As part of its long-term commitment to sustainable development and care for the local community, the mine carried out an inclusive educational and creative workshop dedicated to planting herbs, caring for plants, environmental education, and collaborative creation.
The workshop was designed as a space for socialization, learning, connection, and human closeness, intended for people with intellectual disabilities, with a clear goal of encouraging their active inclusion in the community, strengthening their sense of belonging, and creating a positive, safe, and supportive environment in which every participant is accepted, respected, and valued. Through hands-on work with nature, participants developed new skills, environmental awareness, and a sense of responsibility toward the environment.
Special value was added to the event through the volunteer participation of Buchim employees, as well as the active involvement of high school students from “Kosta Susinov” secondary school, who together with the participants planted herbs and learned about their uses, cultivation, and importance for health and nature. This model of joint participation created genuine interaction, empathy, and trust, building bridges between generations, institutions, and different groups within the community without barriers, without divisions, and without stigma. This approach sends a clear and powerful message that inclusion is not a concept, but a practice.
Buchim believes that sustainable development is measured not only through economic results, but through its impact on people, dignity, humanity, and the quality of the community.
The workshop represents a clear example of how Buchim turns its ESG strategy into real practice through inclusion, volunteerism, solidarity, and active community support, with a lasting positive impact on people and the local environment.
Statement by Kristina Krsteva, Sustainable Development Director at Buchim Mine:
“At Buchim, we believe that every person has value, potential, and the right to a dignified life, and for us inclusion is not an obligation, but a deep value and an integral part of our company’s identity. This workshop is a message that society becomes stronger when it creates space for all its members, and that a true community is built without margins or exclusion, with respect for differences and equal value for every person. The event symbolically demonstrated how inclusion grows with patience, care, togetherness, and love, while planting herbs serves as a metaphor for the society we want to build: a society in which every person has their place, value, and a real opportunity to grow.”