Mrvica. A crumb, a particle.

Something small. Easy to miss.

Mrvica is a regenerative micro-farm. We grow food and flowers, build with natural materials, teach, and welcome visitors.

Morning at Mrvica

Hrvoje and Ivana Bota at Mrvica farm, golden hour — Hrvoje and Ivana Bota Resident farmers, Mikrofarma Mrvica

We came here to find a new old rhythm.

To grow food with the seasons. Raise a family. Plant more than we take.

What at first seemed like less, turned out to be more: everything that matters, pulled closer together.

Small is enough.

Farm from above with solar panel roof at golden hour

Inside the hempcrete home, kitchen, light, a child running

Hempcrete house at evening, garden in front

In Bisko, inland Dalmatia, limestone is plenty and the soil is spare. Here, the Bura clears the static from your mind, and you learn quickly that small is a strength. You sway and yield, adjust and adapt. Take only what you need, and plant more than you take.

First, flowers.

Inland Dalmatia is a landscape famously disinterested in garden aesthetics. Here, beauty was often seen as a lack of pragmatism: if you cannot eat it or burn it for heat, you do not plant it. This is why you see so few flower gardens here compared to the rest of Europe.

At Mrvica, we love flowers.

Not just because a healthy ecosystem should produce delight in addition to calories, but because flowers are pollinator highways that bring a garden to life. In a landscape that has spent millennia being austere, we choose to be suspiciously colorful.

Pink roses harvested from the Mrvica garden

Ivana smiling among yellow climbing roses on the Mrvica pergola

Zinnias in bloom at Mrvica, pink and purple against green

NAUČITI

To learn. To teach.

In Croatian, naučiti means both. It's a word that understands you cannot have one without the other.

We treat knowledge like a seed. We didn't build Mrvica to be a monument to sustainability; we built it to prove that a regular family, with modest means and a bit of grit, can renegotiate their relationship with the world.

We do the work, learn, and teach. That is the whole practice.

Workshop at Mrvica, hands working the soil

A basket of freshly harvested produce from Mrvica's no-dig beds

Morning in the Mrvica garden, beds in first light

Hands lifting ripe produce from the living soil

Seasonal harvest laid out on the wooden table

Plate of a seasonal Mediterranean brunch

NAHRANITI

To nourish.

A human being is a walking, talking reflection of the soil they eat from. Human and humus share the same root for a reason. If the soil is stressed and tired, you will be too.

This is why we don't dig. When you leave the vast, invisible kingdom of fungal networks and microbes in peace, they do the heavy lifting. They feed the plants a Dalmatian grandma-grade feast of vitality that you will never find in a supermarket aisle.

We then harvest this life force minutes before it hits the table, the shortest possible distance between the living earth and a living person.

Tend the soil with care, and the plant finally, honestly, nourishes you.

SAGRADITI

To build.

A house should not be a sealed box. It should be a living system that breathes with the landscape.

We built our home to be a carbon-sequestering lung, a sanctuary that honors the stone beneath it while pushing the boundaries of what architecture is allowed to be.

We used hemp, lime, and wood. These walls regulate humidity and temperature on their own, creating a microclimate that stays cool in the Dalmatian heat and warm when the Bura arrives. It is a house that breathes so you can, too.

We didn't invent this. We just took the local wisdom of the suhozid and the gustirna and updated them for the 21st century. Our home is powered by the sun and hydrated by the sky. It works with the thermodynamics of the karst, not against them.

It turns out that when you build holistically, with nature in mind, you end up with a home that asks less of you. No massive energy bills, no complex maintenance, just a quiet, independent life on a limestone shelf.

The hempcrete house from the garden, late afternoon

Architectural detail of the breathing wall

The master bedroom, sliding doors opening to the karst landscape

The hempcrete sanctuary in full landscape

Ivana in the Mrvica greenhouse, tomatoes climbing on both sides

Krušvar garden rows under open sky, mountains in the background

Pumpkins and a radionica chalkboard on the shelf

The family at home in the hempcrete house

Mrvica Experiences

A Day at Mrvica

Two rituals. Each shaped by the soil, the season,
and the quiet of the Dalmatian hinterland.

Private groups.
By appointment only.

A Morning at the Farm

Mrvica Marenda

Soil, garden, table

Price: 187.50 EUR / person
150 EUR for groups of 5+
Guests: 2 to 8
When: 10:00 to 13:00
(3 hrs)

An immersive walk across our regenerative estate. Wander through the no-dig, biointensive market garden, learn how we cultivate the vibrant, living soil rather than just the plant, and see how fruits, nuts, herbs, and flowers thrive in harmony. Your host, Hrvoje Bota, an EARA member, will share practical insights into bed planning, succession planting, and the philosophy and economics of small-scale, biointensive growing. We'll conclude by gathering beneath the shade of the pergola to savor seasonal, freshly prepared small bites, paired perfectly with exceptional local wine.

What's included

Guided overview of the biointensive market garden and agroforestry beds
Walk-through of our hempcrete eco-house, running on solar and rainwater
Discussion of permaculture, regenerative soil practice, and heirloom seeds best practices
Seasonal small bites from our garden, paired with natural wine

What you carry home

A practical blueprint for designing a thriving, productive garden that honors the soil and your body.

An Early Evening at the Farm

Mrvica Obid

Garden, home, meal

Price: 250 EUR / person
200 EUR for groups of 5+
Guests: up to 8
When: 17:00 to 21:00
(4 hrs)

Experience the complete Mrvica story. This visit begins with a walk through our biointensive garden, exploring the core principles of soil regeneration, carbon sequestration, and cultivating nutrient-dense food. Together, we will harvest ingredients grown from our own heirloom seeds before touring our sustainable hempcrete home, a living structure that breathes, runs on solar energy, and captures its own rainwater. We'll then slow down under the pergola with a three-course Mediterranean-macrobiotic meal that may include fresh local fish, and conversation amidst the sights and sounds of the Dalmatian hinterland.

What's included

Guided overview of the biointensive market garden and agroforestry beds
Walk-through of our hempcrete eco-house, running on solar and rainwater
Discussion of permaculture, regenerative soil practice, and heirloom seeds best practices
Harvesting fresh ingredients for the meal
Three-course Mediterranean macrobiotic meal (may include fresh fish), paired with natural wine

What you carry home

Real-world insight into how natural building and biointensive gardening support regenerative living.

Pick one per visit.

A Note on Our Gates

Mrvica is our family home and a working farm. Because we are busy tending to the soil and raising our three children, we are unable to host unannounced visitors. To ensure we can give you our full attention and a truly meaningful experience, we kindly ask that all visits be booked in advance. If the gate is closed, it's because we're deep in the garden or sharing a family meal. We can't wait to welcome you at your scheduled time.

Reservations and Cancellations

All visits require booking at least 48 hours in advance. Each reservation is confirmed personally by your hosts. Cancellations must be received no later than 48 hours before your scheduled visit.