The Southern Lights Non-Profit Organisation

The Southern Lights is a non-profit organisation legally founded in 2019 but operating informally since 2017. It is based in an organic farm in Skala Lakonias, Greece, stewarded for the past 30 years by pioneer and activist Stavros Darmos. Currently a transdisciplinary team is managing its transition into a complex agroforestry system in the aim of regenerating the biological and social eco- systems and thus actively contributing to building livelihoods in harmony with nature and each other. It operates in a rural region of the Peloponnese predominantly characterized by agricultural and farming activities. As such it is not exempt from the issue facing the entire country and the rest of Europe, namely rural depopulation and its associated challenges: the abandonment of agricultural jobs, ageing of population and low birth rate, poor access to public services, low accessibility, lack of economic competitiveness and precarious governance. In this context, The Southern Lights, aims to regenerate the social and natural environment and induce changes in the long term in a sustainable development perspective by focusing on empowering young people to take initiative and giving them the right tools to acquire every knowledge and skill they might need on their own path. In practice it: - runs workshops for young people (local and european) and accepts young interns allowing practical exploration and implementation of techniques and practices like permaculture design, natural farming, agroforestry, healthy nutrition, zero waste lifestyle, renewable energy solutions, natural building, non violent communication and group decision making techniques like sociocracy. - enables skills sharing and acquiring, both in everyday activities necessary on a farm, like wood-work, farming as well as digital media skills, and through specific workshops on these topics - acts as a hub that connects young people with other projects in Greece and abroad. The goal is to support them to follow their intuitive learning path and deepen their knowledge in their topic of interest and to strengthen the community of eco-projects throughout all Europe. The organization’s farmland functions as an experimental research site that combines and integrates different design systems and approaches, such as permaculture design [Bill Mollison, David Holmgren], keyline design [Yeomans], Regrarians platform [Darren Doherty] and the work on soil from Elaine Ingham, on agroforestry systems [Syntropic agriculture of Ernst Götsch, Dave Jacky and Eric Toensmeier, Marc Shepard], Holistic Management [Alan Savory]. Internally the team is composed of environmental sociologists, organic farming practitioners, communication and managing, architects and youth workers. They use working, project management and team management methods that are creative and collaborative, promoting horizontal governance based on cooperative principles. The diversity of the profiles of its members allows it to propose activities and trainings tailored to different types of audiences, with a focus on young people.