During the month of May 2018 me and 13 other people from 8 different countries including Italy, Finland, Spain, Austria, UK, Slovakia, Lichtenstein and Luxembourg have been staying in the beautiful village of Kryoneri doing volunteer work. So far it has been amazing!
The working consists of: Environmental footpath maintaining, bridge reconstruction etc. (Maintaining the ancient footpath, cleaning the river from fallen trees, cutting the plants grown on the footpath…); Restoration projects (Re-painting old fences and house, reconstructing old steps and fences etc.); Hostel garden cleaning and maintaining (Gardening in general, making space for new to grow!); Working with Mosaik art (Reconstructing old mosaic objects and making new ones. Mosaics are super beautiful.)
All of the work in general is nice outdoor work. We are working from the morning till lunchtime and the rest of the day we relax. Every day from Monday till Friday we have a lunch and a dinner that is traditional Greek food. Its delicious. As a vegetarian the Greek food suits me very well with its delicious vegetable pots and stews, and of course feta cheese…
In our free time we spend time in the nature, go swim to the beach, play music, etc. We also have the weekends off so there is time to visit other places such as Athens or Korinth, or where ever you decide to go! The nature here in Greece is amazing and full of life, and it's a pleasure to be able to spend time out here in the sun everyday.
It has been eye opening to meet people from other countries and learn about their cultures. We had an Intercultural evening where we got to know other countries, dance Greek dances and traditional dishes from all of the volunteer countries. Yummm!
During the program we have had Greek lessons where we have learnt some basic words to use with the locals or while visiting the taverna or other shops. We have also got to know the Greek culture. The village of Krioneri has roots deep down in Greek culture, and historically its an important place. We have also learnt about Greek history while staying here.
In my opinion this is a great opportunity for young people who are wanting to travel and see other cultures. My sending organisation covered all of the travel costs, so the whole trip is basically for free. While staying here I have learnt a lot about physical working and also about myself and others. Awesome experience.
I recommend Ekofili project warmly to anyone interested ! :)
Written by volunteer from Finland, Joona Korpi.
This project was supported by Erasmus +, Greek National Agency.