The myth about the aridity of Dobrudzha used to be popular in today’s land of the village of Nikola Kozlevo in northeastern Bulgaria. Travelers who passed more than 150 years ago through the thick forests of the Ludogorie region and through Dobrudzha described the thirst of people there during the hot summer days. A local scholar wrote that "... clean, clear water is nowhere to be seen; here and there deep wells and puddles are seen, but drawing water from the wells is difficult and only animals can drink from the puddles.” Decades later the picture changed. In the region, migrants from southern Bulgaria came to look for fertile lands for their livestock. They we amazed the nature of the Ludogorie and were not afraid of the lack of water. The first settlers started digging wells and built their houses near them. So within a distance of 1 kilometer they discovered 27 sources of clean drinking water. Since then each well has been named. The wells bear the names of families who lived near it. "And now there are places like Popov Kladenets, Kasabov, Kovchazov and so on. However, people from other villages also started coming. That is why locals decided to dig a separate well for visitors and called it ‘Drugoselski.” Ivanka Semerdzhieva is one of the initiators of a project for restoring and renovating the wells as a local attraction.

"Life developed around the wells. Meetings of girls and bachelors took place near the well, too. The test for the industrious nature of a bride was drawing water from a well. There is a secret that the natives told the girls. In order not to spill much of the water they covered the vessels with leaves. It was believed that this water had healing power. The water from the wells was not used for animals. They drank water from puddles. The traditions changed in the middle of the past century, when the village was water supplied in 1954."

An old local man, Ivan Uzunov, tells that he still has dreams of water. According to him, we now take water for granted, and we do not know how to value and protect it. In the past water was very valuable and we did not let a drop to be spilled in vain,” he says.

Students of the secondary school in Nikola Kozlevo took part with the greatest enthusiasm in the project for restoration of the old wells. "Water is not only wealth, it is life. And I am delighted that the story of the local wells has been revived thanks to today’s children,” Delyan Kostadinov, headmaster of the school says.

"They are the happiest and most enthusiastic children I've ever seen in school. They traveled the village from end to end, collected photos, recorded and reprinted stories preserved and told by parents and grandparents. The children also took part in the restoration of the wells. They found and brought vessels in which the water used to be stored long time ago. They searched through attics and cellars and found a great number of historical objects illustrating the rich history of our wells. As a result of the great interest that we woke up to the water in our village, a local company started extracting and bottling water called ‘Nikola Kozlevo.’ For the World Water Day, children from the school gave water to everyone. Water wells have become a symbol of life in Nikola Kozlevo."

English: Alexander Markov