About the project
From 04.06 to 18.06.2023, our organization hosted a professional practice, which is part of the project “Unconventional processing methods in agriculture and mechanical engineering” with contract number 2022-1-MK01-KA122-VET-000072512, which is co-financed by the program ” Erasmus+” of the European Union. The project was implemented in partnership with the Macedonian school “Gotse Delchev” from Valandovo, North Macedonia.
The practice was for 15 students and two accompanying teachers from the agricultural profession of the school and the work activities were realized on the territories of Sliven and Burgas.
professional Practice
in Sliven
In Sliven, the students had practice at the Sliven company “GeoAgro Zem” and had the opportunity to listen to a presentation by the owner, Georgi Radev, who told them about the history of the company, the types of grain and other crops they produce, as well as the machines they work with. The students participated in the processes of harvesting and spraying the plants. Georgi Radev and his family cultivate over 11 thousand hectares of land in the region of Sliven. He is the vice-chairman of the Management Council of the “National Association of Grain Producers” (NAZ), as well as the chairman of the Association of Agricultural Producers “Hadzhi Dimitar”.
We thank the family Radevi for the warm welcome and the generous presentation of the production processes!
In Sliven, the students also participated in the presentation and the practical part called “From the Garden to the Bottle” which was hosted by Alex Kongarov. Apart from visiting the lavender gardens, where the students learned about the process of planting and growing lavender, they also visited the distillery and learned a little more about the process of obtaining lavender oil and water. They also helped prepare the lavender oil for sale. We spoke about bio-certification, beekeeping and obtaining lavender honey, and in the end, we also danced horo because it’s much easier to work with a song.
We thank Alex from “Lavender Paradise” for the warm welcome and comprehensive presentation!
The participants had the opportunity to visit the “Blue Stones” natural park and enjoy the breathtaking views.
professional Practice
in Burgas
After Sliven, the practice continued in Burgas, where the students had a presentation by Konstantin Georgiev, who is a volunteer in the world-famous organization WWF and its youth structure “PanGeia”. Konstantin told them how he, together with three other like-minded people – teenagers from Ruse, developed a bio-alternative pesticide for plant pests. The idea was realized with the help of the “Panda Labs” program of the World Wildlife Fund. Young people have created a biopesticide that can avoid the harmful effects of conventional pesticides on nature. Koce told us that the first step they took was to choose the ingredients and the method of preparation of the biopesticide. The main ingredient is nettle, which is left in water at room temperature to ferment. Garlic, hot pepper and lavender oil are added to it.
We thank Konstantin for his time and for once again being a part of our organization’s activities!
Petya Ivanova from the Association of Bulgarian No-Tillers was our guest in Burgas. Students had the opportunity to learn about regenerative agriculture as a system of principles and practices that seek to restore and improve the entire farm ecosystem from a sustainability perspective, including improving human health and economic prosperity. We spoke about the role of farmers, the basic principles of regenerative agriculture and how it offers one of the biggest opportunities to help Europe improve people’s health and the climate, along with the financial well-being of farmers and ranchers. The association began its activity unofficially in 2013 when a small group of grain producers began to apply conservation and regenerative agriculture through no-till sowing technology in large-scale farms.
We sincerely thank the wonderful Petya for being part of our project and for generously sharing her experience and knowledge with our students.
As part of the cultural program in Burgas, the participants also visited the Burgas Natural History Museum, which is the only museum of its kind in the South-East Black Sea region. The exposition of the museum presents the geology and modern natural diversity of South-Eastern Bulgaria with collections such as “The Magical World of Stone”, “Flora and Fauna of Strandzha Mountain” and “Bird Resources of the Burgas Wetlands”. Also, they had a tour with three lovely girls from “Burgas Free Tour”. The tour started at “The Clock” and ended at the Panorama by the Sea Casino. They told us interesting facts about Burgas and the life of the old citizens of Burgas, and we also passed by the most emblematic buildings in the center of Burgas. “Burgas Free Tour” is a volunteer organization for free sightseeing tours around Burgas.
In the end, the students received European certificates “Europass“. This certificate describes the knowledge and skills the participants have acquired in different European country.
