Community Tool-set
Exploring tools to create Sustainable, Resilient and
Democratic communities in the 21st century, Europe
STAGONES Test Site
19th August – 4th September 2021
Evia island, Greece
STAGONES Social Cooperative and the Hara-Goe project are hosting the Community Tool-set, a workshop for “Exploring tools to create Sustainable, Resilient and Democratic communities in the 21st century, Europe”. It will take place at our test-site on the foothills of mount Pyxarias, close to the village of Vlachia, Evia island, from the 19th of August to the 4th of September 2021.
By forming a temporary community we will dive into the topics of Community Building (how we relate to each other), Permaculture (how we design our environment & produce our food), Natural Building (how we create our shelter and upgrade existing structures) & Renewable Energy (how to harvest power locally in a sustainable way).
● Community Building: Recognizing that human relations are the keystone to the success of any community, and understanding the value of transparent communication, we learn about the tools of Non Violent Communication, Sociocracy and others, and apply them throughout the course of this workshop in order to maximize inclusion, participation and overall engagement, and to nourish a new solidary culture that overcomes boundaries.
● Permaculture: Permaculture uses the inherent qualities of plants and animals combined with the natural characteristics of landscapes and structures to produce a life-supporting system for city and country, using the smallest practical area. The aim of permaculture design is to create systems that are ecologically sound and economically viable, which provide for their own needs, do not exploit or pollute, and are therefore sustainable in the long term.
● Natural Building: By using local natural materials, techniques and bio-climatic design we can create shelters and other spaces with high efficiency in terms of energy, functionality and aesthetics. During the workshop we’ll get to know the various materials and techniques used around the world and get a hands-on experience building with Stone, Cob and Wood.
● Renewable Energy: Understanding the abundance of energy in our surroundings, and exploration of capturing and transforming natural energy into functional sustainable forms, providing solutions to modern problems and empowering communities. We’ll learn about sophisticated applications as well as some low-tech accessible solutions.
GOALS
• Create a European network of game changers who will utilize the knowledge gained in the workshop and the connections made, to empower their local or disadvantaged communities, through constructive communication and practical solutions to common problems.
• Contribution to the development, evolution and spread of constructive human interaction within a community.
• Promote a holistic interactive approach to the management of resources and waste, which engages people in a way that overcomes social and economical barriers.
• Increase awareness about alternative education systems and proliferate their value
in the 21st century.
FACILITATORS
Tina Lymperis
“I love living among people who are having fun and doing what they love! Since permaculture gave me the tools to achieve this in my own life, I started spreading it through my blog, the translation of a permaculture guide, a musical theatrical called Kompostopia and through facilitating tribe-building experiences in Greece. My toolkit for guiding groups along their personal, social and environmental evolution includes Compassionate Communication, Permaculture, Sociocracy, Agile Learning, the Transition Movement, the Art of Hosting and the most primitive tools of social bonding: singing, dancing and playing! More background info here.”
Spyros Kourkoulos
Spyros was born and raised near Athens Greece, he moved to Scotland in 2007 and after some time in Edinburgh he moved to the country side where he lived in a yurt for three years. Spending time in a yurt in the beautiful country side of south west Scotland was a catalyst for him and there he developed a deep love for life close to nature. Living with the natural cycles and seasons, learning to identify trees, tracking wild animals and walking the land was complementing his first steps as a self taught yurt builder. In 2009 he started building yurts for a living which he does until today. Working with wood and canvas (the basic materials of a yurt) as well as all kinds of alternative structures is an ongoing field of interest and learning for him. Apart from structures he has a deep interest in movement and body-mind disciplines such as yoga (of which he is a certified instructor), Qi-Gong and free dance. Spyros is currently living between Scotland and Greece.
Dominic Taylor
Dominic has been a professional builder for 40 years and did his first earth-building in 1991. Since then he has worked continuously on eco projects on most continents and taught extensively.
“From 1980 I was lucky to learn from a master builder In London who worked in many different materials to make houses and furniture. As long as the medium was beautiful it was fit for purpose. After that period I built my own houses for many years (whilst being a stay-at-home dad) which allowed me to start finding my own passions.
Eventually many people asked for similar houses, mostly adobe, and around the same time I started making tessellated geometric tiles, supplying shops until I left Australia in 2004.
I then spent 7 years designing and making marble furniture in India before moving back to Europe and in 2013 came to Evia. Here I try to pass on building skills, make bread and perambulate seemingly aimlessly the pristine mountains that surround Vlachia.”
Manos Kappas
Manos is an electrical engineer with over 20 years of experience in electrical systems and installations. From May 2013 till December 2019 he moved to Qatar in order to lead an ambitious project, part of the capital city’s newly built downtown area, comprising of more than 5,200 solar panels on the rooftops of the development, for electricity and hot water production.
As a mentor, he has trained a large number of technicians and facility management personnel as well as giving a lecture in Qatar University for the students of the Electrical Engineering Department. Alongside his professional journey, he became a member of a small but vibrant community in Greece, comprising of people exploring the possibilities of eco-communities, permaculture and fundamentally a different way of living
Aleksandros Kostis
Alexandros has been studying and working for long time in personal development, massage therapy and participatory leadership. Working on these fields offered him an understanding of the great potential of us people to be creative and healthy. His desire to come closer and learn how to work with nature led him to participate for first time in a Permaculture Design Course in 2013. Since then he is designing and making small and medium scale gardens and food forests. Since two years now he is developing Livada Farm on Andros Island, Greece, a market gardening project where he is exploring how regenerative agriculture can be sustainable for people living in island systems.
YOUR HOSTS
Andreas Papachristou & Stella Vourneli
Andreas & Stella are residents of the Stagones neighborhood and initiators of the Hara-Goe project. They left the city 11 years ago in the quest for meaning, freedom and harmony. During this workshop they will facilitate the morning circles and offer support. You can learn more about them here.
DAILY RHYTHM
Taking into account climate conditions (it will be quite hot, so it makes sense to shift physical activity into the morning hours), the workshop’s goals (which include a high learning outcome) but also the well being of the participants, our daily timetable will be as follows:
07:00 – 08:15 Open Space for morning activities (Tai- Chi, Yoga, offered by participants)
07:45 – 08:45 Breakfast
09:00 – 09:30 Morning Circle
09:45 – 11:30 1st morning session
11:30 – 12:00 Break/Refreshment
12:00 – 13:45 2nd morning session
14:00 – 15:00 Lunch
15:00 – 17:00 Siesta/free time/open space
17:00 – 17:30 Tee/Coffee/Snack + informal reflection on morning sessions
17:45 – 19:45 Afternoon session
20:00 – 20:45 Dinner
21:00 – 23:00 freestyle community activities, open space, partner presentations, enjoying ourselves : )
23:00 – 07:00 Sleeping time, please respect resting hours
WORKSHOP OVERVIEW
As for the flow of the entire workshop it will be structured into four sections. On the last day of each section we will have a small walk to the mountain or to the sea in the afternoon -to clear our minds, regenerate and prepare for the next section. The two morning sessions will be used to wrap up the thematic, reflect on key points and record the podcasts (in groups of 5-6 persons).
19th August: Arrival day, bus leaves Athens Airport at 5 pm
20-23 August: Community Building
We’ll explore and establish some tried and tested tools which help groups co-create a culture of care, collaboration, transparency and freedom. We’ll explore the design principles of permaculture through the lens of our personal and social lives and with games that show how much more fun and impactful it is to work together than work alone. We’ll dive into the topics of None Violent Communication, Active Listening, Conflict Resolution and Leadership/Decision Making.
24-27 August: Natural Building
We’ll get to know everything about yurts and set one up, finalizing the frame ourselves. We will also learn the basics of bio-climatic design and building according to our needs. We will use stone, wood, clay, sand and straw (cob) for working on small scale projects. Finally we will make an earthen floor for our yurt!
28-30 August: Alternative Energy
We will learn about renewable forms of Energy (Solar, Wind, Hydro, Geothermal) and how they can be implemented in a small or big scale. We will also learn how to make calculations for a Solar system and how to install it. Furthermore we will explore some low tech solutions (like operating your old washing machine with the pedals of your bike) and how to lower our imprint in general.
31 August – 3 September: Permaculture
We will learn about the permaculture way of thinking, designing our land and growing our food. We will learn about soil, composting methods, plants and animals and how to overcome specific problems / meet specific needs. We will get to know the area and its micro-climate and plant a small garden on rocky ground.
4th September: Departure day, bus leaves to Athens Airport at 7am sharp
THE VENUE
The venue is located near the village of Vlachia, in a beautiful rural part of the region of North Evia Island, in central Greece. It is on the hillside of Mount Pixarias, facing North to the Agean Sea and overlooking the islands of Sporades. It is a small piece of heaven, close to the mountain-top and close to the sea (45 min walk). It is where we live but it is also our test site, where we are trying to establish a new paradigm in terms of building, farming and living together.
Accommodation will be in tents, which we will provide and which will be shared by 2 to 4 people, depending on size. If you want to bring your own tent, you can (and please bring a mattress and sleeping bag with you, let us know if that is a problem). We are using outdoor showers and compost toilets, but there is also a flushing toilet which can be used occasionally. Since we are living in Nature, we expect flies, wasps, mosquitoes, cicadas and other insects. If you are being mindful it is very unlikely to have a painful encounter (there are also small scorpions and snakes living in the area -some are poisonous but we haven’t seen any on site for years). At night occasionally there is a lot of dog barking, we will provide you with ear tubs in case you need them.
There will be a dedicated smoking area within the venue, please avoid using alcohol or other drugs during your stay.
MENU
During the workshop we offer a healthy vegetarian menu with vegan options. A wholesome breakfast, lunch and dinner will make sure participants keep their energy levels high. Snacks and refreshments during the day will also be offered during breaks. Ingredients are mainly from biological or natural farming, sourced locally where possible. Meals are prepared with care and love, taking into account aspects of a healthy nutrition.
WHO IS IT FOR??
This workshop is designed for youth workers of any age, motivated human beings that want to get a wide -and in-depth- overview on the four topics of Community Building, Permaculture, Natural Building and Alternative Energy, in order to share their gained knowledge and experience. Ideally participants should be active members of the partner organizations, or at least related to them.
We expect participants to be actively involved in the learning processes and to respect the collective culture which they will co-create (the three main pillars are “respecting one self, respecting the others, respecting the environment”). Furthermore participants will be asked to prepare themselves in advance (material will be provided three weeks before the workshop) and participate both in the documentation of the workshop as well as in community tasks (in turns, cleaning, assisting in the kitchen etc).
We will also ask participants to share a bit about themselves and write a motivation letter. It is important to have an organic group, where diversity and a common understanding and mindset are balanced. If you are interested to join, please contact us, sharing information about yourself and your motivation (you can also contact the partner organization of your country directly). After the selection process you will be asked to fill out a form with some personal and travel data (this information won’t be shared and will be collected through an open source, secure platform).
TRAVEL INFORMATION
This workshop is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Program, accommodation, food and facilitation are for free for the selected participants. For traveling the following amounts are being reimbursed:
1. Germany, 275,-
2. Netherlands, 360,-
3. Slovenia 275,-
4. Spain 360,-
5. Turkey 180,- (+120,- for Visa)
6. France 275,-
7. Italy 275,-
8. Portugal 360,-
9. Lithuania 275,-
Please make sure to book flights that you won’t miss in case of a positive covid test (we can’t reimburse those flights) and please make sure to have a valid EU insurance in case anything happens to you during the travel or during your stay.
A bus will leave Athens airport on the 19th of August at 5pm to our venue and will depart towards Athens airport on the 4th of September at 7am (door to door driving time is 3 hours)
KEEP IN MIND:
Your travel can last longer than one day but you HAVE TO BE HERE when the course starts! And if you travel on more days, or you come here earlier, due to cheaper tickets etc. you have to justify why you traveled more days, or on another day than the travel day.
Since we need your original tickets to reimburse you (way back included) please book online as much as possible so that we can have pdf original copies of your ticket. When booking online is not possible please buy your ticket at the box office and please make sure that you have a receipt with this piece of information: your name; the starting and finishing place of the journey; the date of the journey and the price of the ticket. When the ticket is booked online please bring two printed copies (one for you and one for us).
The participants have to travel from and to the countries above,otherwise they can’t be accepted as co-funded by EU. You should travel arriving to Stagones in the arrival day and leave on the departure day otherwise we can’t refund the travel costs. It’s not possible to participate as co-funded participant if you don’t participate to the whole training.
WHAT TO BRING WITH YOU
• Torch (preferably head-torch)
• Sleeping bag and camping mattress (and anything you need for being comfortable)
• Water bottle and cup with lid (for coffee and tea)
• Hat, Sunscreen and Insect repellent
• Natural or Biodegradable Shampoo / Shower gel / Soap (gray waters are used unfiltered for watering the gardens – self-care products and herbs are also available from Stagones handmade/handpicked collection)
• Working /durable everyday pair of shoes (the terrain here is rocky)
• Working clothes
• Swimming suit, towel
• Notebook and pen
• Any material you need in order to implement the activities you want to share during the course, some games, dances,songs and stories to share…
• Your motivation and your good mood!
COVID STRATEGY
Our aim is to hold the course without a mask, without risking our safety.
People arriving in Greece have to undergo a COVID test. This is a national regulation and does not depend on us. It though means that you as a participant will have been tested for COVID 19. Once arrived in our place, there will be no more risk of COVID infection. No people from outside are coming in close proximity with the participants of the course, we will spend these two weeks within our premises. If we decide to have a walk into nature we will make sure not to contact other people.
If you will be tested positive, you will not be able to participate in our course, we will though support you to find a place to stay in Greece until you can travel back to your country. To ensure that from the moment of your COVID test until your arrival in our farm there has been no risk of COVID infection, you will have to practice social distancing and wearing a mask and not expose yourself to a threat of infection.
These times are uncertain and regulations might change. It is very unlikely that we are forced to cancel the training, but please make sure to book a travel ticket (flight, train, ferry, etc.) that will be reimbursed to you in case we have to cancel the course last minute. We can’t reimburse your ticket if the course doesn’t happen. Also we can´t reimburse your travel expenses if you are excluded as a participant because of a positive COVID test result.
If a participant shows symptoms of COVID-19 during the course, we might insist on him wearing a mask and undergoing a COVID test that we will pay for. If the test result is positive, we will make a place available where the participant can be in quarantine.
ORGANIZATION AND CONTACT INFORMATION
If you want to contact us please send an email to events@stagones.org. If you are interested in participating, please share a bit about you and your motives. After the selection process you will be asked to fill out a form with some personal and travel data (this information won’t be shared and will be collected through an open source, secure platform).
THE ORGANIZERS
Stagones was established as an informal group in Vlachia, Evia in the spring of 2013 and it took the legal form of a Social Cooperative in 2019. The intention of Stagones is to create a framework for rethinking and reinventing life in rural Greece. Autonomy, self-sufficiency, sustainability, healthy and harmonic living conditions, respect to human values and the ecosystem have been major drivers to the formation of Stagones as a project. Therefore, Stagones is involved in many ongoing projects and partnerships that include natural building, organic farming and self-directed education.
The Hara-Goe project is an educational, cultural and artistic hub. By modeling a micro-cosmos where education, culture and art are approached holistically, the Hara-Goe project frames an experiment where Life can be experienced as a whole. Furthermore, its core values and essence are being distilled into a concept that can be adapted to different scenarios. The Hara-Goe project is about people forming an organism, creating networks, living together.
The workshop is co-funded by the Erasmus+ programm of the European Union and supported by the Greek National Agency (INEΔIBIM – thank you a lot!).
THE PARTNERS
This workshop is happening in collaboration with nine partner organizations across Europe and the Mediterranean. Each partner organization will select 2-4 participants, ideally from within the organization (there will also be an open call to give the opportunity for people that are highly motivated to join, or in case a partner organization has difficulties in filling the placements). Furthermore, partner organizations will inform their participants about the content and the goals of this workshop, as well as the Youthpass certificate. They will also assist during the booking process and will spread the learning outcome of this workshop in their networks (encouraging participants to do the same). We feel proud and honored to collaborate with them and looking forward to welcome them here!
Organizations, Contact persons and number of placements per country
• Octop’us (France,3) – octopus.ntw(at)gmail”dot”com – Lola Ott
• Wurzel.Bildung e.V. (Germany,4) – moin(at)wurzelbildung”dot”org – Marius Huebler
• Associazione Regen ETS (Italy,3) – giuseppesannicandro87(at)gmail”dot”com, Giuseppe Sanicandro
• VsI “uMunthu” (Lithuania,2) – umunthuprojects(at)gmail”dot”com – Zilvinas Spateliunas
• Ecobosch (Netherlands,4) – peggyknobel(at)gmail”dot”com – Peggy Knobel
• Ecoaldeia Silverto, CRL (Portugal,3) – mathijs(at)solnascente”dot”eu – Mathijs de Bruin
• Društvo Nega Zemlje in Duha (Slovenia,2) – prija.barbara(at)gmail”dot”com – Berbara Balan
• Asociacion Viaje a la Sostenibilidad (Spain,2) – movilidad(at)viajealasostenibilidad”dot”org – Martina Garau
• Topluma Destek Dernegi (Turkey,3) – toplumadestekdernegiproject(at)gmail”dot”com – Slavica Uzan
Feeling excited as we do?
Let’s co-create this learning experience and let’s start making a difference!
The mountain, the sea and the Stagones team are waiting to welcome you : )
