“I like when life is not boring”

Daiva Klimavičienė

A well-kept homestead on the outskirts of the Vilkaviškis district in the village of Dotami – with white shutters shining from afar, skillfully restored ancient buildings, a huge space, a pond where lilies bloom in the summer, with a sauna near a swamp and with occasional beavers “bringing about”. Many would say it is heaven on earth. Except that the hosts have a lot of work to do in this paradise.

And you relax in a steaming tub, listen to the nightingales, wonder what the cranes are saying to each other, and it doesn’t matter at all whether the stars are overhead, or the snowflakes are melting on your palms, or the rain is falling. Unreal feeling!
The story of Jovita Simanavičienė, the owner of this homestead, is even more unreal.

All “nonsense” – in one place

– 15 years ago, our older son was six, the little one was just born. At that time I was still studying (Jovita graduated in business administration and accounting – author). I wanted the children to grow up good, to know what work is, how valuable it is to be together, – Jovita begins the conversation. – When I told my husband that I wanted a homestead, he, a logical thinking person, obviously did not agree. But when I listed how many requirements I have for a homestead, and when I told the last criteria, the husband agreed: “Look, but you won’t find one.”

My requirements were unusual: that the homestead should be on uncultivated land (in the Vilkaviški district, where the land is worth its weight in gold!), that it should be no more than 30 km from the house (we lived in Vilkaviški), that it should not be near the main road, but not far from it more than a kilometer. Also, the homestead should not have been passable, there should have been about 5 hectares of land here. True, the homestead was supposed to be on a hill. And the most important criterion is that there is a swamp near the house! When I told this to my husband, he realized that it was nonsense, because there simply cannot be a swamp on a mountain.

Jovita found such a homestead! Simply put – in ads.

The parents were seriously worried

– When I arrived, I experienced déjà vu – I’ve already seen it! As if I had come home. How I used to run around that farm! The buildings were worthless, everything was abandoned, there was not even a road. But in that very second I realized what I could do here. Somehow I managed to convince my husband that it was necessary to buy – there will be a house with white shutters, children will play in the yard, there will be a lot of happiness here. He shrugged but agreed. We bought it. We paid all the savings. I was so happy! And then! Then my mother and my husband’s parents arrived.

When they saw what we bought, they grabbed each other’s heads. They were so scared! And they “diagnosed” that I have very strong postpartum depression, because I, a nursing mother of a half-year-old baby, bought a ruin in the middle of nowhere, a garbage dump, without a road, without anything… The man stands confused while the “diagnostic process” is going on – his parents are also ” found” a strong weakening of the brain, because the woman after giving birth was “given” such a purchase – to spend all the money. And if they could, they would probably have taken me to a psychiatrist to cure my depression. They were really scared.

And I did not understand at all: how they do not realize what a treasure it is! We’ll earn that money, we’re only in our thirties. Then my father-in-law stopped me – he says, if you really want, I will protect the children, you work. Then even the grandmothers agreed. The relationship turned out great. And we have achieved a great result in 15 years.

Something unexpected happened

– I didn’t expect that – the children have grown up! Jovita laughs. – The older one is already a student, the younger one is a teenager. And my husband and I stayed in our acres in the middle of the fields. We had to choose: whether to stay and work continuously on the homestead, or live in the city, have businesses, etc. The choice was not easy.

The family tried to rent the homestead. And within one year, it achieved a rating of 9.9 points in Buking. Five times in a row, on the Airbnb.com platform, Jovita earned superhost status, awards for ethnocultural homestead, for fostering slow tourism.

– I realized how fun it is for me to work for people and with people, – Jovita speaks so convincingly that there is no doubt. Every corner of the homestead “talks” about it.

“Dobilynė” is unique in its privacy

Jovita shows her well-kept shed and the large area around it. The swamp is not only home to beavers, you will also see cranes here, and roe deer come to the homestead. And how many birds! Even the ornithologist has already been spoken to – perhaps it would be worthwhile to introduce the birds that live here to the guests of the homestead? Or would they like to take a walk with a professional trainer (or without one) in the picturesque surroundings with Nordic walking poles? Maybe visit the unique places of this region with a guide? Jovita is disappointed that the region of Suvalkija (Sūduva) is not yet sufficiently advertised in Lithuania – many people think that you can relax only in the region of Zarasai or Molėtai and the seaside.

“But it’s even better here than anywhere else,” the interlocutor is convinced. She names objects one by one, which her guests are surprised to see like children. And how happy! From “Dobilinės”, if the customer wishes, it is possible to go up in a hot air balloon and look at the beauty of the earth! Even a visit to Kalvarija market turns out to be such fun!

By the way, about this market. Jovita says that many wonderful things came to the homestead from him and started their second life. Various lamps, blacksmith’s handiwork, porcelain bathroom bowl with pitcher – each item has its own story.

Well, here we deviated a little from the topic.

Hence privacy. Eight people can live in the homestead at the same time. Jovita emphasizes that the homestead is rented only to one circle of relatives – no stranger will be here at that time. Even if only one person wants to stay – please! The whole house, territory, sauna, pond – everything will belong to him alone. This is the uniqueness of the homestead.

About Suvalkija – understanding from “Bicycle Knowledge”

Yes, that’s exactly why Jovita’s heart hurts when she hears comments that angry people are walking around with pitchforks in Suvalkia. Sometimes they even ask – do you have electricity?

Not only is there a new underground power line, there is even 5G internet. Oh, that’s right, there is no TV. But much better “movies” when you get out of the shed and into the field. And, to tell the truth, there have not yet been those who missed the television in “Dobilynė”. People come here when they want to “overload” their brains, relax, take a break from tension, mobbing, unhealthy rivalries and other companions of today’s life.

More about the homestead and reservation at www.dobilyne.lt
Tel. +370 612 34502.

– I meet people and take them out, I “surround” them from all sides. I am part of the homestead. I want them to experience relaxation with the smell of home, and let all depression sink into the swamp, – the hostess wishes to her clients.

Landscape designer: “Non-standard solutions”

When asked who helped build this house, Jovita admits that no one: she herself was a designer, a grass cutter, a painter, and a cleaner. And when a professional landscape designer came to visit the homestead, Jovita heard that “there are a lot of strange, non-standard solutions here”. How they won’t be, the interlocutor asks – when there is a problem, it needs to be solved, and solved in a way that is not expensive. These solutions are so creative – they show a fence made of stones. It was necessary because a herd of cows grazing nearby liked to drink water from Jovita’s pond in the summer. I have never seen such a unique fence anywhere!

And there were many arguments about the pond!

– I knew: he must be here. But a homestead on a hill. Specialists came, they say, think about what you’re doing – why invest so much money in a luxurious pit where there will be no water? But I’m not giving up! Jovita remembers. – He starts digging a hole – a spring breaks through. And what do you think – even in the driest year, the water in the pond has barely decreased, although the well has almost dried up.

Sometimes our people wonder why we don’t fix the swamp – there are fallen trees there! And the French came – they were “frozen” by the view, they said, rich people abroad hire landscape specialists to create “wild nature” near their homes. And we still like to “cultivate” what is already perfect, says Jovita.

When asked what other crazy ideas she is developing, she smiles: “If it’s meant to be, everything happens – solutions and people come. Expansion is planned, but quality standards will always be maintained here. If I want to have customers, I have to give them privacy. The funnest thing is when they say: “We feel that everything is done not for business, but from the heart.” And I just want to live according to my heart, I want a happy life. For me, it’s security, coziness and when everything is good in the family.”