🇧🇬 ESC Volunteering in Bulgaria 🌍 ZEMLYA Ukrainian Refugee Inclusion 💛

Looking for a month that truly transforms you? Join ZEMLYA, an ESC Volunteering Teams in High Priority Areasproject at Synergy House in Dzhurovo, Bulgaria — and live, learn, and create with young people from all over Europe and Ukraine!

This is more than volunteering. It's a community, growth, and real action — focused on developing methods for the sustainable inclusion of Ukrainian refugees into host societies.

Curious about ESC? Read the complete guide here: ESC complete guide

🎯 About the Project

ZEMLYA is a 2-year Volunteering Teams project recognizing that European nations share responsibility for promoting stability, peace, and justice in the face of adversity. This year, Volunteering Teams take place in Bulgaria, where young people explore inclusion and diversity, create youth initiatives for a local community, and live, learn, and travel together.

You'll develop skills, meet international youth, create local initiatives, and see the direct impact of your actions on the community.

🌱 The 3 Pillars of Volunteering

🔨 1. Hands-on Work

You'll help renovate Synergy House — a place where youth volunteering projects, youth exchanges, and community activities come to life. Build wooden structures, paint, garden, or help improve the space.

The goal is not just to upgrade facilities but to create a welcoming environment where young people from different backgrounds can learn, collaborate, and support each other.

🏠 2. Community Living & Intercultural Exchange

Live together with people from all over Europe and build your own community: create rules, run group activities, have fun. Everyone is encouraged to leave their personal mark.

Develop your own initiative — a DIY project, a workshop or master-class (cooking, yoga, creativity sessions), a digital diary, or a documentary. The sky's the limit.

🤝 3. Connecting with Locals

Create inclusive activities with local youth and children, including the Roma community, in Dzhurovo. Through games, workshops, creative projects, and sports, you'll help build bridges across communities, fostering collaboration, empathy, and mutual respect.

👥 Who Can Apply

🎯 16 participants legally residing in ESC countries who do not require a visa to stay in Bulgaria for 30 days

💛 Half of the participants will be young people from Ukraine — either internally displaced or currently residing in Europe

📅 18–30 years old (not older than 31 on 10 June)

⚠️ Must not have participated in over 11 months of EVS/ESC volunteering programs previously

🌟 Priority for participants with fewer opportunities

✅ Enthusiastic about hands-on activities

🚀 Eager to take initiative

🏞️ Ready to live in a rural environment with basic conditions for 4 weeks

💡 You have the idea of a personal project / initiative / learning goal

🎬 Special Skills

A couple of volunteers with media skills (photography, filmmaking, social media management) are also wanted to document the experience and share it online.

🗓️ Timeframe

✈️ 9 June — Arrival (group transfer from Botevgrad)

🌱 10 June — Start of the programme

🎉 9 July — End of the programme

✈️ 10 July — Departure

🏠 Synergy House Facilities

🛏️ Shared bedrooms with essential furniture and bedsheets

🚿 4 bathrooms with showers for common use

🌳 Huge outdoor space with hammocks and barbecue area

🍳 Kitchen and living room for meetings and chill evenings

🚐 Available 7-seater car for local trips and shopping

🏞️ Dzhurovo village, a river, and nature in the surroundings

You'll be supported by 2 facilitators and Synergy Bulgaria volunteers.

💰 What You Get

💶 €7/day pocket money for personal expenses

🍽️ Weekly food budget for group shopping and cooking

🚆 Travel costs reimbursed based on Erasmus+ distance rates

📜 YouthPass certificate documenting your learning

Activity Details

Location: Synergy House, Dzhurovo, Bulgaria (80 km from Sofia) Dates: 10 June — 9 July 2026 (arrival 9 June, departure 10 July) Project type: ESC Volunteering Teams in High Priority Areas Number of participants: 16