Isolated farm in Transylvania

Bistrița-Năsăud

1 review • Updated 7 months ago

THE PROJECT - VISION AND MISSION Ermitaj is a place of life and welcoming, in search of well-being, autonomy and resilience. Our fundamental values are respect and care for the Earth and for people, as well as a process of sharing and solidarity. The goal of the project is to help individuals and communities to move towards a way of life that respects these values. For this, we want Ermitaj to be: - a place of life for those who desire a way of life in nature, simplicity, solidarity and sharing: by creating a grouped habitat (occupation of existing buildings or creation of new eco-built habitats) in a community spirit. - a place of information, demonstration, experimentation, exchanges and training around permaculture, agro-ecology, peasant know-how and eco-building (for example, through the organization of internships, workcamps, events...). THE SITE The site, approximately 8 hectares, is made up of young forests, pastures, meadows and old orchards. It is crossed by two rivers, one of them supplying our small pond. In the heart of the valley, the terrain extends mainly on an east-south-east slope (between 320 and 420m altitude). Being relatively isolated, Ermitaj is – until now - "off the grid": no water or electricity from the village, we live independently with our wells, rainwater reserves, and solar panels. This limitation sometimes forces us to limit our consumption at certain times of the year. In winter, we heat ourselves with wood from our forest. A dirt road, partially stone, connects us to the village. THE MAIN INFRASTRUCTURES - The "lodging": the large house, with a basement which we use as a cellar, the residents' bedrooms (3 bedrooms, 2 of which have heating and bathroom), a dormitory upstairs (10 people), and a big shared bathroom. - The "kitchen": the common living space, with a dining room and a large covered terrace. - The "barn", 200m²: on one side live our donkeys, on the other is a large workshop, and between the two a multipurpose covered space (55m²). - The “red house”: in ruins, it is currently used as a storage place (ressourcerie). THE TEAM - Remy, from Belgium, co-founder and project holder at Ermitaj, his favorite topics are water management, land management, permaculture design, woodworking and mushroom cultivation. - Coline is, belgian, co-founder and project holder at Ermitaj, her favorite topics are social / human aspects of permaculture, wild & medicinal plants, woodworking, eco-construction. She is also managing communication and administrative aspects for the project. MAIN ACTIVITIES We grow our own food, for us and visitors. We are trying to reach food autonomy, so we need to harvest enough to fill the cellar for winter (potatoes, roots, jars…). We have a lot of walnuts and some fruit trees (mostly apples). We have some chickens for eggs. We pick wilds plants for herbal tea and consumption... We organize some courses (mostly about permaculture) and camps. Overview of the main daily tasks for woofers: - Usual stuff like cooking (we also make our own bread, and preserves for winter), doing the housework, - Collecting firewood and construction wood - Gardening, seeding, planting, watering, harvesting, mulching, weeding... - Eco-building and eco-renovating at some periods - Cleaning old pasture and orchard - Sometimes during specific events, we have a lot of people at the farm, so we would need extra help for organization and cooking.

Learning opportunities

Vegetable farming

Fruit or nut farming

Wild foraging

Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas

Seed saving or production

Vegetable or fruit preservation

Green Building

Food justice / sovereignty

Methods or systems

Holistic management

Permaculture

Regenerative agriculture

Host type

Nonprofit / Community

8 Hectares | 19.8 Acres

Accommodation

4+ WWOOFers

Bedroom

Campsite

Children accepted

Pets not accepted

Meals

Vegetarian

Length of stay

3-4 weeks

Over a month

Coline

Member since 2022

Languages spoken: English, French, Romanian

Sun

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Response rate: 100% Response time: typically within 5 days

Bistrița-Năsăud

Cluj Napoca is the nearest airport, The closest village is Malin (400 inhabitants, 1,5 km from the farm). The first city is Beclean (10km).

My past WWOOFers

Stephanie

August 2025 • 92 - Hauts-de-Seine, France

Reviews

Jonas

Romania • April 2022

Although it was a short visit, I can feel this place is magical and I will return. A great place for volunteers who want to in depth be involved and learn permaculture.