Programme & action: ERASMUS+, Key Action 1: Training Course
Venue: Aurel, France
Dates: 28 September – 9 October 2016
Participants: Barbora Plecháčková, Jakub Drobilík, Eva Dudíková
Please read the info-pack & project video
Participating countries: Czech Republic, France, Greece, Latvia, Romania, Italy, Spain
Hosting organisation: Détours d’Ailleurs
Project report:
During the late September and beginning of October 2016 I attended a training course called Everyday Ecology: Small Steps to Create Change, which was organized by French organization Détours d’Ailleurs. The organizing team was international and apart of French trainers included also one trainer from Spain. Together with me there were another 17 participants, who came from France, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Greece, Romania and Czech Republic. The aim of the project was to introduce different aspects of ecology, which are closely connected with our everyday life, how to make our lives more environmental friendly and ecological and how to share this knowledge with others. The whole project took place in Aurel – small town in in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.
The program of the training course had three key elements – workshops and seminars organized by the trainers, workshops and practical activities ran by local experts and form of community living during the whole project. We have been living and working together as a small community basically through the whole duration of the project, while being divided in several groups, each of them having a specific role and duties during the day. We tried to follow the vegan/vegetarian diet during the course, with some exceptions for specific occasions, using local ingredients and organic products. We tried to live simple and help each other with everything.
The program itself included some introductory activities as ice-breakers and get to know each other activities, workshops about ecological footprint, biodiversity, fair trade, zero-waste / organic tips for cosmetic and hygienic stuff, which were all organized by the trainers. Other workshops – like the ones about edible plants, raw cooking or permaculture were organized by other local experts. All of them included practical examples and possibilities to experience the technique by ourselves. Workshop about permaculture farming also included community building activities, when we helped the farmers on their farm. One of the activities was a “survival” day outside of the village, when we had the opportunity to build some shelter, cook a lunch on a fire or build some totems in the nature.
Important part of the training course was a group work focused on video making. Each group of participants created a short video about ecology, that was presented to the children in the local school in the end of the week.
One of the afternoons we spent by some free time activities – either sightseeing in the city, or hiking in the mountains.
In my opinion, the whole project was well organized. I learned many new things, had a good time, in a beautiful nature, with amazing people. I would really like to thank both organizations, EYCB and Détours d’Ailleurs, for giving me the possibility to participate such project.
Bára Plecháčková
