Baba Residence

A steady bridge between the diverse cultural and generational “islands” of Bulgaria

Baba Residence is an original format of Ideas Factory which connects young urban people with elderly people in rural areas. They spend one month living together, after which the young people start working on individual or group ideas which have the potential to bring human, financial or other resources back to those Bulgarian depopulating rural areas.

In 2016 the second edition of Baba Residence rediscovered the region of Vratsa - the poorest region of EU. 10 young people lived in the villages Chelopek and Pavolche for a month seeking to document the ethnographic treasures of these places and to find their connection with social entrepreneurship.

In 2015 enthusiastic and inspiring young people from all over the country lived in 4 villages in the Rhodope mountains. Many fruitful projects and products were born from this interaction.

During EMPATHEAST 2016 you’ll have many opportunities to feel the Baba Residence spirit and its actual outcome and to meet the residents who will share their insights, knowledge and ideas born in the interaction with the villages.