of the Bulgarian enlightenment movement of the 19th century.
More enthusiasts with diverse academic backgrounds soon joined the NGO and the team started developing a non-formal educational methodology. In 2007, 'Future Now' launched its first project: a summer camp for pupils from the transborder region. They planned activities for 30 children, but it turned out that 120 young people were eager to participate.
"I would define our methodology as a mixture of thematic games and experiential learning," explained Vassilev. In his view, 'Future Now' is unique in Bulgaria in applying this non-traditional approach to provide education on ecology.
Nature ambassadors
The ecology class was created as one of the key activities of a project entitled 'Nature Ambassadors'. The project, with a budget of 25,000 euros, was funded by the Bulgarian operational programme Human Resources Development, which is co-funded by the European Social Fund.
As part of Nature Ambassadors, the NGO team created ecology clubs in five schools. Of the chosen schools two are in the capital and three are in the municipality of Smolyan, where Gudevica village is situated. Every week an instructor from Future Now, helped by a school teacher, taught classes on issues like renewable energy sources, global warming, meteorology, and typical flora and fauna of the region. The idea was to give children the opportunity to follow extracurricular activities.
"We are very happy that, on one hand, a lot more children than the number planned joined the eco clubs, and on the other hand, many of these clubs continued to be taught after the 12-month project was over. This is the case in 134 'Dimcho Debelyanov' school in Sofia and also the club in the town of Smolyan," Vassilev said.
Another key activity for the Nature Ambassadors was ecological summer schools in Gudevica village and near the Beglika dam, which is also located in the Rhodope Mountains. The week-long camp attracted approximately 15 children, most of whom live in the area. In accordance with the educational philosophy of Future Now, the children learned about nature, biodiversity and energy sources, both experientially and through games.
"For the whole duration of the summer school we organised outdoor team-building games and self-expression activities. At the same time there were different thematic games every day. If it was 'bats day', kids played different games blindfolded, and we hiked to some of the caves in the region. The area around Gudevica is rich in caves, so we could show our pupils the home of the bat," explained Vassilev.
The children were normally accompanied by at least two educators, in most cases more because the third goal of the project was to educate instructors too. Vassilev explained that the aim of Future Now is to educate so-called "playworkers".
In the United Kingdom there is professional recognition, even university education for playworkers, said Vassilev. One of his dreams is that someday the profession will be recognised in Bulgaria too.
Rositsa Russeva-Yanaris, one of the 'Future Now' playworkers, told Dnevnik that she found the educators' course very inspiring. "I have never laughed as much as during the course. I would like to be a full-time playworker, and my current employer likes the idea very much, so she gives me days off to participate in the summer schools. But many other people don't have this chance," she concluded.
During the project the NGO team worked with some 460 children aged 7-14. The final event of the project was 'Nature's Fiesta,' which took place in Sofia. It gave many of the participating children the opportunity to share their views on ecology with their peers though theatre plays, games and presentations.
Red tape and delayed payments as authorities learn the ropes
The project leaders encountered some difficulties along the way, however. "The red tape was awful. There was an enormous quantity of paperwork. The national managing authority wanted all sorts of different reports, and the problem was that the documents required were being changed over the course of the project," Milena Leneva noted.
Payment delays were another challenge faced by the organisation. "The money was never on time. We were put in a very complicated situation because with the payment delays it was very, very difficult to follow the schedule of our project. But we did it," said Vassilev.
"I know that many NGOs who applied for funding at the same time as we did have had similar problems. The thing is that the Human Resources Operational Programme was a brand new one and the managing authority was learning from scratch, using us as their test model. We really hope the situation will change for the better now," he concluded.
Despite the delays, Future Now managed to sustain its activities, even after the project with the Human Resources Development programme was over.
"However, I understand when some NGOs cannot manage to continue their activities. It is really difficult to re-finance your project. The funding system is structured in a way that you cannot apply twice with the same idea in one programme. You have to develop different projects in order to get funding. But then you get distracted and you cannot fully develop one idea. Or you could fall into the trap of making projects not because you truly believe in them but for the sake of funding," concluded Vassilev.
The future of Gudevica
To be able to carry out educational activities all year around, the non-profit organisation is now determined to fix the Gudevica cultural centre. "Our idea is that the building represents our principles of sustainability and our work methodology. Rainwater will be collected, there will be compost bins, and so on," explained Vassilev. In his view, this way the building will itself become an educational tool.
To secure funding for the reconstruction, the NGO has applied to the Bulgarian operational programme for transborder cooperation with Greece, which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund. "The winning projects will be announced in May. Let's see what happens," Leneva concluded with a smile.
