Living the sort of 'Good Life'
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- margo - newbie
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Tue May 16, 2006 12:16 pm
- Location: Bulgaria
Living the sort of 'Good Life'
Hi, we have just moved to a small house in Bulgaria with 3000 square metres of land from a small house in Croydon with a handerchief garden. Now we can garden and feed ourselves on the fruit and veg.
Found your site using a google search for 'wheeled hoe'. Since I now have so much land the traditional hoe won't do the job with any ease.
Clicked onto the 'carry a bag' link, something that we were in favour of in UK but has become even more pressing in BG. Here everything goes in a plastic bag and then gets dumped on any bit of available land. There is not much in the way of official waste disposal in the villages. We recycle what we can but otherwise bring ours into town and leave it in the litter bin.
We do however 'carry a bag' and refuse the 'tor bitch ka' whenever possible. We always say 'ne torbichka' to strained looks and have to say it again. Locals think that we are quaint.
A Bulgarian friend wants to bring his mother's donkey and cart to remove all our rubbish and dump it (probably along the river with the rest).
We have started a compost heap - No 3 actually and the locals think that we are quaint again.
Lovely summer's day here.
Regards
Phreddy
Found your site using a google search for 'wheeled hoe'. Since I now have so much land the traditional hoe won't do the job with any ease.
Clicked onto the 'carry a bag' link, something that we were in favour of in UK but has become even more pressing in BG. Here everything goes in a plastic bag and then gets dumped on any bit of available land. There is not much in the way of official waste disposal in the villages. We recycle what we can but otherwise bring ours into town and leave it in the litter bin.
We do however 'carry a bag' and refuse the 'tor bitch ka' whenever possible. We always say 'ne torbichka' to strained looks and have to say it again. Locals think that we are quaint.
A Bulgarian friend wants to bring his mother's donkey and cart to remove all our rubbish and dump it (probably along the river with the rest).
We have started a compost heap - No 3 actually and the locals think that we are quaint again.
Lovely summer's day here.
Regards
Phreddy
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- Tom Good
- Posts: 58
- Joined: Mon May 01, 2006 7:34 pm
- Location: Poland
- Contact:
Bulgaria? Very cool. You should go add yourself to the map.
People used to bring their own bags here (Poland) because things were too tight to actually give away anything, including paper or plastic shopping bags, so you had to pay extra to get a bag. Now that the economy is better and the cost of making a bag is negligible, people are spoiled and expect the free bags and perhaps are reminded of communist times by the thought of carrying reusable shopping bags.
People used to bring their own bags here (Poland) because things were too tight to actually give away anything, including paper or plastic shopping bags, so you had to pay extra to get a bag. Now that the economy is better and the cost of making a bag is negligible, people are spoiled and expect the free bags and perhaps are reminded of communist times by the thought of carrying reusable shopping bags.
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- A selfsufficientish Regular
- Posts: 7025
- Joined: Fri Sep 30, 2005 9:05 am
- Location: Manchester
- Contact:
Carry on being Quaint... it might just catch on!!
Welcome to the forum
Welcome to the forum

Shirley
NEEPS! North East Eco People's Site
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Don't forget to check out the Ish gallery on Flickr - and add your own photos there too. http://www.flickr.com/groups/selfsufficientish/
NEEPS! North East Eco People's Site
My photos on Flickr
Don't forget to check out the Ish gallery on Flickr - and add your own photos there too. http://www.flickr.com/groups/selfsufficientish/
- Andy Hamilton
- Site Admin
- Posts: 6631
- Joined: Tue Oct 26, 2004 11:06 pm
- Location: Bristol
- Contact:
Hello and welcome phreddy-in-bg
I have just been contacted by a journalist about the "carry a bag" campaign, will have to see where it gets published.
Bulgaria, I wonder if it is similar to Romania in that many people grow their own food and seem to barter for a lot of stuff. Cheese swapped for corn etc. Well it was like that in one little village that I stayed in about 10 years ago.
I have just been contacted by a journalist about the "carry a bag" campaign, will have to see where it gets published.
Bulgaria, I wonder if it is similar to Romania in that many people grow their own food and seem to barter for a lot of stuff. Cheese swapped for corn etc. Well it was like that in one little village that I stayed in about 10 years ago.
First we sow the seeds, nature grows the seeds then we eat the seeds. Neil Pye
My best selling Homebrew book Booze for Free
and...... Twitter
The Other Andy Hamilton - Drinks & Foraging
My best selling Homebrew book Booze for Free
and...... Twitter
The Other Andy Hamilton - Drinks & Foraging
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- A selfsufficientish Regular
- Posts: 8241
- Joined: Sun May 22, 2005 9:16 pm
- Location: Kincardineshire, Scotland
Hi Phreddy, and welcome!
That's another country added to the list of SSishers...
I think it's a phase each and every country goes through - first they are too poor to have luxuries like carrier bags, then they have enough money to afford them and they become a "necessity" that they can't do without - and then we finally wake up and realise that we can very well do without and that they really are a damn nuisance! Let's hope these carrier-bag-phases are getting shorter.
Btw - Andy - great news! Are our bags ready yet? That would be a selling point - order another 1.000!
That's another country added to the list of SSishers...

I think it's a phase each and every country goes through - first they are too poor to have luxuries like carrier bags, then they have enough money to afford them and they become a "necessity" that they can't do without - and then we finally wake up and realise that we can very well do without and that they really are a damn nuisance! Let's hope these carrier-bag-phases are getting shorter.
Btw - Andy - great news! Are our bags ready yet? That would be a selling point - order another 1.000!
Last edited by ina on Thu May 18, 2006 3:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Ina
I'm a size 10, really; I wear a 20 for comfort. (Gina Yashere)
I'm a size 10, really; I wear a 20 for comfort. (Gina Yashere)
G'Day Phreddy,
Sounds like a nice set up that you have going there!
Welcome to the site.
Nev
Sounds like a nice set up that you have going there!
Welcome to the site.
Nev
Garden shed technology rules! - Muddypause
Our website on living more sustainably in the suburbs! - http://www.underthechokotree.com/
Our website on living more sustainably in the suburbs! - http://www.underthechokotree.com/
- Millymollymandy
- A selfsufficientish Regular
- Posts: 17637
- Joined: Tue May 10, 2005 6:09 am
- Location: Brittany, France