Written by Italy & Greece Students, Izzy, Peter and Malcolm
What’s New in Our Journey?
After an amazing week of student-directed travel on Aegina, the group took a train two hours outside of Athens to Akrata. The week was spent at Re-Green, a permaculture community dedicated to the regeneration of Earth. Each day, the group participated in learning activities like garden bed prepping, composting, herbal talks, mushroom talks, and much more set up by the wonderful hosts, Debo, Kyle, Emily, and Nejma. Remembrance and reflection circles were held daily to cherish the past while preparing for the future. Each day, the group had an African drum circle and, on the final day, the whole community came for a performance followed by a pizza party.
Top Three Highlights of the Week
The group greatly enjoyed the company of the hosts and getting to know the volunteers staying at Re-Green. Getting to choose an activity like a herbal talk, mushroom talk, or habitat creation, the group was able to choose something that interested each person. Another highlight for the group was an African drum circle that the group participated in nightly and had a performance at the end.
Challenges We’ve Faced (and Conquered!)
While we enjoyed the packed schedule, one thing the group was challenged by was finding time to connect as a group. Our only true break time was siesta, and many people took that time to recharge and for self-care. That made it hard to plan and do activities together; however we made it work, and the last night at Re-Green we had a movie night and watched Surf’s-Up.
While we were challenged physically with finding time to spend together, a mental challenge was opening up to new ideas regarding permaculture while being at the end of our journey. Initially, it felt difficult to understand and open up to permaculture principles, however, the Re-Green team did an amazing job of making learning easy and fun. Over the week, the group was exposed to new ways of thinking regarding the regeneration of ecosystems and how to apply these principles in our daily lives.
Gratitude
On behalf of the group, we are grateful for all of the Re-Green hosts this week. They accomplished a difficult task in making activities fun and engaging while understanding the group’s needs and tiredness at the end of our journey. The activities they provided, such as the morning movement and composing, are things that the group can implement in their daily lives, which is a plus. Overall, all of the hosts were super helpful and we could not be more grateful for their hospitality and their passion for educating us on how to be more cognizant of our environment.
Final Words
The group has grown and learned so much throughout this semester. Thank you to the OEs and local hosts for making our semester unforgettable. Goodbye and thank you from Carpe Diem Terra 24!