Volunteer in Bosnia: help a mountain village that came back to life
Some volunteer placements give you a bed in exchange for work, and that is where the story ends. Pecka is not one of them. Here you will split firewood with people who know your name by day three, eat pies baked by the women of the village, walk to a river spring with the dogs and learn how to make Bosnian coffee properly. Almost every volunteer who has spent a month with us has written the same thing afterwards: they want to come back.
The Pecka Visitor Centre is run by the Greenways Association, a non-profit that has spent more than ten years bringing a mountain village in western Bosnia and Herzegovina back to life. Much of what you see in Pecka today was built with volunteers' help, from the garden and the fire pit to the festival stage. There are three ways to join in.
On your first day, we make the coffee.
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One month minimum
“If you like community, if you are a good worker, and if you have a good soul; you will find a home in Pecka.”Three ways to volunteer in Pecka
Some people come for a month or three, some just for the festival, and some bring their group for a weekend work camp. The terms differ, but the idea is the same: you help the village and the centre, and in return you get a place to sleep, home-cooked food and a community that is hard to find anywhere else.
How long you stay
Workaway Top Host
Stay a month or more with Workaway
For stays of one month and longer, we host volunteers through Workaway, the international platform that connects travellers with hosts. You help out for a few hours a day, and we give you a bed and three meals a day. No money changes hands between us. You only pay your own Workaway membership; everything else is agreed directly with us.
We host one volunteer at a time, for a minimum of one month. That is deliberate: a month gives you time to get to know the village, the neighbours and the work, and gives us time to get to know you. Some of our best volunteers stayed for three months.
We are a Top Host on Workaway, our profile is verified, and every review from our volunteers so far has been rated excellent. If you are searching for a Workaway in Bosnia, or anywhere in the Balkans, and you want real nature, a real community and work that means something, read the reviews on our profile and see for yourself.
No money changes hands between us.
What we ask of you
- A few hours of help a day
- Initiative and a good attitude
- Respect for the village and our neighbours
- Telling us what you are good at and enjoy
- For Workaway, a stay of at least one month
What you get
- A bed in a village school from 1931
- Three home-cooked meals a day
- Bikes and 500+ km of trails
- Climbing, springs, a canyon and a festival
- People you will remember for years
Help out at the Pecka Outdoor Festival
Every summer, in late June or early July, the Pecka Outdoor Festival brings thousands of people to a village that not long ago was home to barely a hundred. Preparations start weeks in advance: a stage and canvas roofs to build, hay bales to bring in, grounds to set up, and then guests to welcome and everything to keep running during the festival itself.
Volunteers who were in Pecka at festival time call it the highlight of their stay. If you would like to come just for the festival, get in touch a few months ahead. We agree the number of places and the terms each year.
- stage
- canvas roof
- hay bales
- guests
Work camps for groups
From the start, the visitor centre has been a meeting point for NGOs, schools, universities and grassroots initiatives. We run work camps and volunteer weekends where groups maintain trails, help around the centre and the village, and learn about nature protection at the Sana River springs. If you lead a youth group, a student group or an organisation, contact us and we will put together a programme with you.
What the work looks like
The work changes with the seasons and with what you are good at and enjoy. Most often it means general maintenance of the centre and the yard, mowing, helping in the kitchen, working in the organic garden, preparing firewood for the winter and feeding the animals. When the hosts are away, a long-stay volunteer looks after the house.
Past volunteers have built a fire pit, a small bridge and a canvas roof for the stage, painted, stacked firewood and loaded hay onto a tractor. Winter is calmer: some work around the house and plenty of time for walks, books and climbing.
We don't run a strict timetable, and it's better you know that up front. The people who thrive here ask “how can I help today?” in the morning and notice for themselves what needs doing. The work is not heavy, but it is physical. If you are handy with tools, can cook, or have a trade, we will thank you more often than you expect.
How can I help today?
- mowing
- kitchen
- organic garden
- animals
- the yard
- winter firewood
- stage
- canvas roof
- hay on the tractor
- painting
- fire pit
- small bridge
The usual jobs, and what volunteers have already built.
Who you will meet
Boro Marić, president of Greenways, arranges your arrival and your stay. He turned an abandoned school into a visitor centre and works from sunrise to sunset, yet he always finds time to explain a task properly or to take you to the springs, into the forest for wild garlic, or to a spot that isn't on any map.
Peđa is the host of the centre and the person you will spend most of your time with. He hosted travellers through couchsurfing for years, so he knows what it feels like to arrive alone somewhere new. Goša and Snježa look after the kitchen and the house, and Goša's cooking comes up in nearly every review we have received.
There are also dogs and cats, including two puppies, Medena and Medo. If you love animals, you will never be short of company. If you are allergic or afraid of them, please tell us before you apply.
Day 1
Where you will sleep and what you will eat
You will sleep in the shared dormitory in the attic of the old village school, built in 1931, sometimes together with members of the association or other guests. Bedding and towels are provided and the beds are comfortable. One volunteer wrote that you can see the stars from the window. There is a bathroom with a shower and hot water, a kitchen, and a wood-burning fireplace that keeps the building warm all winter.
Three meals a day are covered. Goša does most of the cooking, and sometimes you will cook too. Cheese, eggs, honey and rakija (the local fruit brandy) come from our neighbours, and there is always more than enough food. We have hosted vegan volunteers without any trouble; just let us know in advance.
Three meals a day
- breakfast
- lunch
- dinner
cheese, eggs, honey and rakija from the neighbours
Your days off
Days off in Pecka are never wasted. There is an artificial climbing wall right next to the centre, and real limestone crags 1.5 km away with more than 120 routes for every level. Greenways has mapped more than 500 km of cycling routes in the area, and bikes are available for volunteers.
Inside the Sana Springs protected area you will find three karst springs, the Korana Canyon, which can be walked in the warmer months, and Mračaj, a karst cave that works as a spring or a sinkhole depending on the groundwater. With the hosts' help you can also get further afield, to the source of the Pliva River or the small waterfalls of the Janj. In spring there is wild garlic to forage, and in season there are mushrooms, which we know a thing or two about at our Mushroom School. The centre is full of books and music, and in the evenings someone always drops by for a coffee or a beer.
next to the centre
climbing wall, books and music, coffee or a beer at night
1.5 km
Sana Springs
three karst springs, Korana Canyon, Mračaj, wild garlic and mushrooms
further, with the hosts
Pliva source, Janj waterfalls, 500+ km of trails
What our volunteers say
Volunteers leave us reviews on Workaway, and every one of them is public on our profile. The same things come up again and again: the people, the food, the freedom and the nature.
Jasmin cut and stacked firewood for the winter, built a fire pit and a bridge, loaded hay bales onto a tractor, built a canvas roof for the stage and helped at the Pecka Outdoor Festival, which turned out to be the highlight of the stay. With a bit of practice, Bosnian coffee got mastered too. Radosław was honest that the work is not heavy but it is physical: mowing, painting, cleaning and sometimes the kitchen. James spent most of a month cooking and keeping the kitchen clean, and Mara sometimes worked eight hours in the garden, by choice rather than because anyone asked.
We don't run a strict timetable, and volunteers notice. Kashkiin wrote that if you can find something to do without being told, you will be happy here. Premala wrote about the freedom to pick the tasks you enjoy, Marion about never feeling any pressure, and Mara about having room to make mistakes.
The food comes up often: Radosław says it was always good and fresh, and Premala singles out Goša's cooking. For Bronwyn, Pecka meant stews and homemade bread, winter walks and climbing. Premala remembers the stars from the dorm window, wild garlic and morels in the forest with Boro, a slava celebration Peđa took Premala to, and the two puppies that made every day a happy one. Miguel's favourite memory is walking to the Sana Spring with the dogs, and Marion met someone from home, a village in the Pyrenees, right here in Pecka.
Miguel called Pecka “definitely one of my favorite places in the world.” Marion noted that on the map it looks like the middle of nowhere, when in fact it is quite the opposite. Kashkiin's review ends with the sentence at the top of this page. Read all the reviews on our Workaway profile.
What keeps coming up in the reviews
Each column is one Workaway review. Tap a row to see who mentions it.
| Jasmin | Radosław | Premala | Bronwyn | Kashkiin | Miguel | Marion | CJ & Bonnie | Mara | James | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9of the reviews shownPeđa
Mentioned by: Jasmin, Radosław, Premala, Bronwyn, Kashkiin, Miguel, Marion, Mara, James
Jasmin
0days on a bicycle
and stayed to help with the festival
Kashkiin
u Pecki ćete naći dom
taught himself to read and write Cyrillic. The line says: you will find a home in Pecka.
Marion
On the map: the middle of nowhere.
Miguel
three months, Mexican dishes for the whole crew
Radosław
the work is not heavy, but it is physical
From our Workaway reviews
Jasmin
“They even taught me how to make traditional Bosnian coffee, and with a bit of practice, I finally got the hang of it!”
Premala
“The accommodation is really nice, you can see stars from the window and food is plentiful, especially Gosha's amazing cooking.”
Kashkiin
“If you are someone who can find something to do without being told, you will be happy here.”
Mara Ilinca
“They never put any pressure on me, they gave me freedom in self expressing and in making mistakes.”
Bronwyn
“I stayed during winter so the work was very chill and in my free time I got to go for walks and rock climbing.”
Radosław
“Work is not heavy, but this is still physical work: cutting grass, painting, cleaning, sometimes helping in kitchen.”
James
“A great place to discover beautiful nature and local traditions of a lesser explored part of Europe!”
CJ & Bonnie
“I highly recommend Pecka to anyone interested in volunteering in Bosnia!”
Is Pecka right for you?
Pecka is for you if you love nature, working with your hands and meeting people, if silence doesn't scare you, and if learning something new matters more to you than every day looking the same. It is especially good for climbers, cyclists, hikers, and anyone curious about sustainable tourism, village life, or the history of Bosnia and the former Yugoslavia.
It is not for you if you are looking for nightlife, fixed working hours, or a long stay shorter than a month. The nearest large town is about an hour's drive away, and that is exactly why people come.
Getting here and practical information
Pecka is a small village in the municipality of Mrkonjić Grad in western Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Dinaric Alps, about 80 km southwest of Banja Luka and roughly 170 km from both Sarajevo and Split on the Croatian coast. The nearest airport is Banja Luka. Split, Sarajevo and Zagreb have more international flights, and from all three you can reach Banja Luka or Mrkonjić Grad by bus. We arrange the last part of the journey with every volunteer. For more on getting here, see Plan your visit.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is not in the EU and uses its own currency, the convertible mark (KM, BAM), so check the entry rules for your passport before you travel. Everyone in the association speaks English, as do most visitors, although you will hear Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian every day and pick up a few words. Internet access is available and works well. The centre is non-smoking. We can't host families with children for long stays at the moment, but there is a large parking area if you travel by camper van.
How to apply
For stays of a month or longer, send us a message through our Workaway profile. For the festival, work camps and groups, contact us directly. Either way, tell us who you are, when you would like to come and for how long, what you are good at, and what drew you to Pecka. Short and honest is perfect. We reply to every message, usually within a few days.
See you in Pecka. We will make you coffee on your first day. After that, it's your turn.
After that, it's your turn
The džezva is on the fire.
Hold the button until the coffee rises to the brim, then let go before it boils over.
Questions people ask
How can I volunteer in Pecka, Bosnia?
In three ways: a stay of one month or more through Workaway, helping at the Pecka Outdoor Festival, or a work camp with your group. For Workaway, message us through our host profile; for the festival and groups, use our Contact page.
Do I get paid, or do I have to pay anything?
Neither. In exchange for your help you get free accommodation and meals. For Workaway stays you only pay your own Workaway membership and your travel to Pecka.
What is the minimum stay?
One month for Workaway volunteers. For the festival and work camps, we agree the length separately.
What kind of work do volunteers do?
Maintenance of the centre and yard, helping in the kitchen, gardening, preparing firewood, looking after the animals and, in summer, getting ready for the Pecka Outdoor Festival.
Where do volunteers sleep?
In a shared attic dormitory in the Pecka Visitor Centre, a restored 1931 village school with a bathroom, hot water and a wood-burning fireplace.
How do I get to Pecka?
The nearest airport is Banja Luka, about 80 km away. Split, Sarajevo and Zagreb are also good entry points by bus. We arrange the last part of the journey with every volunteer.
Do I need to speak the local language?
No. Everyone at the centre speaks English. You will pick up some Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian along the way.