ERASMUS+, Key action 1: youth exchange
Advance Planning Visit = APV: 25—28 July 2025.
Youth exchange: 1—10 September 2025
Venue: Arrouquelas, Rio Maior, Portugal
Czech team: 4 participants + 1 group leader
Please read the info-pack.
Hosting organisation: H2O
Project report:
On Monday September 1st we arrived to Lisabon to take part in an Erasmus+ Youth Exchange project Growing Together. A bus took us to our small village of Arrouquelas where the czech group seized one of the tents and renamed it to the Czech house.
Event tho we came late we had some decent portugese dinner and fell asleep in our tents. We woke up from freezing cold at night but managed to survive until the morning when the sun came up and it got super hot again outside.
The first day was filled with ice breaking activities, introducing the topic of the project and getting to know the village. Topic of the project was permaculture, sustaianble development and circular economy. The whole group was very interested in those topics so learning more about them from each other was exacly what youth exchanges are about and it was a really nice learning experience.
The second day a scientist from a university in Lisabon came and talked about permacultures and it’s principles. It was very eye-opening but also not overly optimistic. She gave us the real point of view and presented us with real solutions.
On the 6th we had a free day in the close by city of Rio Maior. There was an onion festival happening and some of us participated in an Onion 10k race. Later on there was a concert that we all went to and overall it was an amazing evening.
By the end of the project we had great dynamics as an intenational group, there were no small national groups distancing themselfs and we made great lasting frienships with people from all the participating counries. There was Poland, Denamark, Lithuania, Italy, Croatia, Bulgaria, Spain and Czechia.
Saying goodbye was very emotional and leaving the village behind made us feel sad but grateful for the experience. It was a very fun project full of great people, fun learning and lasting memories.
Julie V.
