MISSION POSSIBLE
We're on a mission to develop and promote practices that provide nutritious affordable food while enhancing biodiversity.
HOW DO WE DO THIS?
Researching, designing and implementing systems on the ground - http://www.balkep.org/annual-polyculture-research.html
Providing working examples of our designs at our sites open for the public to visit (by appointment) - http://www.balkep.org/plant-sale---open-garden---nov-4.html
Providing quality education and training to aspiring growers and landscapers - http://www.balkep.org/regenerative-landscape-design-course.html
Practicing an open source policy, whereby we disseminate our results freely and share all aspects of our work - http://balkanecologyproject.blogspot.bg/
Growing, selling and promoting the use of plants and plant communities that have high ecological and nutritional value - http://www.balkep.org/the-bionursery.html - http://www.balkep.org/veggie-boxes.html
OUR GOALS
Encourage people, specifically young people, to get started in business centered around the quality biological production of food in systems that protect and enhance biodiversity
Deliver models that require low initial investment and are easy to replicate
Expand our research to focus on the productivity and habitat provisions of our perennial polycultures.
Provide inspiration, and high quality training/education to would be start-up producers backed up with effective support in order to facilitate a network of successful biological food producing businesses
WHO WE ARE
Balkan Ecology Project is a family run project - Paul, Sophie and their two boys Dylan and Archie. They moved to Bulgaria from the UK in 2005, before which Paul worked as an arborist, running a tree care business in the suburbs of South London and Sophie as a registered nurse. Inspired by the widespread practice locally grown food and the incredible biodiversity of Bulgaria they co-founded Permaship and started to develop productive ecological gardens and education programs.
In 2010 they founded the Balkan Ecology Project, the goal being to reach a wider audience by providing tried and tested models of food production that yield quality produce, promote ecosystem heath, and can be replicated easily in terms of the skills required to run them and the financial investment needed to start them up.
Balkan Ecology Project activities currently include;
Biological Plant Nursery - Educational Courses - Local Land Stewardship - Polyculture Research - Market Gardening - Consultancy and Design
