Author: superadmin

Our Way Chortiatis

Chortiatis, Greece – Our Way, a company which provides alternative excursion services in different regions of Greece, held its second activity, “The Nature of Photography,” in December. Armed with DSLR cameras, 30 participants followed the fabled map of Barba Nikita on a treasure hunt through the village and up to the Theodoros Litsas Scouting Center, where they warmed themselves in front of a toasty fire, ate homemade pies and steaming tea, and received a photography lesson from Ioannis Vergadis of Crom Studio.

The company is the brainchild of Gerassimos Mazarakis, age 41, and Stavros Papadopoulos, age 31, two longtime members of the Scouts of Greece, who both participated in New Agriculture for a New Generation’s (NANG) Alternative Tourism program at the American Farm School last year.

“We wanted to start this project because this is how we love to spend our free time,” Gerassimos said. “Chortiatis is our second home, and we’ve been organizing trips in the area for many years. In essence, we’re turning our hobby into a profession.” The Alternative Tourism program taught them how to turn their idea into a reality: how to price the excursions, how to advertise them, how to ensure the safety of their participants, and much more. All of this in collaboration with three other associates: Apostolos Maloudis (also a graduate of the program), Andreas Andrikos, and Maria Liakopoulou. They named their company “Our Way” to highlight their unique approach to developing new friendships through alternative experiences.

“There are certain values from the Scouts that we’ve applied to this endeavor,” Stavros said. “We want to give people first-hand experiences; we believe in the power of friendship and good chemistry between people; and we try to act with courtesy and respect for nature and for our fellow human beings. Our activities are accessible and inclusive for everyone, and we are very attentive to their needs and safety: we’d rather go all together in a group of 30 than go in a small, exclusive group and be the first to reach the top.

December’s “The Nature of Photography” activity highlighted the differences between Our Way and a company you might hire to climb the mountain or to lead you on a photography tour of the area. For one thing, the hike up to the Scouting Center was only part of the overall experience. We met at the Holocaust Memorial in Chortiatis, where Mr. Babis, a long-time resident, shared some of the village’s history with us. Then we were divided into small groups and each given Barba Nikita’s treasure map with clues to follow along the way to the Scouting Center. The cameras recorded our journey, and a friendly spirit of competition added to our excitement.

We reached the Scouting Center just as it began to rain, and the crackling fire in the fireplace of the main building and the delicious aromas of hot tea, cheese and spinach pies, and various homemade cakes and cookies greeted us. Once we were warm and settled, Ioannis taught us the basics of photography, and each group presented its photos and participated in a hands-on demonstration of three-point lighting. At the end of the evening, we proceeded single-file down the mountain, our path lit only by lanterns and the nearly full moon.

Each part of the excursion activated a different sense of perception. The cameras primed our sense of sight, the food our senses of smell and taste, and the descent our senses of hearing and touch. “I loved the food,” said Christina Amanatidou, one of the participants. “And I, the fire,” said her son Konstantinos. “I loved descending from the Scouting Center all together in the dark and seeing the lights from the village spread out below us,” said “Stella Yiapoutzidou. “It was fantastic adventure.”

“Nature is such a source of inspiration, and the activities we do are even better when we do them with friends,” said Apostolos, one of the organizers. The Greek idea of parea, a long-lasting circle of friends who gather together to share life experiences, values, and ideas, plays a significant role in Stavros and Gerassimos’s vision for Our Way. They hope that the people who participate in their excursions will want to come again and slowly develop bonds with each other. And that’s exactly how I felt. Our Way’s parea was friendly and welcoming, and the easy, joking rapport between them made the outing seem like an afternoon with old friends.

Meet Giorgos

Giorgos Papanastasiou, 26, was born and raised in Kavala. He studied in the School of Agriculture at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki for five years and grows table grapes with his father Dimitrios and his brother Panagiotis, 30. Together they grow two varieties of table grapes in the village of Kariani, 55 km west of Kavala: 50 acres of Thompson Seedless and 8 acres of Red Globe (which has seeds). Both varieties have good commercial value and thrive in the region.

“Since I was a child, I liked to help my father in the field. At first, it was more of a game, but as I grew older, I helped out more,” Giorgos said. “I learned the whole process of grape growing from my dad. He dreamed that I’d grow up to become a farmer like him. My brother studied business administration and then decided to become a farmer. And after finishing school, I decided to pursue grapes as well.”

Life as a Grape Farmer

Giorgos and his family prune the vineyards for 3-4 months, usually from about December or January until March. There are no leaves on the plants then, just bare branches. “From April to November, there’s lots of work to do in the fields,” Giorgos said. They top and de-leaf the vines and spray plant medicine and fertilizer. The fruit starts to appear in May. They harvest the Thompson Seedless grapes in August and September and the Red Globe grapes in October. With 20 people working together, it takes 10 days to harvest all the grapes. Each acre yields approximately three tons of grapes.

Table grapes grow close to the ground and are highly susceptible to fungi when it rains or when there’s moisture. Last summer was very difficult for the grapes since it rained a lot in June and July. Giorgos wrapped the plants in plastic nylon and gave them medicine to protect them. He fears that due to climate change, the difficulties that the crops face in the future will surely increase.

Collaborating with Other Grape Producers from the Small Farm Adoption Program

Giorgos was one of the grape producers selected by NANG to participate in its two-year Farm Small Farm Adoption Program. Other grape producers come from Kavala, Kilkis, Pella, and Katerini. They grow different varieties of grapes like Vitoria, Italia, and Crimson Seedless, which have different allergies and symptoms, as well as different harvest times because of their different climates.

By collaborating with the other producers, Giorgos has learned from their experiences. “We help each other by sharing advice and deciding how much to sell for,” he said. “We all sell for the same price.” Exporters sell the grapes in Greece and abroad in England, Germany, and Ukraine. “The price that exporters are willing to pay depends on two factors,” Giorgos said. “First, do we have better grapes than other countries like Spain? And second, what is the demand for grapes this year?” The prices change every year, depending on consumers. Last year, Giorgos sold the Thompson Seedless at 0.90 euro per kilo and the Red Globe at 0.60 euro per kilo. He’s eager to continue studying the grapes and refining his farming practices. “With the right combination of pesticides and fertilizers, Ι can improve the product and gain a better price from the market,” he said.

Meet Gerassimos

Gerassimos Mazarakis, 41, was born in Thessaloniki and lives in the neighborhood of Mpotsari. In 1983, when he was six years old, he joined Troop 9 of the Scouts of Greece, the national Scouting association founded in 1910 by Athanasios Lefkaditis. The Greek association has 20,000 members and includes the Scouts of Thessaloniki, established in 1914, which has 2,000 members.

“My father suggested that I join the Scouts when we saw a group of them playing in a park near our house,”Gerassimos said. “Thirty-five years later, I’ve passed all the ranks (Wolf Cub, Scout, Path-Finder) and now I am a Scout leader and a member of the training staff.”

Gerassimos took me to visit the Theodoros Litsas Scouting Center in Chortiatis, about 30 minutes from Thessaloniki atop the mountain called Hefaistio. At 1100 meters, Hefaistio is the highest mountain in the area. Driving through town, clouds hid the top of the mountain from view and seemed to spill towards us over the green, brown, and orange foliage. We climbed to the level of the gray clouds. “Thessaloniki’s there below us,” he said, pointing. When we arrived at the center, he introduced it to me as “our diamond.”

The center has played a huge role in Gerassimo’s life. It has a fire pit, an outdoor oven where Scout leaders were roasting souvlaki, and a small outdoor chapel. Birdhouses hung from the trees, and carved wooden signs pointed in different directions. Scouts in yellow uniforms and green hats busied themselves with various activities, chasing each other, dancing, playing cards. The center is still used by the Scouts because it’s so close to Thessaloniki, and the nearby military base maintains the trails in the winter. “I remember bringing my little Scouts up here the first time I led a trip,” Gerassimos said. “We spent the night in tents and enjoyed the starry sky by sharing the stories of the constellations.”

Founding Our Way

While participating in NANG’s Alternative Tourism program at the American Farm School last year, Gerassimos and his friend and fellow Scout Stavros Papadopoulos decided to start a company called Our Way to offer alternative excursions in Chortiatis. “We wanted to start this company because this is how we love to spend our free time,” Gerassimos said. “Chortiatis is like our second home, and we’ve been organizing trips here for many years. In essence, we’re turning our hobby into a profession.” The Alternative Tourism program taught them how to turn their idea into a reality: how to price the excursions, how to advertise them, and how to ensure the safety of their participants. They also met two of their collaborators, Apostolos Maloudis and Maria Liakopoulou, in the program. They named their company Our Way to highlight their unique approach to building lasting friendships through shared passions and alternative experiences.

“Stavros and I met in the Scouts 12 years ago, Gerassimos said. “We’re both members of the teaching staff, and slowly we became good friends.” They make a good team, and the easy, joking rapport between them makes each outing feel like meeting a group of friends. For its first excursion, Our Way organized a hiking trip that followed the path of the ice makers, people in Chortiatis who made and sold ice until refrigerators were invented in the 1960s. Their second event was a photographic treasure hunt following the map of Barba Nikitas, and their third excursion will take place this weekend.

Gerassimos completed a Master of Business Administration at CITY College, the Thessaloniki annex of the University of Sheffield. He has worked in the Purchasing Department at the American Farm School since 2000. His son, Konstantinos, is seven years old, and Gerassimos hopes that he too will join the Scouts.

Meet Alexandros

Alexandros Tataridas, 24, was born and raised in Athens. His parents, both doctors, came from the villages of Kalambaka and Kamena Vourla. His father’s parents in Kamena Vourla grew wheat and olives for olive oil. His grandfather used to have a flock of 150 sheep and a chicken coop. “I remember visiting the farm during the olive harvest and watching boxes of olives come in from the fields to be sorted by size,” Alexandros said. “My grandfather would take me to the place where he kept his sheep and show me how to care for them.” During weekends and holidays, Alexandros continued to visit his grandparents’ farm, stimulated by their descriptions of the olive trees and by the small vegetable garden they kept. Around age 15, when he began taking biology courses in high school, he also began to study plant biology as a hobby. Later, though his mother wanted him to study medicine abroad, he gained admission to the agronomics department at the Agricultural University of Athens (AUA). “My father was very happy because he dreamed of returning to Kamena Vourla,” Alexandros said.

Alexandros graduated from AUA with a degree in Crop Science. He has continued his studies at AUA, and this year, he will complete a master’s degree in Sustainable Agriculture, Plant Enhancement, and Agrometeorology with a specialization in Sustainable Agriculture and Certification. “I do a lot of experiments with various weeds and sustainable herbicides,” he said. While at university, he began working actively on his grandparents’ farm, applying what he learned in school. His grandparents taught him how to grow olives and produce virgin olive oil. “When I complete my studies, I would like to return to my village to help organize and coordinate their agricultural plan,” he told me. “I’m also thinking about doing a PhD, and I would like to take courses outside of Greece or travel to America and work for a company. Then eventually I’d like to start my own family and maybe settle permanently in one of my villages.”

In his free time, Alexandros dabbles as a homebrewer of beers, experimenting with the production of American pale ale and imperial stout. “I’m making lager beer now and some pilsner,” he said. “I’ve also made India pale ale and double IPA.” Alexandros also volunteers as a facilitator for AUA’s “Let’s Do It Greece” team. Each spring, the organization coordinates one day of nationwide environmental action. Last year, 128,000 Greeks volunteered to mend fences, reduce waste, and clean beaches. This year’s action date is Sunday, 7 April 2019.

The Experimental Farm

Alexandros is the project manager of the program’s Experimental Farm in Kopaida. Located 110 kilometers north of Athens, near Lamia, the farm covers 1000 stremma (100 hectares) and consists of a 0.5 stremma greenhouse and a training building which houses two classrooms, an office, and an overnight room that sleeps three people. The farm will begin operation in 2019 with 150 beneficiaires. “Our goal is to educate 300 young people over the next two years in agricultural sectors such as beekeeping, aromatic and medicinal plants, and the sustainable cultivation of spirits,” Alexandros said. “This will be done through intensive visits to the Experimental Farm in Kopaida.”

The farm will offer new farmers an opportunity to establish their own independent farm enterprises with on-site support and access to shared equipment, facilities, and resources that reduce initial barriers to entry. After completing the program, beneficiaries should be able to transition to plots of their own, having acquired the skills, knowledge, and expertise necessary to start farming successfully.

“I’m worried about whether Greece will be able to take the necessary risks to turn its agricultural industry around,” Alexandros said. “But this program gives new farmers the tools, techniques, connections to make the transition easier, and I want to share my skills and train others as well.”

Meet Vasilis

Vasilis Kostopoulos, 22, grows Greek mountain tea, or tsai tou vounou, in the Pierian mountains, near Mount Olympus. Since he was a boy, he loved nature, loved the forest and the rich smell of the mountains. In 2007, when he was 10 years old, his father Konstantinos, a producer of beans and tobacco, was the first to get involved with the production of tea. Until then, no one in Elatochori grew it in such large quantities. “My father saw others growing and selling tea and decided to give it a try,” Vasilis said. “He owns 35 stremma (3.5 hectares) of land, and when I told him I wanted to grow tea myself, he gave me my first stremma–and not only the stremma, but his knowledge and advice as well. ‘Keep going,’ he always tells me. ‘Don’t give up when there are difficulties.’”

From his father, Vasilis inherited a stubborn dedication to his work. “We’re very close, he and I, and we have a good working relationship. He was very happy with my decision to follow in his footsteps, and now my parents and I work side by side in the fields.”

Indeed, as I interviewed Vasilis over coffee at the Atrion Hotel, I noticed he had a maturity that seemed rare for his age. He likes house music, and after our interview, he changed into a white button-down shirt to DJ at a bar. During the winter, he works at the Ski Center in Elatochori and rides his mountain bike through the many trails around the village. “I don’t have as much time as other guys my age to hang out with friends, to go on walks or swim at the beach,” he said. “But to me, it’s worth it.”

Producing Greek Mountain Tea

Greek mountain tea is a single varietal herbal tea made from the dried flowers, leaves, and stems of a Greek herb known as sideritis or ironwort. Popular in the Mediterranean and the Balkans, sideritis was known to the ancient Greeks, who supposedly named it for its ability to heal wounds caused by iron weapons in battle. The herb grows only in the mountain regions of Greece, at elevations of 900 meters (3000 feet), and is prevalent on the slopes of Mount Olympus. The plant has a woolly stalk, spear-shaped leaves, and small, fragrant yellow flowers.

Vasilis has been producing Greek mountain tea since 2015. He owns ten stremma and plans to add another five. Each stremma yields 110-150 kilos of tea. During the harvest season in May and June, the tea grows densely in the fields, and 20 people collect it by hand during the day when it is dry. “I love collecting the tea and smelling it all around me. It’s a beautiful working environment,” Vasilis said. A good worker can collect 12-15 kilos of tea per day, and it takes approximately four days to harvest one stremma.

“We had a difficult season this past year,” Vasilis said. “It rained a lot, and the tea can only be collected when it is dry.” Depending on environmental factors, it takes 10 to 15 days for the tea to dry in the warehouse on giant pallets.

Vasilis sells his tea for €7-8 euros per kilo. Tea with an organic designation, which must be grown naturally without fertilizer or additives, fetches a higher price, €11-12 euros per kilo. “It takes three years to have a fully organic stremma,” Vasilis said. “Most of my father’s stremmata are organic, and I’m two years into preparing another.”

Vasilis and nine other tea producers in the region will receive training and advice from New Agriculture for a New Generation over the next three years. “Our mentors ask us what production problems we have and help us find solutions,” Vasilis said. “They also provide advice about how to package and sell the tea. So far, the most important lesson I’ve learned is to open your mind, to think outside the box.” Through the program, Vasilis has also met other tea producers from nearby villages, and they’ve started to work together.

Expanding the Business

“When my father gave me my first stremma, I had to decide how to run it,” Vasilis said. “Like many young men, I dreamed of doing something larger than my father, of making the most out of what he had given me.” Vasilis currently sells his tea in Serres, Katerini, Thessaloniki, and Athens. He’s constantly experimenting, looking for new ways to package his tea and expand to new markets. “I want to be able to sell outside of Greece,” he told me. “Lots of people haven’t heard about tsai tou vounou, but Mount Olympus is a brand name that could help to highlight some of the tea’s special properties.”

Sideritis, as I learned, has a variety of health benefits. It has traditionally been used to aid digestion, strengthen the immune system, and ease stress. Recent scientific studies support its popular use to prevent colds, flu, and allergies: sideritis is considered a potent antioxidant whose essential oils have antimicrobial and antifungal properties. Certain compounds of the plant may even help to prevent cognitive disorders like Alzheimer’s and dementia. The tea is naturally caffeine free and has a golden-brown color when brewed. It pairs well with honey and a slice of lemon.

“I want to create tea blends with other aromatic herbs like lavender, mint, and chamomile,” Vasilis said. “I’m also experimenting with iced tea mixed with fruit combinations for a light and refreshing summer drink. Tsai tou vounou can even be used to add subtle flavor notes to foods like baked bread and meat dishes.”

On Saturday evening, Vasilis spoke with the participants from our Train the Trainers program in Elatochori and gave them each a beautiful bouquet of his tea tied in brown twine because, he said, “When the plant is cut up, it loses all its beauty.”

“I want to have something to give my children,” Vasilis told me. “I want to be able to live off my work, and I want to offer my children a way to live. The advice I’d give my children is the same advice that my father gave to me: We strive and we struggle, but you’ve got to keep at it. Keep trying.”

Elatochori, Greece – New Agriculture for a New Generation (NANG) welcomed 50 trainers from the American Farm School and the Agricultural University of Athens for its inaugural educational event, “Train the Trainers,” held at the Pierion Musses mountain resort over the 12-14 October weekend. Three days packed with seminars and activities prepared educators and entrepreneurs from the program’s Greek partner schools to share their knowledge and expertise with a new generation of agro-food workers.

The seminars, led by business coach-agronomist Dimitra Zervaki and by psychologist Elisavet Stella Papadopoulou, addressed the multiple roles which trainers from the schools would serve, both as agricultural extension workers who contribute to the transfer of scientific research and knowledge to all levels of the agro-food value chain and as adult educators. “We designed the seminars to complement each other, balancing technical skills with social skills to meet the needs of this target group,” Dimitra said. “Much of our research focused on communication because we had to combine the experiences of people from different sectors,” Elisavet added. “We took an integrated, interdisciplinary approach based on best practices and empirical knowledge.”

Throughout the morning and afternoon, Dimitra and Elisavet engaged the trainers in a variety of group brainstorming and hands-on activities which encouraged them to reflect on their educational styles, personal challenges, and strengths. “We used experiential learning techniques because adults learn better through experience and because in agro-food you need a more cooperative learning approach,” Dimitra said. “This isn’t the usual method of instruction in Greece.” Additionally, the seminars covered innovation in the agro-food sector, strategies for motivating adult learners, and the mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral theory of learning.

Though the schedule was packed and our trainers began their days early, the natural landscape and clean mountain air provided an ideal retreat for personal reflection and teambuilding. Nestled in the Pierian mountains, Pierion Musses offered sweeping views of Mount Olympus, the Thermaikos Gulf, and the coast of Halkidiki. Each morning, we woke to brilliant sunrises: the orange sun reflected off the distant water, and bluish-purple mist shrouded the land below us. Seminars were held in the resort’s main lodge, where a huge, circular fireplace kept us warm, and on the traditional stone terrace overlooking the wooded hills, where the leaves were beginning to change color. The trainers worked in groups, petting a curious brown puppy that nosed its way around their feet.

Alexandros Tataridas, an agricultural scientist from the Agricultural University of Athens and one of the seminar participants, reflected on the important role that Elatochori played in the weekend’s events: “These seminars would have been very different and less interesting if they had been held in a cold room in a building complex in the center of a city. Elatochori gave us the opportunity to work together, to open up and meet new people from very different contexts, and to learn from the village and its inhabitants.”

Elatochori Pierias, a mountain village neighboring Katerini and Mount Olympus, was adopted last year by 40 students from NANG’s Alternative Tourism program at the American Farm School. Students and professors worked with the residents of Elatochori to expand and diversity the village’s tourism business, which in recent years had been overly dependent on its ski center. Students proposed a new, year-round tourism plan that took advantage of the region’s natural and historical wealth and existing hotel infostructure to offer unique gastronomic experiences, hiking excursions, creative workshops, and events.

Following the workshops on Saturday afternoon, Antonia Galani and Katerina Zagkaretou, two graduates from the Alternative Tourism program, led the trainers on a one-kilometer hike on a looping forest trail surrounding Elatochori. The leaf-strewn path crossed a stream and a narrow gorge, then ascended steeply, curving down the hill through pine, hazelnut, and chestnut trees before returning us to our departure point. “We chose this path because it’s convenient and suitable for families and for beginners, but at the same time, it has rich vegetation and high aesthetic value,” said Katerina, a forester who specializes in hiking tourism. “The locals have marked much longer routes that they use for their daily needs: to visit other villages, to hunt, and to collect wood and fruits. They are in constant communion with nature.”

During the hike, Antonia, a biologist who founded the birdwatching company Plegadis in Ioannina, identified sparrows and finches by their calls and handed out binoculars so that we could observe some of the species endemic to the area. “I believe that Elatochori is blessed by nature, but what makes it truly unique is its local people,” she said. “A place can really flourish when the people who live and breathe there have real love, passion, and vision to work and make the best possible use of their region’s resources. This love for their home and care for its development is one of the first things one can understand about Elatochori.”

Elatochori’s charm comes from the combination of its stunning mountain landscape and the warm hospitality of its residents, who invited us behind the scenes to partake in their village’s culture and learn some of its daily rhythms. Angela Perlantides and her son Stamatis welcomed us to Pierion Musses with shots of homemade tsipouro. Basilhs Kwstopoulos, a local producer of Greek mountain tea, answered our questions about his production process and expansion efforts, giving us each a beautiful bouquet of tea wrapped in brown twine. And Ioannis Papavramidis, owner of the cozy tavern Tzivaeri, invited us into his kitchen to show us how he made his delicious table bread with Greek mountain tea and different types of flour in a meticulous seven-day cycle.

Our stay in Elatochori also coincided with the village’s mushroom festival. Throughout the weekend, a tent in the central square sold mushroom products, seasonings, soups, and risottos. Two attendants wearing floppy red-and-white toadstool hats prepared mushroom soup in a huge metal cauldron, and on another table, a mushroom forager laid out all the mushrooms he had found that day in the surrounding forests and labeled them with their scientific names and icons indicating those which were gastronomic, psychedelic, or poisonous. On Saturday evening, a mushroom expert gave a presentation at the Atrion Hotel, and the taverns Tzivaeri and Anoi both offered a variety of grilled and sauteed mushroom dishes and mushroom soup paired with succulent meat dishes like the local black boar, giouvetsi, and pancetta.

On Sunday afternoon, Sotiris Koutsomitros, Adviser on Agricultural Policy and Regional Development, closed out the program by briefing the trainers on the European Union’s new Common Agricultural Policy, its philosophy, the direction towards the circular economy, the business groups, and funding possibilities.

“I want the trainers to come away from this weekend embracing a holistic approach and seeking to integrate different fields of knowledge into their work, because the agro-food sector needs agility,” Dimitra said.

“My goal is to help the trainers increase their awareness of themselves and of the sector they’re working in,” Elisavet said. “I want them to realize their responsibility to the sector in providing extension services. And to realize their own agency.”

At the end of the weekend, Giorgos Papanastasiou, a viticulturist from Volos, commented that as a result of the seminars, “I learned how to teach, how to share my knowledge with others—before I was only a student, I absorbed everything. The program also gave me a chance to meet other agricultural workers from all over Greece and share ideas.”