Blog

On May 2023 and on August 2023 were implemented 2 excellent Youth Exchanges at Kevelaer in Germany. The projects are part of the Academy of Growth and the main focus is the support community building and improve physical and mental health while raising awareness about the environment and climate change, the process of fine -tuning the design, preparing the ground & gathering resources mulch, compost, water, manure, plants [seedlings] and the learning by doing approach and experimental learning by co-creating work. 

"In an era marked by rapid urbanization and environmental challenges, an increasing

number of communities are seeking innovative solutions to create sustainable and

regenerative systems. And this is exactly what The Academy of Growth wanted to promote and teach to the new generation. The Academy of Growth is an NGO founded by people with eager to overcome those challenges, by creating a community of young people, with the intention of sharing their knowledge and experience about permaculture, regenerative gardening and community building. We travelled from Greece to a beautiful farm near Geldern, to meet other young people from Spain, Italy and Germany and begin a journey together towards a more sustainable and green future. Our main goal during the program was to construct garden boxes from scratch using wooden pallets and techniques to make them time resistant. These boxes will host the vegetable garden that will give life to the farm. Through the process of box making, we learned in detail how to make compost using different types of organic waste, like food and animal waste, which was later used to fill the boxes. We also learned different techniques of planting which we applied during the creation of the vegetable garden. The program contained some very useful and interesting theoretical sessions about the principles of

permaculture, soil nurturing and natural succession. The time schedule of the program was flexible, so we had the chance to create sessions as a community and fill the days with creative activities. We did painting, we had workouts, movie nights and took walks in the nearby forest. Remarkable were the cultural evenings,

where each country had the opportunity to share with the other participants its culture, through fun activities like games and quizzes. In this way we learned a lot about each other’s traditions, while having a good time and creating bonding experiences.

One of the most interesting parts of this program is that we got the opportunity to live in tents, which helped us to connect to the nature that surrounded us. It felt more like a luxurious camping experience, due to the well-organized facilities which involved many toilets and showers. As for the food, it was just delicious with a plethora of recipes from all over Europe, cooked by our great chefs.

The program involved a lot of “get to know its other” activities, reflection moments and discussions about philosophical topics, which created from the first day, an amazing the environment for building relationships and focusing on personal growth. The energy of the program was enhanced by the nights where we were dancing around the campfire, playing guitar, singing and enjoying every moment of it. We ended the program by admiring the

garden boxes, filled with fruits and vegetables, recalling all the work we did as a team and all the life changing moments we spent together."