Good Practice : Kafeneio

European Village NGO, a group of friends that from 2006 are acting to "shake the society around". The main aim that the organization seeks to achieve is to spread the ideas and to support actions related to the economies of solidarity and sustainable development. To reach the above mentioned we act in this ways: - building (or supporting) networks of collaboration with the scope of implementing projects in the fields of fair trade, local alternative currency systems (time banking), social solidarity, community building, ethical consumption, etc... - running sensitization campaigns/events, sharing good practices and implementing projects concerning environmental issues (renewable energy resources, ECT…), biological and small scale agricultural production, purchasing networks, ECT… - to educate and to create skills and competencies among youngsters through non-formal education (learning by doing), vocational trainings and other tools within the framework of Life Long Learning.

Aims / Objectives :

Scope/Aim Main aim of the project is to create a recreative space under the form of a traditional Greek Kafeneio. The Kafeneio will act on different levels as an example of urban sustainable development from the architectonic as well as the economic point of view. It will act also at social level constituting a space of gathering comparison and sharing, providing information and educational/training opportunities for both social society (mainly youngsters) and operators of the sector in the fields above underlined. The Kafeneio have also the aim of becoming an open laboratory to develop and implement project ideas in these fields. Objectives/Purposes In the first phase (renewing of the building hosting the Kafeneio), we will respect some specific criteria based on bio architecture and biodesign techniques (including energetic sustainability). In the second phase (commercial working activities) we will respect some basic criteria based on: - fair trade promotion, support, implementation; - biological local production support; (all the food and drink sold in the Kafeneio will be biological certificated products); - promoting short chains supply; - bringing on activities of organic waste recycling and water management connected with the activity of the Kafeneio. The Kafeneio will not have only a commercial orientation; it will host periodically other kinds of activities connected with: - sustainability issues information/education; - critical consumption and fair trade information/education; - economy of solidarity information/education; - open space activities (active and responsible citizenship promotion); - providing an example of sustainable development (sustainable renewing techniques) in the urban environment; - constituting a spot for local biological products diffusion and commercialization; - constituting a spot to implement project connected with economy of solidarity (co housing, Purchasing networks, ect…); - constituting a spot to promote gathering and innovative projects for the actors operating in r sectors (environment, rural development, sustainable agriculture, responsible/social business, ect…) - providing education and information opportunities for youngsters about healthy life style (food, drinking, ect…) - providing comparison opportunities about sustainability and environmental issues at local and European level; - realizing sensitizations events about the topics above mentioned;

Short description :

The Kafeneio project is based in Akadimia Platonos, in Athens - Greece.

The area is, moreover, an important archaeological site. During our feasibility visits in the place we detected also situation of social exclusion and urban degradation. We chose this specific location for our project to support and to promote sustainable social and economical development for the valorisation and of this area. A group of 10 persons put some money together and they transformed the place with their own hands to open a Special Kafeneio (Special Cafe).

Here young people can find books (book crossing), games, biological local products bought strightly from the producers; they can speak with the producers and go to visit their lands; they can express themselves proposing projects and participating in the implementation of others; they can exhibit their art pieces if they want and play their music if they like; they can have access to internet for free and staying there learning about fair trade and sustainable agriculture methods, alternative medicine and natural life style.

All the profit of the Kafeneio will be addressed to the realization of other similar innovative projects at local or European level.

Further informations :

European Village Aggistis,
4, Votanikos 11855, Athens

Tel. 0030 211 2217260
Fax. 0030 211 221725

info@european-village.org
www.european-village.org