Hopeland

Hopeland is a social enterprise installed in a 7.6 acre property in North East Peloponnese, just 130 km from Athens, amidst archaeological destinations. Its main aims are Sustainability and Viability at all levels, which it approaches through activities and programs based on four pillars of Personal Development, Tradition, Culture and the Environment. Some of its main objectives are natural building, natural farming, recycling, respect for nature and reducing the ecological footprint. All of the facilities are natural building structures made from straw, wood and clay with low to zero ecological footprint. We are envisioning a space where parents, children and adults from different countries live together, work together and create together by harvesting the land, nourishing the mind, feeding soul and body with joy and creativity, mutual respect and equality. A key element of our philosophy is the dedication to learning the importance of a social cause, of encouraging experience while evolving as a unit and as a group, thus serving as catalysts for the improvement of our wider society. People with disabilities (autism, down syndrome) really move and interest us. We believe: Preserving or using what nature so selflessly provides, without intervening too much. Producing our own food from traditional seeds with traditional cropping methods and natural intervention when production problems arise (plant illnesses, natural disasters, etc.) Taking action when it comes to knowledge, harmonious relationships, mental health, well-being, balance and harmony of body and soul. Respecting and learning the story of our land. Keeping cooperation and mutual understanding and respect as an objective Hopeland focuses on four pillars: Personal Development, Tradition, Culture and the Environment. We focus on children-parents relations, as well as on the adjuvant but substantial intervention in education for young people, by developing activities and workshops that promote alternative education. With tools such as art therapy, and family consulting we identify failures in relationships and our advisors intervene at various levels. Hopeland’s location (between world famous ancient destinations) is an excellent opportunity for us to organize workshops that promote the Ancient Greek element. We aim to create the essential conditions for the awakening of knowledge in Greek and foreign groups of young people. Concerning the environment, Hopeland has been built over 10 natural building workshops (straw bale houses, layout work, etc.) and it is a paradigm of a sustainable community in practice. We are working with the following target groups: Children of 6-12 years old and 10-16 years old along with their parents We work with children and families from 6-16 years old with various social backgrounds and challenges. Families with children with disabilities (autism, down syndrome) really move and interest us. We work with children of 6-10 years old in our hope-weekend and hope camp in the summer where family therapy, creativity and living sustainable are perfectly combined. We work with adolescents in a hope-weekend with an experiential game with heroes and archetypes in order to enhance self-development, creativity and emotional intelligence. We work with families in various transformational, psychological and experiential workshops. But we also consult parents through self-development, experiential and family therapy workshops. Young people We work with young people from 16 years old, in youth exchanges from EU and international, students in Greek or international universities or young people interested in self-development and environment. We welcome various educational trips in Hopeland from universities and schools or various projects such as the building of a herb garden or we arrange our own environmental workshops. Wellness groups We work with wellness (yoga, reiki etc) groups and provide the venue and our surroundings for their wellness activities and