Beyond the Limits of Imagination: The Story of Meadows in the Mountains
Benjamin Sasse, founder of the cult Meadows in the Mountains, talks about the development of the festival in the last decade and why "the mountain is safe for everyone"
Anyone who has been to Meadows in the Mountains knows that this is an experience that will take you to the limit of imagination and beyond. Between the mountain and the sky, 1000 meters above the sea level, shrouded in the mists of the Rhodope Mountains and only 30 kilometers from the Greek border, the festival has become an iconic event. For the last 11 years it has gathered thousands of young people from all over the world on the meadows near the village of Polkovnik Serafimovo.
The feeling there is like being at the end of the world, but also beyond the limits of the known world, where conception of time and space are turned upside down. The day "ends" with the sunrise and the sounds of music that seems to never stop - in the psychedelic atmosphere of the changing mountain colors and shapes. Meadows full of smiling, dancing people, with glowing capes and faces sprinkled with stardust. Children of the large Meadows family.
Photographer: Georgy Panchev
The festival took its first steps back in 2012, when the brothers Benjamin and Damien Sasse visited the house of their parents, who came to live among nature in the Bulgarian mountains. They decided to invite twenty friends from the UK - DJs, producers, promoters, musicians and artists - and spent three days behind the mixers, stopping only to recharge the generator.
Оver the years the festival attracted visitors from all over the world, while reports from the international media that something interesting and unknown was happening in Bulgaria became more and more frequent.
“Meadows is intimacy, atmosphere, diversity, culture and community. We try to create a platform for new and unpopular artists by carefully selecting the musicians in the program. We don't aim to put big names just to attract an audience," share the Sasse brothers.
Photographer: Georgy Panchev
In the beginning their idea was to direct the festival entirely to the foreign audience, but in recent years the visitors from Bulgaria have grown significantly and they decided to include even more the local audience and community by providing promotional conditions for visiting Bulgarian citizens and engaging Bulgarian artists, traders and participants.
Meadows in the Mountains enforces a truly impressive organization, policy and culture of environmental awareness. One of the main principles of the festival is "to leave no trace" and this is not just another advertising trick. For the brothers, this is a deep philosophy of life. They not only put Bulgaria and the region on the world map as an impressive and still undiscovered destination for nature and event tourism, but also develop sustainable practices.
Photographer: Georgy Panchev
All the venue's facilities are built with local wood from the surrounding forests, with a minimal carbon footprint, the materials used are recyclable, and there is a total ban on plastic at the festival (since 2014, long before European legislation on the subject was clarified).
The food is bought entirely from local producers in the region, and in addition to this, in recent years the organizers have introduced various principles of permaculture and natural construction into the festival infrastructure such as composting toilets and showers, rainwater harvesting and forest planting.
Three years ago the festival started a partnership with a local forestry organisation and since then over 1000 trees have been planted. The aim is to neutralize the carbon footprint of the event, which is mainly generated by the travel of the visitors, a large part of whom first arrive by plane in Sofia. To fight this problem, the organizers created the #trainnotplane initiative - 20 people get free tickets if they organize their travel with the European rail network.
To learn more about the philosophy, views and adventures that the festival's creators have been through over the past decade, we speak to Benjamin Sasse. You will rarely hear his voice in the media space, and he definitely has something to tell us.
Benjamin Sasse, founder of the Meadows in the Mountains Festival
Meadows in the Mountains is now a big and recognisable name on the international festival scene. What's the main thing that made it such a milestone?
I think growing the festival from a party of 20 friends to an internationally recognised festival of 3500 and a community of more than 20 nationalities is a key factor.
Our environmental efforts and the sheer beauty of our magic mountain location alongside our subtle but eclectic program also contributes to our word of mouth ripples to the outside world
How did it help local people and what has changed most during the years?
The festival has created a local economy in the village, whether it be rentals and sales of the local houses, employment and training for our local workforce or long- standing relationships with key suppliers. Local villagers have been able to repair and develop their homes and in some cases even sell them for an above market value price. The biggest changes are most recognisable around the size of the festival, slowly growing organically from 20 to 100, 400, 800, 1000, and recently were reaching community sizes of more than 3000. Also I think our ambitions to protect and regenerate the mountain are definitely pioneering within the industry.
Photographer: Georgy Panchev
You describe it as a family affair - how did it impact you and your relationship within the family?
Our family has been through a lot to help create this festival, we have definitely had our fair share of blood, sweat and tears. The foundations of the festival were really underpinned by the strength in union between my brother, mother and father, (2011-2012) we were all holding down key parts of the festival. Mum was organising all the food and caterers, Dad was organising all the transport and accommodation and Damian and I were building the festival and creating the program of music and arts. My personal impact has really been one of maturing into a man, helping hold the business and team together and staying true to morals and principles. When we started the festival I was still a boy (25 years old) and now I'm 37. Within the family I would say has been the biggest shift as my father has moved back to the UK and my mother enjoys her twilight years of retirement, the transition means that Damian and I really need to step up and lead the festival and family into this next chapter.
How did the festival impact your personal and professional life?
My personal life has been a real journey of sacrifice and working multiple jobs to keep this dream alive. My career in London as a civil engineer took me to huge projects on a national level. London Olympics, Heathrow Airport T5, Crossrail and Tottenham Stadium were some of the biggest projects in the UK and Europe at the time, so I was used to the fast pace and big budgets. The festival was the same pace with very little budget so we have had to constantly work with not alot of money and ive been slowly transferring my skill set to something I'm more passionate about which is keeping the festival alive and securing its long term future and vision. I quit my career in engineering and since 2019 I have been living here in the Rhodope mountains.
Photographer: Georgy Panchev
What were the main obstacles in the beginning and what are they now?
The obstacles with running a small festival were and will always be around how to make it financially stable. Sometimes it feels like everyone else makes money from the event except for you or the business which produces it. We are still fine tuning the business model now and hopefully one day soon we get it right. Additionally I think the location is one of the most logistically challenged locations of any festival in the world. Most commercial events would never think twice to host an event this size on the side of a mountain. Finally I think staying true to your values and ethics, remembering who you are and why you do this. Putting that 1st before profit is always a challenge.
What advice would you give to a first time visitor to the festival - what should you bring and be prepared for and what should you leave behind?
When climbing mountains you should always bring some good boots. There will be plenty of dancing and walking. Be prepared for that magical sunrise, bring sunglasses for that golden moment. At night the temperature drops so bring some warm clothes as even though we have roaring fires around the site it's always good to keep warm. Finally any zero waste kit you have (we sell our own mugs, flasks, ashtrays, bowls and sporks) but if you have your own you can bring them too! Leave any single use plastic behind and we promote a leave no trace policy. Most importantly, leave behind your 9-5 lifestyle and get ready to feel true freedom and at one with magical nature, something most people feel completely disconnected with living in cities and towns.
hotographer: Georgy Panchev
What's your vision to develop it and what you would never change in it?
Our vision is to reach zero impact on the environment and to reverse engineer modern day human impact to have a positive affect on our surroundings. We want to try and grow and produce as much food and energy as we can for the production on this mountain. The festival is undergoing an evolution and adding education to our offerings. Not only can you find some incredible musicians and artists on the mountain but soon you can listen to incredible talks and discussions around societal/behavioural change and much more.
We would never change our inclusivity and diversity. Our mountain is a safe space for all people.
Photographer: Georgy Panchev
Meadows in the Mountains is from June 1 to 5 near the village of Polkovnik Serafimovo in the Rhodope Mountains. Find out more at meadowsinthemountains.com.
This year 10€ from the value of each ticket is donated to various charitable and socially significant projects that Meadows supports in the field of environmental protection. Among them are neutralizing the carbon footprint of the festival by planting a forest in Nepal, organizing "A granny bus" that transports elderly local citizens to neighboring villages and the stray dog protection organization “Little Angels BG“.