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Imagine a field of grass, on which hundreds of people are doing a sun salutation while a DJ plays a techno set that matches the yoga flows. It might sound like two different worlds colliding, but in fact this fusion is exactly what the Techno Yoga Festival Greece is all about.

In the fourth episode of our podcast Green is Easy, Eleni Mavrou and Stella Angelakopoulou joined us to share how they, along with a friend, managed to organize this unique festival, while also striving to make it a green event.

For yogis and techno lovers this festival is a dream coming true –  a cozy venue with camping, a strong sense of community, several hours of yoga sessions, techno DJs, and an afterparty that lasts until the early morning. This two-day festival is, however, not only a unique merge of yoga and techno, but it also prioritizes sustainability, aimed to minimize its environmental impact. To mention some of the green practices they implemented, the organizers made sure to reduce Co2 emissions from traveling by setting up a carpooling system for visitors to share rides to the venue. The food that was served was entirely vegan, and the site featured composting systems and recycling bins. Despite their efforts, the team also faced challenges in implementing all their green ideas in such a short time. Limited water availability meant they couldn’t provide tap water, leading to the sale of plastic bottles. Plans to use reusable cups also fell through due to budget and time constraints. However, they’ve committed to introducing better water and cup systems next year to reduce plastic waste. Most importantly, the festival managed to raise awareness of the importance of sustainability. They put up signs informing the visitors about the waste and recycling system, and reminding them to save water. By raising this awareness the festival turned into a place where people cared about, and made sure to preserve the natural surroundings of the venue. While festival areas are commonly associated with huge amounts of waste on the ground, this was not an issue at the Techno Yoga Festival. As Stella puts it: “Since the floor was grass, and there was so much space, people could have easily left their things and trash behind. But the place was clean, and that was very good for us, because we knew that we had already created a community of people who care and respect their space.”

Overall this project shows how commitment, teamwork and a supporting community can create a successful event like the Techno Yoga Festival, while still being sustainable without any extra costs. As Eleni noted: “when you hear ‘green practices’ you think it’s going to cost a lot, but as we saw from our own festival, there are many small practices you can implement that cost nothing.” If you are interested in the upcoming year’s festival and other similar events, you can follow @technoyoga.greece on Instagram.

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Green is easy was co-funded by the European Union and the Greek National Agency "Youth and Lifelong Learning Foundation"

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.