Nadezhda holds a PhD in Cultural Anthropology and is a former university lecturer. After living in numerous countries, she set herself the goal of helping people with limited opportunities gain access to culture. Bread became her form of art and therapy, leading her to organize social bread-making events across six continents.
How did it all start?
I was in Bethlehem, in the church where Jesus Christ was born, and that's where I found my inspiration. I imagined many people from different countries, with different needs, baking bread together.
Around that time, the roof of my grandmother's house in Gabrovo collapsed, and with my scholarship I announced a volunteer community center where we could gather to bake bread together. Craftsmen showed up - one man built an oven, and people got involved. In two months we got the house back on its feet and blessed it in the name of Bethlehem. We started gathering for every holiday, and to this day we still gather to bake ritual breads.
Now we're building a new bread house in Sandanski, which will also be a museum, where I'll exhibit everything I've collected from around the world.
Which moment so far makes you the most proud?
I don't feel pride, but gratitude, because it has given meaning to my life.
Why did bread show you something more than food?
Bread inspires people to return to the simplest things in life and to humility. Regardless of social class or special needs, we're all just crumbs, but through baking together we become one - the same way we, as people, need to be united and humane.
Do you remember a moment when you doubted the idea would work?
I never doubted that this was a valuable tool for bringing people together, even though I myself had no idea how to bake bread. People would come with the idea that they'd learn to bake professionally, and I'd tell them we were here to learn to be better people, to pay attention to those around us, and to connect with one another. Families met orphans this way and later adopted them.
But as a sustainable business model, I had quite a few difficulties, because I'm an artist at heart - still, things fell into place. The media sought me out, we became popular, we won an American project that funded us, and we grew thanks to it. We built the bakery when we got married - all our wedding guests gave us money as gifts, and with it we bought an oven, rented a space, and managed to grow it into what is now a working business model.
To give a piece of your heart to another person. We need to accept each other as equals, no matter how different we are.
How would you convince someone to knead their first loaf of bread with you?
Let me tell you one of my many stories. In London, I happened to come across the organization that makes the mosaics for the subway, where the work force is ex prisoners. I walked in, joined them, and suggested we bake bread together.
I told them: "This is one of the most beautiful art forms - it's not cooking, it's art." When they caught the scent of the warm bread, one of the men started crying and said it was his only good memory. He wanted to change his life, and afterward he founded an orphanage. In one hour, he rethought his entire life, and that kneading unlocked some very important inner psychological processes. That's the best therapy there is.
What's the hardest part of building a network across so many cities?
Working with people - everyone is different, and managing so many unique personalities is a challenge. Another difficulty is finding funding.
What gives you the strength to keep going?
Every single moment - people's smiles. Every baking session recharges me. After every session, we feel like brothers and sisters.
🌎 Website: https://www.bread.bg/
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