Link

47OctOber 2013

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EDITORIALProbably the most of you al-ready know that K.A.NE. and the Youth Centre of Kalamata are doing youth work. I am not sure though if Youth Work as a term is very familiar in Greece as it isn’t quite recognized and actually they just recently trans-lated in Greek language. I’ve read a nice study on youth work written by the In De-fense Of Youth Work organi-zation. As it is simply written and very well constructed I would suggest you to read it if you find some time: http://www.indefenceofyouthwork.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/20252-Youth-stories-report-2011_4th-1.pdf. Actually some of you, especially the volunteers of the youth cen-tre, are doing youth work with-out even know it...

As said before, youth work is recognized in Europe. In some countries more appreciated, in some others less. But in Greece it just doesn’t exist. Why? May-be it is connected with the luck of central policy for youth. May-be church and scouts were do-ing youth work and that was

believed it was enough. Maybe Greek policy is not that much focusing on prevention but on intervention (social work).

Since 2008 K.A.NE. and since 2009 the Youth Centre of Kal-amata are the only organizations in Peloponnese (population: 1.000.000) doing consciously youth work. K.A.NE. as a pro-fessional youth organization and the Y.C. as a voluntary structure.

Why we should establish youth work in Greece? For me its ob-vious and I think that anyone who is following the news can observe that there is a serious problem for youth especially after the financial crisis. Un-employment, luck of activities for leisure time, violence, drug abuse, more poor families, more broken families, extremists, rac-ism and many many more...

For all the above, K.A.NE. will dedicate 2014 as a year for rec-ognition of the youth work in Greece. Anyone interested to join the cause is more than wel-come!

Filaretos

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editOr: Fiachra Mckeever

design: Lina Šuminaitė

staff MeMbers Of Kane:Filaretos VourkosFotini ArapiGeorgia GiannakeaPanagiota ArapiGiwrgos Housenbelli

cOver PhOtO:Amaia Vilas

LOng terM evs:Jelena ScepanovičLeonard PristlMelina SavvidisFiachra Mckeever Carmelo MárquezEda TandoğanAhmad AyyashAmaia Vilas Erika FunaDanae LehmannMehmet Ali ŞirinUğurcan PehlivanAbdurrahman ErmişLina Šuminaitė

cOntact us:K.A.NE.SociAl Youth DEvElopmENt

YOuth centre Of KaLaMata

plAtEiA othoNoS 10KAlAmAtA

24100GrEEcE

teL: +302721110740

e-MaiL: amaiavilasarasua@gmail.com; info@ngokane.org

urL: http://www.kentroneon.wordpress.

com

http://www.ngokane.org

facebOOK Page: http://www.facebook.com/kentro-

neon

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WORKSHOPS 2013-2014This year in the Youth Cen-tre we have:

Language exchange work-shops

1) Russian2) Arabic 3) Turkish4) Lithuanian5) Slovenian6) Spanish7) German 8) Georgian9) English (discussion group)10) Greek Sign Language11) Greek for foreigners12) French

Dances

1) Salsa 2) Latin (cuban style – me-rengue, bachata, rumba, salsa, κτλ)3) Ηip-Ηop (advanced)4) R&B (for children 6-12 years old)

5) Contemporary dance6) Oriental7) Greek traditional dances8) Salsa for children

Other

1) Yoga2) Music and movement for children 3) Music and movement for teenagers4) Guitar for children5) Guitar 6) Choir7) Art Workshop8) Workshop on the culture of Flamenco9) Chess workshop10) Lute 11) Muai Thai 12) Experiential Groups

For more information, visit:http://www.kentroneon.wordpress.com Or join us on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kentroneon

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ΜΙΚΡΕΣ ΑΓΓΕΛΙΕΣWith the Youth Centre opening again its doors to the public, for the 5th year, there are still some things, where we could use your help!!!For the beginning of the work-shops, and throughout the year, the Youth Centre needs:

* CHAIRSStrange as it may sound, the Youth Center is in need of chairs! As the Youth Centre acquires more and more members, and the use of the chairs is extensive, our poor old chairs are breaking down. As it is, it is impossible to have all the chairs that the workshops need. If you have any chairs that you do not use, or you think that you can spare, you can bring them!

* MARKERS for the white boardAs all of the language workshops make use of the white board, we consume approximately 3 mark-ers per week!

* PENSYou can never have enough of those!

* COMPUTERSUnfortunately, the Youth Centre at the moment has only 1 work-ing (almost) computer to be used in the info-point. Temporar-ily, and only for the registrations, volunteers of the Youth Centre have brought their computers from home… however, eventually they will need them back… We need at least 1 more computer to be used in the dance workshops and 1 more for the outside activi-ties… :(

* GuitarsAs we are very musical this year, if you have any guitar that you do not need anymore and can give it to the Youth Centre, please do :)

* MirrowsThis may be a bit of a longshot but we also need full-length mir-rors for the dance room.

We know that it may be unlikely that people have spare full-length mirrors lying around in their ga-rages at home, but then again,

if you don’t ask, you’ll never re-ceive!

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Workshops' program of KENTRO NEON KALAMATAS

Youth Center is open from Monday to Thursday

TIME ΔΕΥΤΕΡΑ-MONDAY TIME ΤΡΙΤΗ-TUESDAY TIME ΤΕΤΑΡΤΗ-WEDNESDAY TIME ΠΕΜΠΤΗ-THURSDAY TIME

1st floor 1st floor 1st floor 1st floor

EO

Lithuanian chess

hip-hop

slovenian

Oriental French

Choir

Georgian

www.ngokane.org - Tel: (+30)2721110740

2nd floor / big room

2nd floor

/small room

2nd floor / big room

2nd floor

/small room

2nd floor / big room

2nd floor

/small room

2nd floor / big room

2nd floor

/small room

17.00 -

18,00 Salsa for kids

Spanish beginners

17.00 - 18,00

R&B for children

Guitar for children

begginers part 1

17.00 - 18,00

artistic workshop

17.00 - 18,00

yoga part 1

English conversati

on

turkish advanced

17.00 -

18,00

18.00 -

19,00

Latin (Melina ) Spanish

advanced

Turkish beginners

Part1

18.00 - 19,00

contemporary dance begginers

musicokinetics

education for

children (6-10)

Turkish begginers

part 2

18.00 - 19,00

Traditional dances

beginners

Turkish Begginers

part 3

18.00 - 19,00

R&B for children

Russian Advanced

Guitar for children

begginers part 2

18.00 -

19,00

experimental groups19.00

- 20.00

Muyai- Thai

Guitar for children

advanced

19.00 - 20.00

musicokinetics

education for

children (4-6)

Greek for foreigners

Part1

19.00 - 20.00

Traditional dances

advanced

italian beginners

19.00 - 20.00

Muyai-Thai

english begginers

part 2

19.00 -

20.00Russian

begginers part 1

20.00 -

21.00

Guitar for adults

begginers

20.00 - 21.00

contemporary dance advanced

German begginers

20.00 - 21.00

self defence

Arabic begginers

Laoyto20.00 - 21.00

sign language begginers

part 2

Greek for foreigners

Part2

20.00 -

21.00

21.00 -

22.00

Salsa Begginers

Guitar for adults

advanced

21.00 - 22.00

Sign languagebegginers part 1

German advanced

Russian Begginer s

part 2

21.00 - 22.00

Salsa begginers

Introduction in the history of Flamenco

sign language advanced

21.00 - 22.00

Yoga part 2

Arabic advanced

21.00 -

22.00

22.00 -

23.00

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Workshops' program of KENTRO NEON KALAMATAS

Youth Center is open from Monday to Thursday

TIME ΔΕΥΤΕΡΑ-MONDAY TIME ΤΡΙΤΗ-TUESDAY TIME ΤΕΤΑΡΤΗ-WEDNESDAY TIME ΠΕΜΠΤΗ-THURSDAY TIME

1st floor 1st floor 1st floor 1st floor

EO

Lithuanian chess

hip-hop

slovenian

Oriental French

Choir

Georgian

www.ngokane.org - Tel: (+30)2721110740

2nd floor / big room

2nd floor

/small room

2nd floor / big room

2nd floor

/small room

2nd floor / big room

2nd floor

/small room

2nd floor / big room

2nd floor

/small room

17.00 -

18,00 Salsa for kids

Spanish beginners

17.00 - 18,00

R&B for children

Guitar for children

begginers part 1

17.00 - 18,00

artistic workshop

17.00 - 18,00

yoga part 1

English conversati

on

turkish advanced

17.00 -

18,00

18.00 -

19,00

Latin (Melina ) Spanish

advanced

Turkish beginners

Part1

18.00 - 19,00

contemporary dance begginers

musicokinetics

education for

children (6-10)

Turkish begginers

part 2

18.00 - 19,00

Traditional dances

beginners

Turkish Begginers

part 3

18.00 - 19,00

R&B for children

Russian Advanced

Guitar for children

begginers part 2

18.00 -

19,00

experimental groups19.00

- 20.00

Muyai- Thai

Guitar for children

advanced

19.00 - 20.00

musicokinetics

education for

children (4-6)

Greek for foreigners

Part1

19.00 - 20.00

Traditional dances

advanced

italian beginners

19.00 - 20.00

Muyai-Thai

english begginers

part 2

19.00 -

20.00Russian

begginers part 1

20.00 -

21.00

Guitar for adults

begginers

20.00 - 21.00

contemporary dance advanced

German begginers

20.00 - 21.00

self defence

Arabic begginers

Laoyto20.00 - 21.00

sign language begginers

part 2

Greek for foreigners

Part2

20.00 -

21.00

21.00 -

22.00

Salsa Begginers

Guitar for adults

advanced

21.00 - 22.00

Sign languagebegginers part 1

German advanced

Russian Begginer s

part 2

21.00 - 22.00

Salsa begginers

Introduction in the history of Flamenco

sign language advanced

21.00 - 22.00

Yoga part 2

Arabic advanced

21.00 -

22.00

22.00 -

23.00

8

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MESSINIAN MESSAGESBy: Fiachra

These last few weeks have been very interesting for us volunteers here at the youth centre. We were treated to surprise matchmaking visits to several local companies at their factories, located be-tween 5 and 8 km outside of Kalamata. The purposes of our participation in this EU matchmaking program was to learn more about the function of the local economy here in Kalamata in the wake of the global economic crisis, to gain an insight into their opera-tions, to introduce the com-panies and the participants to each other for potential future collaboration and to promote these companies in our home countries. So, day 1 and the first place on the list was a brick and roof-tile manufacturing company. We were greeted at the entrance by the friend-ly owner and he showed us around the understandably loud and warm factory of his

family business. He explained to us the process of turning the raw mud into bricks and tiles. Basically the get the wet mud, shape it into bricks and, in a parallel production line into tiles, dry them, stack them together, fire them together in the furnace (the heat from here is also used in the drying stage), cool them, pack them and send them out. We all left with a better understanding of the entire process and some of us even brought home a brick for ourselves! The next place we visit-ed directly after was a wine factory, BioVin, in operation since 2006. Here we were shown how they make wine. They source the grapes from local, organic farmers and ex-tract the juice. After this, for red wine, they let the colour of the skins of the red grapes soak into the juice, for rose they do it for a much shorter time and for white not at all. Then they ferment it, filter it, bottle it and sell it. They also

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explained to us that the rea-son some red wines are more expensive, such as the re-serve wines is that they have to factor in the rental and/or operational costs of the re-serves themselves, the price of the aging barrels and the cost incurred from the losses of product due to the aging process itself, both due to the ‘Angel’s share’ and accidental loss. Last on the list of places to visit for this day was a com-pany called Κουλιέρης Α.Ε. . This is a local logistics compa-ny serving supermarkets and hotels with Greek and inter-national food and cosmetics products. They also have their own brand called ‘Navarino’ which produces orange juice, olive oil and frozen foods. They have been in operation since 1986 and have recently been awarded with a certifi-cate naming them as one of the strongest companies in Greece. The owner showed us around his factory, explained to us what they do, gave us a presentation of the company

and also fed us! A good thing too because it was nearing lunchtime and we were all re-ally hungry!! So day 2 and we set off for two fig factories and an ol-ive oil company. The first fig factory was called Goumas and here we were shown the process of how they produce figs. The bring in the raw, dried figs and they wash them in how water. Then they have to fumigate them for two days in phosphine to kill any bacteria and eggs that may be on them

or in them (useful tip: when-ever you eat figs, it is wise to pull it open by hand first and then eat it, as is customary in Greece), then they wash them again and pack them by hand. One of our volunteers even got the opportunity to do this themselves! These figs are

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exported all over the world, with little under 10% being sold in in Greece. In Canada and America they prefer big figs (insert appropriate cultur-al stereotype here…!) and in Europe they prefer small figs, according to market research. Before we left they treated us to a box of Kalamata figs each, nice ;) . The second fig factory was much the same in terms of processing and packaging, though it was a larger factory owned by a co-operative, but here we also gained some in-sight into how the crisis has affected the companies and the wages in Greece. The other factory we vis-ited on day two was the ol-ive oil producing company, Ενωση Μεσσήνιας. Here they test the oil they receive and package it. They produce ol-ive oil and olives with a PDO certificate, which stands for Protected Designation of Ori-gin. This is the same idea as in France with Champagne and also with Feta cheese. The olive oil they produce is ex-

tra virgin. In the lab we were shown how they test this oil and what exactly makes it ex-tra virgin. Their limits for extra virgin olive oil is 0.45g oleic acid per 100 grams of olive oil, which means the oil is not very acidic. Also here before we left they gave us a small bottle of olive oil and a jar of olives, both Kalamata PDO of course! So, day three and our last outing, and we were cer-tainly the most excited about this one as were were to visit a distillery and a winery! The first was the distill-ery where they make spirits of all shapes and sizes (liter-ally!). The produce rum, vod-ka, whiskey, ouzo, tsipouro, rakomelo (tsipouro/wine with honey, usually served hot) and a whole cacophony of other spirits. We were shown around this factory, to the dis-tillery and to the bottling part of the factory. After a brief Q and A section we were gifted with a small bottle of rakom-elo for our enthusiasm! Last but by no means least

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we visited another winery, much bigger than the previous one called Οινομεσσηνιακή (or Inomessiniaki), a Messinian winery. Here again we were briefed on the details of the

process of making wine, with the bottling phase of produc-tion in full operation. We were taken around outside the plant and shown, up close, vari-ous facets of the large scale production of wine. After-wards we were taken inside and shown the bottling pro-cess as well as the cellar. We were then taken to the stor-

age warehouse where there was already some wine aging there for a few years. After a few group photos next to a mountain of Messinian wine we received a most generous

gift from our gracious yet in-sanely busy host: two cases of wine! After we exchanged our many sincere thank-you’s we set off for home with light in our hearts and wine in our arms! These trips were great fun and very informative. Even though all these places seem to be doing well, you can tell that the crisis has affected

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them, and this was a small shapshot of the larger situa-tion in Greece, the peripher-al countries in the EU and in companies across the globe. A lot of these companies have relatively few employees considering the size of the

factories and/or have had to reduce them. They have also had to reduce production and pay more attention to sea-sonal work as well as reduced wages. One company told us that in the years following the

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crisis they have had to reduce the wages from €55 per 7 hour day to €40. Also, one compa-ny told us that before the cri-sis there was a 60-day grace period for payment of goods which doesn’t happen any-more, and of course this has an effect on business. Com-petition is also an important

factor in a contracting mar-ketplace. If one country over-produced it can afford to offer contracts at a lower cost and price other countries out of the market easier, PDO or not. Because of this companies struggle to make themselves stand out from the crowd in a crowded market. Others have

to enlarge their vision of their companies either by expand-ing their purpose and services or by expanding their market and changing their operations accordingly. Even though a place like Kalamata, famous for figs, olives, olive oil and wine, all with PDO status, it’s companies still feel the strain of the crisis. For some other

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of it’s companies that do not have such a marketable sta-tus for their products they feel it much more, and their lives are understandably more dif-ficult. Innovation has to come from somewhere, and as with solidarity it tends to appear in sink or swim situations. These

companies are all in contact with the locality and the peo-ple in the region, supporting each other either directly by trading goods and services or indirectly by word of mouth. The crisis affects a lot of peo-

ple on this planet (some would say 99%) and the practice of co-operation, determination, innovation and solidarity seem to be some of the best ways through it. This for me was the ultimate goal of these trips; to educate and to inform us and as many people as possible about their companies and

the difficulties that the crisis presents. But it was also for them to reach out, through the medium of a small but in-ternational newsletter, like a message in a bottle.

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MENSAJES DE MESSINIEstas últimas semanas han sido muy interesantes para nosotros (los voluntarios) aquí, en el centro juvenil. Trataron de sorprendernos con visitas a varias fábricas de empre-sas locales, ubicadas entre 5 y 8 kilómetros de Kalamata. Los objetivos de nuestra par-ticipación en este programa de la Unión Europea fueron conocer más sobre el funcio-namiento de la economía lo-cal en Kalamata, a raíz de la crisis económica mundial; y hacerse una idea de sus op-eraciones, así como de la in-troducción entre las empresas

y los participantes con el fin de potenciar la colaboración en el futuro y para promover estas empresas en nuestros países de origen.De este modo, el primer día

visitamos una fábrica de la-drillo y teja. Fuimos recibido en la puerta por el amable propietario, quien mostró una empresa familia, cálida y fuerte. Fue él quien nos ex-plicó el proceso de convertir el barro en bruto en ladrillos y tejas. Básicamente, sacar el barro húmedo, darle forma en los ladrillos y en una línea de producción paralela en baldo-sas, secarlos, apilarlos juntos, hornearlos (el calor de aquí también se utiliza en la etapa de secado), enfriarlos, empa-quetarlos y enviarlos. Todos nos quedamos con una me-jor comprensión de todo el proceso, e incluso algunos de nosotros trajimos a casa un ladrillo.El siguiente lugar, al que visita-mos directamente después, fue una fábrica de vino: ‘Bi-oVin’, en funcionamiento des-de 2006. Aquí nos enseñaron cómo hacer vino. Se abaste-cen de la uva local a los ag-ricultores orgánicos y extraen el jugo. Después de esto, para el vino tinto, se deja el color

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de la piel de las uvas rojas en remojo; para el vino rosado hacen lo mismo pero menos tiempo; y para el vino blanco nada. Luego los distintos vi-nos se fermentan, se filtran, se embotellan y se venden. Igualmente, se nos explicó por qué algunos vinos tin-tos son más caros que otros, como por ejemplo los vinos de reserva. Y es que se tienen en cuenta el coste de los mismos, las reservas de alquiler y/o de funcionamiento, el precio de los barriles de añejamiento y el costo incurrido en las pérdi-das de producto por el propio proceso de envejecimiento.

El último lugar de la lista de visitas del día fue una compa-ñía de llamadas: ‘Κουλιέρης Α.Ε.’. Una empresa de logísti-ca local que sirve a supermer-cados y hoteles con comida griega e internacional y con productos cosméticos. No ob-stante, también tienen su pro-pia marca llamada ‘Navarino’, que produce zumo de naranja, aceite de oliva y congelados. Ellos han estado en funciona-miento desde 1986 y han sido recientemente galardonado con un certificado de denomi-nación como una de las em-presas más fuertes de Grecia.

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El propietario nos mostró la fábrica al tiempo que nos ex-plicaba lo que hacen. A esta presentación le siguió una de-gustación de alimentos, algo que vino muy bien, ya que se acercaba la hora del almuerzo y todos estábamos muy ham-brientos. Ya en el segundo día, nos pu-simos en marcha hacia dos fábricas de higos y una com-pañía de aceite de oliva. En la primera. llamada ‘Goumas’, se nos mostró el proceso de pro-ducción de higos: traer la ma-teria prima, los higos secos y cómo lavarlos en agua. Luego, fumigar durante dos días para matar las bacterias y los hue-vos que puedan haber en ellos (un consejo útil: cada vez que coman higos, es aconsejable abrirlos con la mano primero y luego comerlo, como es cos-tumbre en Grecia). A contin-uación, se lavan de nuevo y se empaquetan a mano. Uno de nuestros voluntarios, in-cluso tuvo la oportunidad de hacerlo por sí mismo. Estos higos se exportan por todo el mundo, con poco menos del

10 % vendidos en Grecia. En Canadá y Estados Unidos pre-fieren higos grandes, mientras que en Europa los prefieren pequeños, según la investig-ación de mercado. Antes de irnos nos dieron de una caja de higos de Kalamata a cada uno. ¡Genial!La segunda fábrica fue muy similar en términos de proc-esamiento y empaque, aunque era una fábrica más grande y cuya propiedad pertenecía a una cooperativa. No obstante, la crisis le había afectado del mismo modo. La otra fábrica que visitamos fue la empresa productora de aceite de oliva, ‘Ενωση Μεσσήνιας’. Es Aquí donde se pone a prueba el aceite que reciben y empaquetan. Pro-ducen aceite de oliva y acei-tunas con un certificado DOP, que significa Denominación de Origen Protegida. Esta es la misma idea que en Fran-cia con el Champagne y con el queso Feta. El aceite de oliva que producen es virgen extra. En el laboratorio nos mostraron cómo probar este

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aceite y qué es exactamente lo que lo hace extra virgen. Sus límites para el aceite de oliva virgen extra es el ácido oleico 0,45 gramos por cada cien gramos de aceite, lo que significa que el aceite no es muy ácido. Finalmente, an-tes de irnos, nos dieron una pequeña botella de aceite de oliva y un frasco de aceitunas Kalamata con el certificado DOP, por supuesto. Y llega, así, el tercer día. La última salida fue la más entu-siasmada, ya que que fuimos a visitar una destilería y una bodega.En primer lugar, la destilería. donde se hacen “los espíritus” de todas las formas y tama-ños. Productos como el ron, el vodka , el whisky, el ouzo , el tsipouro , el rakomelo (tsipou-ro y vino con miel , que por lo general se sirve caliente) y toda una cacofonía de otros espíritus. Nos mostraron la fábrica, la destilería y la par-te del embotellado. Tras una breve sección de preguntas, nos dotaron a todos con una pequeña botella de rakomelo

por nuestro entusiasmo.Por último, visitamos otra bodega, mucho más grande que la anterior, llamada ‘Οινομεσσηνιακή’, una bodega de Messina. Como siempre, fuimos informados sobre los detalles del proceso de elabo-ración del vino, de la fase de embotellado y de la produc-ción en pleno funcionamiento. Nos llevaron por el exterior de la planta y, de cerca, por las diversas facetas de la produc-ción a gran escala de vino. Luego, nos llevaron adentro y nos mostraron el proceso de embotellado, así como el sótano. Luego nos llevaron a la bodega de almacenamien-to donde ya había un poco de vino envejecido durante unos años. Después de un par de fotos de grupo junto a una montaña de vino Mes-sina, recibimos, por enésima vez, el regalo más generoso de nuestro amable anfitrión: ¡dos cajas de vino! Después, intercambiamos nuestro gran sincero agradecimiento por irnos a casa con la luz en nuestros corazones y el vino

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en nuestros brazos. Estos viajes fueron muy di-vertidos y muy informativos. A pesar de que todos puedan parecer encontrarse en buena situación, se hace evidente que la crisis les ha afectado. Un pequeño ejemplo de la ha-bitual situación de Grecia, de los países periféricos de la UE y de las empresas de todo el mundo.Muchas de estas empresas tienen relativamente pocos empleados, teniendo en cuen-ta el tamaño de las fábricas, y/o han tenido que reducirlas. También han tenido que re-ducir la producción y prestar más atención al trabajo esta-cional, así como la reducción de los salarios. Una empresa

nos dijo que en los años pos-teriores a la crisis han tenido que reducir el salario de 55 euros por 7 horas al día, a 40 euros. Además, una empresa nos dijo que antes de la cri-sis hubo un período de gracia de 60 días para el pago de los bienes que no se produz-can más y, por supuesto, esto tiene un efecto en los nego-cios. La competencia es tam-bién un factor importante en un mercado de contratación. Si un país produce en exceso, puede darse el lujo de ofrecer contratos y precios a un cos-to más bajo que otros países fuera del mercado, DOP o no. Debido a esto, las empresas luchan para hacerse destacar entre la multitud en un mer-cado lleno de gente. Otros

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tienen que ampliar la visión de sus empresas, ya sea por la ampliación de su propósito y de servicios, como mediante la ampliación de su mercado y ,en consecuencia, el cambio de sus operaciones. A pesar de que Kalamata es un lugar famoso por los higos, acei-tunas, aceite de oliva y vino, todo con el estado de DOP, sus empresas todavía sienten la presión de la crisis. Y aún más, si cabe, las empresas, que no cuentan con un es-tatus comercial de sus pro-ductos, sienten esta presión

mucho más de modo que sus vidas son comprensiblemente más difícil.La innovación tiene que ve-nir de alguna parte y, al igual que con la solidaridad, tiende a aparecer en el fregadero o nadar situaciones. Estas em-presas están en contacto con la localidad y el pueblo de la región, apoyándose mutua-mente, ya sea directamente por los bienes y servicios co-merciales o indirectamente por el boca a boca.La crisis afecta a mucha gente en este planeta (algunos di-cen que al 99%) y la práctica de la cooperación, la determi-nación, la innovación y la soli-daridad parecen ser algunas de las mejores maneras de vivir en él. Esto para mí era el fin último de estos viajes, educarnos e informarnos so-bre las empresas y sus dificul-tades. Pero, al mismo tiempo, para que llegasen al cono-cimiento de todo, a través de un pequeño pero internacio-nal boletín de noticias, como un mensaje en una botella.

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MESINIJOS ŽINUTĖSPastarosios kelios savaitės buvo labai įdomios mums, sa-vanoriams, dirbantiems Kal-amatos jaunimo centre. Mes buvom nustebinti vizitų į kelias vietos gamyklas, esančias už 5-8 km nuo Kalamatos mies-to. Mūsų dalyvavimo šioje Eu-ropos Sąjungos programoje tikslas buvo sužinoti daugiau apie vietos ekonomiką, bandymus įveikti pasaulinę ekonomikos krizę, čia Kal-amatoje, pažvelgti į jų veiklą, susipažinti su įmonėmis ir ieškoti būsimo bendradarbia-vimo tarpusavyje ir skatinti šių bendrovių populiarinimą mūsų gimtosiose šalyse.Taigi, 1 diena ir pirmoji vie-ta sąraše buvo plytų ir stogo čerpių gamybos įmonė. Prie įėjimo mus pasitiko draugiškas savininkas ir parodė mums (suprantama pakankamai triukšmingoje, bet šiltoje fab-riko aplinkoje) savo šeimos verslą. Jis mums paaiškino žaliavos - molio virtimo į ply-tas ir čerpes procesą. Iš esmės pradžioje gaunamas šlapias

purvas, iš kurio formuoja-mos plytos. Lygiagrečiai veikia gamybos liniją į plyteles. Vis-kas išdžiovinama, sukraunama kartu, dedama kartu į krosnį (ta pati šiluma taip pat naudo-jama džiovinimo etape), vėliau atvėsinama, supakuojama ir siųnčiama. Mes visi geriau su-pratome visą procesą, ir kai kurie iš mūsų net parsivežė plytų namo! Kita vieta, kurioje lankėmės iškart po to, buvo vyno gamykla “BioVin”, kuri veikia nuo 2006 metų. Čia mums buvo parodyta, kaip jie daro vyną. Gamykla vynuoges gauna iš vietinių, ekologinių ūkių. Išgauna sultis. Gaminant raudoną vyną, iš raudonųjų vynuogių, jų odos spalva per tam tikrą laiką įsigeria į sul-tis, rausvajam reikia trump-esnio laiko tarpo ir baltajam nereik išvis. Tada vynas fer-mentuojamas, filtruojamas, supilstomasį butelius ir par-duodamas. Jie taip pat mums paaiškino, kodėl kai kurie raudonieji vynai yra brang-esni, reikia įtraukti į sąnaudas

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vyno atsargų saugojimą taip pat gamybos proceso apsunkinimą, patirtus nuos-tolius dėl senėjimo procesų ir atsitiktinio praradimo. Paskutinė vieta aplankyta pirmąją dieną buvo kompani-ja “Κουλιέρης Α.Ε.” . Tai vietos logistikos kompanija, kuri ap-tarnauja prekybos centrus ir viešbučius graikiškais ir tarp-tautiniais maisto bei kosme-tikos produktais. Jie taip pat

turi savo prekės ženklą pava-dinimu “Navarino”, kuris gam-ina apelsinų sultis, alyvuogių aliejų ir šaldytus maisto produktus. Ši kompanija buvo veikia nuo 1986 metų ir nese-niai buvo apdovanota sertifi-katu įvardijančiu ją kaip vieną stipriausių kompanijų Graiki-joje. Savininkas parodė mums gamyklą, paaiškino, ką jie daro, konferencijų salėje matėme bendrovės pristatymą, o taip

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pat pavaišino savo gamina-mais produktais! Tai buvo la-bai geras dalykas, nes artėjo pietų metas ir visi buvome ti-krai alkani!Antrąją dieną, mes išsiruošėme į dvi figų gamyklas ir alyvuogių aliejaus bendrovę. Pirmoji gamykla vadinosi “Goumas” ir čia mes pamatėme figų gaminimo procesą. Gamykla gauna džiovintas figas, ku-rios išdžiūna tiesiog po figos medžiu, tada jos plaunamos karštame vandenyje, atren-kamos sugedusios. Tada jie dezinfekuoja dujų kamerose, dvi dienas fosfinu, siekiant nužudyti visas bakterijas ir jų kiaušinėlius, kurie gali būti figų viduje (naudingas patari-mas: kai jūs valgote figas, yra išmintinga ją atidaryti ranka ir tada valgyti, kaip tai yra įprasta Graikijoje), tada jos plaunamos vėl ir pakuoja-mos rankomis. Viena iš mūsų savanorių net gavo galimybę tai padaryti pati! Šis procesas taip pat reikalauja nemažai įgūdžių. Didžioji dauguma figų yra eksportuojamos, tik šiek tiek mažiau nei 10 % parduo-

dama Graikijoje. Kanadoje ir Amerikoje jie nori didelių figų. Europoje, anot rinkos tyrimų, jie nori mažų figų. Prieš mums paliekant gamyklą gavome kiekvienas po Kalamatos figų dėžutę. Antra gamykla taip pat buvo figų. Panašūs perdirbimo ir pakavimo procesai. Ši buvo šiek tiek didesnė ir priklauso kooperatyvui. Čia mes taip pat sužinojome, kaip krizė paveikė įmones ir atlyginimus Graikijoje. Kita gamykla, kurioje lankėmės antrą dieną buvo alyvuogių aliejaus gamybos įmonė “Ενωση Μεσσήνιας”. Čia jie tikrina gaunamą aliejų ir pakuoja jį. Jie gam-ina alyvuogių aliejų ir aly-vuoges su SKVN sertifikatu, kuris reiškia saugomą kilmės vietos nuorodą. Tai ta pati idėja, kaip Prancūzijoje su šampanais, taip pat su feta sūriu. Alyvuogių aliejaus, kurį jie gamina yra aukščiausios kokybės pirmojo spaudimo. Laboratorijoje matėme, kaip aliejus yra tiriamas ir nus-tatoma ar jis yra aukščiausios

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rūšies (Extra Virgin). Jų ribos - aukščiausios kokybės pirmo-jo spaudimo alyvuogių aliejui - 0.45g oleino rūgščių 100 g alyvuogių aliejui, o tai reiškia, kad aliejus nėra rūgštus. Eu-ropos Sąjunga leidžia turėti daug daugiau. Taip pat čia prieš mums išvykstant, mums davė nedidelį butelį alyvuogių aliejaus ir alyvuogių, žinoma abu aukščiausios rūšies su Ka-lamatos SKVN sertifikatu!Trečia diena ir paskutinė mūsų išvyka, kuria tikrai labai džiaugiamės buvo į alkoholio daryklą ir vyninę! Pirmoji buvo spirito varyk-la, kuroje jie gamina įvairių rūšių gėrimus: romą, degtinę, viskį, ouzo, tsipouro, rakom-elo ( tsipouro/vynas su me-dumi, paprastai patiekiamas karštas) ir visa kakofonija kitų gėrimų. Mums buvo aprodyta visa gamykla: distiliavimo ir išpilstymo dalys gamykloje. Po trumpos ekskursijos Q ir A skyriuose pakelti mūsų en-tuziazmui gavome po mažą buteliuką rakomelo! Paskutinis, bet jokiu būdu ne mažiau svarbus vizi-

tas buvo į vyninę. Tai daug didesnė nei praėjusi pavadin-imu Οινομεσσηνιακή (arba In-omessiniaki) Messinian vyno gamykla. Čia vėl mes buvome supažindinti su vyno gamini-mo proceso detalėmis taip pat išpilstymo gamybos etapu. Mes buvome už gamyklos ribų ir pamatėme, iš arti, didelio masto vyno gamybą. Po to vi-duje mums parodė, išpilstymo procesą ir rūsį. Mus nuvežė į saugyklą, kur jau keletą metų buvo sendinamas vynas. Po kelių grupinių nuotraukų, ga-vome dovaną iš mūsų ma-loningo ir neįtikėtinai užimto šeimininko - dvi vyno dėžes! Po to, kai pasikeitėme savo nuoširdžiomis padėkomis išsiruošėme namo, su šviesa mūsų širdyse ir vynu mūsų rankose!Šios kelionės buvo labai įdomios ir labai informatyvi-os. Nors visoms šioms kom-panijoms sekasi gerai, gali lengvai pastebėti, kad krizė palietė juos, ir tai buvo mažas atspindys likusios Graikijos, periferinių ES šalių ir įmonių visame pasaulyje.

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Dauguma šių bendrovių turi santykinai mažai darbuotojų atsižvelgiant į gamyklų dydį arba turėjo šį skaičių sumažinti. Jie taip pat turėjo sumažinti gamybą ir daugiau dėmesio skirti sezoniniam dar-bui, taip pat sumažėjo darbo užmokestis. Viena bendrovė

mums sakė, kad per metus po krizės jie turėjo sumažinti nuo 55 € užmokestį už 7 valandų darbo dieną iki € 40. Be to, viena bendrovė mums sakė, kad prieš krizę buvo 60 dienų atidėjimo laikotar-pis apmokėti už prekes, ku-rio nebėra, ir, žinoma, tai turi

įtakos verslui. Konkurencija yra taip pat svarbus veiksnys pirkimo rinkoje. Jei viena šalis pagamina viršprodukcijos, ji gali sau leisti siūlyti sutar-tis mažesnėmis sąnaudomis ir kainomis kitų šalių rinkose lengviau, SKVN ar be jo. Dėlto šios bendrovės kovoja, kad

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išsiskirtų iš perkrautos rinko-je minios. Kitos turi išplėsti savo bendrovių viziją arba plečiant jų paskirtį ir paslau-gas, arba plečiant savo rinką ir atitinkamai pakeisti savo veiklą. Netgi toks regionas kaip Kalamata, garsėjanti figo-mis, alyvuogėmis, alyvuogių aliejumi ir vynu, kurie visi turi SKVN statusą, vis dar jaučia krizės įtampą. Kitos įmonės, kurios neturi tokio paklaus-aus statuso savo produktams, jaučia krizę daug daugiau, ir jų gyvenimas suprantama yra sunkesnis. Inovacijos turi ateiti iš kažkur. Šios įmonės yra susijusios su vietove ir regiono žmonėmis, remia vienas kitą arba tiesi-

ogiai - prekių ir paslaugų ke-liu arba netiesiogiai - iš lūpų į lūpas. Krizė paveiks žmones šioje planetoje (kai kurios sakyčiau 99%) ir bendradarbi-avimo praktika, ryžtingumas, inovacijos ir solidarumas, at-rodo, kad tai bus vienas iš geriausių būdų, kaip ją įveikti. Tai man buvo pagrindinis šių kelionių tikslas: šviesti ir in-formuoti mus ir kiek įmanoma daugiau žmonių apie jų ben-droves ir sunkumus, su kuri-ais jos susiduria per šią krizę. Taip pat tai galimybė pasiekti klausytojus, per mažą, tačiau tarptautinį naujienlaiškį, tarsi žinute butelyje.

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NOVICE IZ MESSINIJETeh zadnjih nekaj tednov je bilo za nas prostovoljce v mladinskem centru zelo za-nimivih. Kot del evropskega matchmaking programa smo bili poslani v tovarne lokal-nih podjetij, ki se nahajajo v bližnji okolici Kalamate (5 do 8 km iz mesta). Namen našega sodelovanja v tem programu je bil poučiti se o vlogi lokal-nega gospodarstva v Kalamati v času svetovne gospodarske krize in dobiti vpogled v po-slovanje teh podjetij, da bi v prihodnje morda spodbudili njihovo poslovno sodelovanje z našimi domačimi državami. Torej, prvi dan obiskov je bilo prvo na vrsti podjetje, ki proizvaja opeke in strešnike. Na vhodu tovarne nas je poz-dravil prijazni lastnik, ki nam je hrupnemu okolju navkljub pri-jazno in vsem razumljivo raz-kazal postopek dela v tovarni svojega družinskega podjetja. Razložil nam je ves proces pre-delave surove gline v opeke in strešnike: mokra glina se najprej oblikuje v opeke in

istočasno v vzporednem post-opku tudi v strešnike. Nasled-nja faza je proces sušenja in zatem peka. Ko so opeke in strešniki pečeni, jih je treba pred postopkom pakiranja še ohladiti. Nato se jih zapaki-rane razpošlje. Na koncu smo vsi zapustilo tovarno z boljšim razumevanjem celotnega postopka in nekateri od nas smo celo vzeli domov še toplo opeko za spomin.Naslednja tovarna, ki smo jo obiskali takoj za tem, je bila vinarna bio vin, ki obratuje od leta 2006. Pojasnili so nam proces pridelave vina, ki ga proizvajajo iz lokalnega gro-zdja ekološke pridelave: v prvi fazi postopka dobimo grozdni sok, naslednja faza pa je od-visna od tega, ali želimo rdeče ali belo vino. Za rdeče vino je potrebno grozdni sok na-makati v lupinah rdečega gro-zdja. Če želimo rose, je čas namakanja traja krajši kot pri rdečem vinu, za belo vino pa namakanje sploh ni potrebno. Sledi faza fermentacije, nato se vino filtrira, ustekleniči in

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razpošlje za prodajajo. Dobi-li smo tudi pojasnilo, zakaj nekatera rdeča vina na trgu dosegajo tako visoke cene. Razlog je v tem, da so v ceno všteti stroški hranitve v kleteh (nekatera vina se namreč hra-nijo tudi po več let) in najema

kleti, ob tem pa še operativni stroški, stroški vzdrževanja prostorov in sodov ter stroški, ki nastanejo z izgubo zaradi narave samega procesa sta-ranja vina (izhlapevanje skozi lesene sode). Zadnje na seznamu podjetij, ki

smo jih obiskali prvi dan obis-kov, je bilo logistično podjetje z imenom Κουλιέρης Α.Ε., ki se ukvarja z distribucijo preh-rambenih produktov in koz-metike hotelom restavracijam in supermarketom. Poleg tega pa ima podjetje še svojo bla-

govno znamko po imenu “Na-varino,” pod katero se prodaja pomarančni sok, olivno olje in zamrznjena hrana. Podjetje Κουλιέρης Α.Ε je bilo ustanov-ljeno leta 1986, nedavno pa je prejelo certifikat kakovosti in bilo poleg tega uvrščeno

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med en procent najmočnejših podjetij v Grčiji. Lastnik pod-jetja nam je ob obisku razka-zal skladišče, pojasnil način skladiščenja in distribucije, nam predstavil način po-slovanja podjetja in nas tudi pogostil s svojimi produkti. Glede na to, da se je bližal čas kosila, se nam je prigrizek lepo prilegel.Drugi dan ogledov smo obis-kali dve tovarni fig in eno tovarno oljčnega olja. Prva tovarna, v kateri smo si imeli priložnost ogledati postopek pakiranja fig, nosi ime Gou-mas. V tovarno sprejmejo suhe fige iz lokalne pridelave, ki jih operejo v vodi, nato pa sledi postopek fumigacije, ki uniči morebitne škodljivce. Mimogrede, dobili smo koris-ten nasvet: ko jeste fige, jih je pametno najprej razpoloviti oz. odpreti, da se prepričamo, da niso gnile. V podjetju Gou-mas se fige pakirajo ročno in ena izmed naših prostovoljk je celo dobil priložnost, da se tudi sama preizkusi pri tem delu. Fige Goumas se izvažajo po vsem svetu, približno 10%

pa jih gre na grški trg. Izvedeli smo tudi, da imajo po podat-kih tržnih raziskav v Kanadi in ZDA raje velike fige, na ev-ropskem trgu pa so bolj popu-larne manjše. Preden smo za-pustili tovarno, je vsak dobil še zavojček fig za spomin in posladek.

Druga tovarna fig, ki smo jo obiskali, je bila podobna prvi, a precej večja in za ra-zliko od prve v lasti zadruge. V njej smo poleg opazovanja postopka pakiranja in razlage procesa dobili tudi nekaj vpo-gleda v to, kako je kriza vpliv-ala na poslovanje podjetja.

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Naslednja tovarna, ki smo jo obiskali drugi dan obiskov, se ukvarja s proizvodnjo olivnega olja in oliv. Imenuje se Ενωση Μεσσήνιας in lahko se poh-vali z oznako ZOP, ki pomeni zaščiteno označbo porekla. Oljčno olje, ki ga proizvajajo, je ekstra deviško. V laborator-iju so nam pokazali, kaj točno to pomeni. V podjetju Ενωση Μεσσήνιας je mejna vrednost za ekstra deviško oljčno olje 0,45 g oleinske kisline na 100 gramov oljčnega olja, ponekod drugje pa je kriterij manj strog (0,6). in kako se preizkusi test ta olja in omogoča ekstra deviško. Ob odhodu smo tudi v tej tovarni dobili darilce, in sicer stekleniko oljčnega olja in kozarec oliv. Tretji dan smo se odpravili na naša zadnja dva ogleda. Najprej smo obiskali desti-larno in za tem še vinarno. V destilarni z bogato in dolgo-letno tradicijo smo si ogledali proizvodnjo žganih pija vseh vrst in oblik, na primer ruma, vodke, viskija, ouza, cipura, rakomela in mnogih

drugih. Ogledali smo si tudi laboratorij in steklenienje, nato pa smo za spomin dobili še stekeniko rakomela. Nazadnje smo se odpravili še na ogled vinarne po imenu Οινομεσσηνιακή (oz.Inomessiniaki). Tudi tu smo se pouili o podrobnostih procesa proizvodnje vina, imeli pa smo tudi priložnost videti vinarno v polnem obratovanju. Najprej smo naredli obhod po dvorišu, nato pa smo se sprehodili še po notranjosti, kjer smo vi-deli postopek steklenienja in si ogledali vinsko klet ter skladiše, kjer so poleg vin za sprotno prodajo spravljena tudi vina za staranje. Kot vedno, smo tudi tukaj posneli nekaj skupinskih fotografij, nato pa smo v dar dobili vsak še steklenico vina, s imer se je naš obisk sladko in prijetno zakljuil. Vsi ti obiski so bili nadvse za-nimivi in pouni in Kalamata je nedvomno upravi

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ila svoj sloves po kvalitetnih lokalnih proizvodih. A eprav se je na prvi pogled zdelo, da podjetja poslujejo uspešno in brez kakšnih vid-nih težav, smo ob pogovoru z lastniki razumeli, da jih je kriza precej prizadela. Kar

smo videli, je bil v manjšem razmerju najverjetneje dober primer stanja ne le v Griji, ampak tudi v drugih državah, ki se nahajajo na geografskem obrobju EU in drugod po svetu. Veina teh podjetij ima razmero-

ma malo zaposlenih glede na velikost tovarn, a kljub temu so morali poskrbeti še za zmanjšanje tega števila. Prav tako so morali zmanjšati proizvodnjo in več pozornosti nameniti sezonskemu delu. Prišlo je tudi do nižanja plač. V enem izmed podjetij so nam povedali, da so bili v letih po nastopu krize prisiljeni znižati plače za 7 urni delavnik s 55 € na 40 € . V nekem drugem podjetju izvedeli, da pred krizo obstajalo 60-dnevno prehod-no obdobje za plačilo blaga, emur sedaj seveda ni ve tako, kar pa ima tudi po-sledice na poslovanje podjetij. Drugi pomemben dejavnik poslovanja podjetij na svetov-nem trgu je konkurenca. Pod-jetja, ki lahko ponudijo nižje operativne stroške in cenejšo delovno silo, imajo prednost, pri tem je ZOP stranskega po-mena. Borba za obstanek je težka. Podjetja, ki smo jih obiskali, imajo seveda vizijo za pri-hodnost. Vsa si želijo rasti in širitve in postati bolj konkurenna na svetovnem trgu in se

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zato prilagajajo razmeram. In če pomislimo, da je pritisk krize mono prizadel tako znane kraje kot je Kalamata, ki po vsem svetu slovi po figah, oljkah, siru in vinu (vse omenjeno se lahko pohvali s statusom ZOP), si lahko predstavljmo, kako je šele za druge. Gos-podarska in finančna kriza pa je tudi povod za inova-tivnost. Kdor se ne znajde, potone. Podjetja, ki smo jih obiskali, so močno povezana s svojo lokalno skupnostjo, se med seboj podpirajo in si pomagajo, bodisi neposredno

ali posredno. Morda je tudi to eden izmed razlogov njihove-ga obstanka. Glede na to, da kriza vpliva na veliko veino ljudi na tem planetu (nekat-eri bi rekli 99%), bi tako lahko zakljuili z mislijo, da sta solidarnost in inovativnost tako v mišljenju kot v delovanju morda eden najboljših oz. najbolj produk-tivnih nainov spopadanja z njo. To je bil za nas tudi cilj teh obiskov in prav tako tudi naše sporoilo, ki ga iz Messinije pošijamo svetu kot pisemce v steklenici.

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EXTROVERSION OF LOCAL BUSINESSES AND THE FOREIGN MARKETS

By: Georgia

Social Youth Development - K.A.NE. organized an event entitled: “Extroversion of lo-cal businesses and the foreign markets” which took place on Wednesday 23rd of October 2013 at 19:00 o’clock at REX hotel in Kalamata, Greece. The event was an initiative of the youth organization Social Youth Development - K.A.NE. taking actions for the support of the young people of our prefecture, for combating un-employment and for the local businesses and the opportuni-ties that young people have in our area. This event was part of a general of events, includ-ing the 2-day event “Youth and the European Work Poli-cies” which was held 1-2 De-

cember 2012, this event and much more to come.

{Photos 1 and 2}

More than 40 people attended the event. They were mainly people that already work in local factories which are spe-cialized in the production and distribution of local products, people that work in the Tech-nological Educational Insti-tution (TEI) in Kalamata and more specifically, in the Unit of Innovation and Entrepreneur-ship, people who represent-

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ed the Chamber of Messinia as well as young people that would like to start their own business in retailing and dis-tribution to markets abroad.

{Photo 3}

Mr. Grekis Pavlos, representing the chamber of Messinia, initi-ated the conversation of the event motivating the young people to take action and to make their dreams real. Mrs. Vrioni Katerina, marketer in the “Enosis (Union) - Agri-cultural Association of Mes-sinia”, presented the way that a company can analyze the foreign markets, realize the differences among them and make a plan and a marketing mix adequate to each market. She gave special attention to the dangers that companies might face and other relevant tips that companies should be

aware of and take care about when entering a new market.

The next presenter was Mr. Goumas Panos, responsible for the sales department in “Agrexpo S.A.” mentioned practical details and ways how to make an export. He gave useful insights and prac-tical examples to those that would like to initiate exporting activities. More specifically, he talked about the whole proce-dure of how to come in con-tact with a customer abroad, how you may guarantee the quality of your products and how to finish the procedure without bearing extra risks.

Last but not least was Mr. John Mourgis, economist- graduate of “Management and Business Administration” department of Athens University of Econom-ics and Business, who pre-sented the strategies of cost and differentiation leadership that can bring innovation and competitive advantage to the company that implements them at international level.

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He mentioned some Greek products that are unique and he gave examples of new products and ideas that try to achieve international recogni-tion. He also mentioned some future steps that could be tak-en in order Greece and more specifically, Messinia perfec-ture, to become more com-petitive in the global market with our local products.

At the end of all presenta-tions, a fruitful and open con-versation was fostered and a lot of questions were gener-ated. The conversation lasted almost an hour and most of the people in the audience participated actively in it.

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Kaiserschmarrn – a german (bavarian) recipeBy: Danae

Pancakes don’t always have to be circular in shape. This Austro-Bavar-ian torn pancake specialty (trans-lated: Emperor’s mess) contains raisins which have been soaked in Rum. After baking the pancakes in a skillet they are torn with a fork into irregular shapes, dusted with pow-dered sugar and served with apple compote on the side. You can eat Kaiserschmarrn as a dessert or main meal for lunch which makes a quite filling meal.

Ingredients30 g Raisins2 tablespoons 4 eggs30 g Zucker1 pack pack of vanilla sugar (about 10g)375 ml Milk125 g flour40 g butterpowdered sugarsalt

Preparation1. In a bowl soak raisins with rum (30 minutes).2. Separate yellow of the egg from the egg white3. In another bowl whip the yellow of the egg, sugar, salt and vanilla sugar until the you get a smooth mixture. Add milk and the flour bit by bit. Finally mix in the raisins.4. Beat the egg white until stiff and gently fold it in the mixture.5. Heat butter in a pan, pour in the dough and roast with small heat until the bottom side is slightly brown.6. Flip it to the other side.7. When both sides are

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slightly brown, start ripping the „pancake“ into smaller pieces. 8. Serve on a plate and sprinkle powdered sugar on top.

Kaiserschmarrn is mostly served with Apfelmus

Ingredients2kg apples2 tablespoons sugar¼ Liter apple juicelemon juicecinnamon

Preparation1. Peel apples, take out the core and cut them into small pieces. 2. Put the sugar in a pot and heat it until melting. (about 2 minutes)3. Add the apple pieces, re-duce the heat and stir un-til the caramelized sugar starts to loosen from the ground of the pot (about 1-2 minutes).4. Pour in the apple juice. 5. Put the lid on the pot, wait for boiling and leave it until the apples are tender. Stir occasionally.6. Mash the apples until you get a smooth mixture. 7. Add cinnamon and lemon juice for the perfect taste.

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Teddy στην ΙρλανδίαHello, it’s me, Teddy! I have been very busy lately, hanging out at the youth centre watching everyone come and go as the pace quickens here with all the workshops starting again. So I decided I needed a little break – a holiday. I thought to myself, where should I go? I was think-ing and thinking and finally an idea struck me! As one of our lovely volunteers is a lovely Irishman, and Ire-land itself is shaped like a Teddy Bear, I decided to pack my bags and set sail for the Emerald Isle, home to potatoes, whiskey, River-dance, leprechauns and just about every American, if you’d believe them.So I left Athens airport, and after a quick stopover somewhere in Europe I landed safely at the ter-minal of Dublin airport. I

of course decide to take in some of the sights and sounds of the capital be-fore I ventured into the wild ‘wesht’. First stop: the pub. When in Rome they say….So after a quick pint of the

black stuff I decided to sam-ple a few of the more, shall we say, refined delights of Irish culture and off I went to Trinity College. I had a

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look through the library,And of course the famous book of Kells…

During my ramble around the city I came across the government buildings of Ireland…

After seeing this (highly un-original building) I decided I had seen enough for one day! After Dublin I decided to head west to check out the famous Cliffs of Moher.It’s windy out there!!...Then I decided to go to

Cork, bust first I said I’d stop off at Fiachra’s home town of Listowel, also known as the ‘literary capi-tal of Ireland’. I managed to meet up with some of his good friends and got a guided tour. What a won-derful little town!...

After that I went to Cork and had a lovely stroll by the banks of the Lee…Before I left Ireland I had to travel up to the North, to Fiachra’s paternal home-land and see of the most famous sights up there, The Giant’s Causeway…This was created by lava flow from an ancient vol-canic eruption, but there is a legend associated with it

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too (they love a good story, well-told here in Ireland!).

The story goes that the Irish giant Fionn MacCum-haill (Fionn MacCool) was challenged to a fight by the Scottish giant Bena-ndonner. Fionn accepted the challenge and built the causeway across the North Channel so that the two gi-ants could meet. One ver-sion of the story is that Fionn defeats the Scottish giant. The other is that, upon seeing the size of the giant he becomes afraid. So his wife, Úna, disguises Fionn as a baby and tucks him in a cradle. When Benan-donner sees the size of the ‘baby’, he reckons that its father, Fionn, must be a gi-

ant among giants. He flees back to Scotland in fright, destroying the causeway behind him so that Fionn could not follow. Across the sea, there are identical basalt columns (a part of the same an-cient lava flow) at Fingal’s Cave on the Scottish isle of Staffa, and it is possible that the story was influ-enced by this.

So after a long and ex-hausting but thoroughly enjoyable trip to Ireland, I had to return home. But no doubt some day soon I’ll return to the land of saints and scholars, and dance again with the fairies until the cows come home!

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Impressions II - Amaia

“I know that I know nothing” ἓν οἶδα ὅτι οὐδὲν οἶδα hèn oîda ὃti oudèn oîda;

Flying times

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Time to move….Time to continue….

Photos by: Amaia Vilas

Deciduous times

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Interview with Athanasia Mathiopolou, the Yoga GirlBy: Erika

What is your current status?I am a university graduate with a MA in environmental science. Since I finished my studies I give private les-sons in chemistry, biology, and physics. I also teach

yoga at the Youth Center.

What does the Youth Center mean to you?It is a place where you can find anything you are inter-ested in and for free. I think this is very important, es-pecially now with the time

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of crisis, when people have less opportunities than be-fore. Also, I see the Youth Center as a place where you can express yourself, find friends and have a good time.

What has been your ex-perience at the Youth Center?I had known about the Youth Center since it opened some years ago, but I became a volunteer last year, when I finished my studies and returned from Patras. I asked them if they have a yoga work-shop already and they said no, so I decided to do it.

What is most important in life for you?To be happy and surround-ed by people with good en-ergy.

Music and books that you like to keep close to you?

I love the music of Yann Tiersen because it is sim-ple and sentimental at the same time. It reminds me of my years at the univer-sity when I listened to it in the evenings. And my favourite book is probably “To Live, to Love, to Learn” by Leo Buscalia because it gives a very nice vision of life, love and com-munication.

Do you have a morning routine?I wake up around 9 and have a tea. If the weather is nice, I like to go to the beach. Then I always have something to do.

Do you think about any-thing in particular be-fore going to sleep?No, otherwise I wouldn’t fall asleep.

What is your favourite

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thing about yourself?I always try to find the good in everything, even in the bad.

Do you have a special/favourite memory?One of the funniest memo-ries I have is my first time doing yoga. I wasn’t able to do anything, everything seemed so strange and I couldn’t understand how they were doing it, the “downward facing dog” pose for example… I was awful and everyone was laughing at me, even my friends. I think it was the funniest ex-perience of my life.

Best concert you have ever been to?Yann Tiersen, I had the best time, I cried from love. Also, a very funny thing happened. A friend of my and I thought it was Yann Tiersen walking around next to us and were

really excited, but it turned out it was one of the guys setting up the stage.What is your favourite food?Gemista, but not with to-matoes. I like it with pep-pers and zucchini.

Do you have a pet?No, but I would love to have one. A cat or a dog, doesn’t matter. But the problem is I don’t know where I am going to be in the near fu-ture, so I’m not getting one for now.

If you were an animal, what would it be?A white horse. For me it represents freedom.

Do you have a character-istic expression or phrase that you always use?Yes, “Aide!”

Proudest moment in your life?

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When I got my BA degree be-cause I put so much work in it and by the end I was really tired from all the studying.

Who is the most impor-tant person in your life?Everybody in my life is im-portant to me.

What does yoga mean to you?(Smile) It is a way to think and understand things around me. Only after this it is (physical) exercise.

What motivated you to teach it at the Youth Center? And what is your motivation now?I wanted to offer to oth-ers what I know. I had the experience of being a stu-dent, when I wanted to do things like yoga, but had no money. So I wanted to do this for others. My motiva-tion now is the connection I have with the people from

last year that continue to do yoga with me this year.

Do you remember your first time teaching it? Of course, I was very anx-ious, but ended up loving it.

And how does it feel now?It’s totally different, now I have more confidence, which is the most impor-tant thing when you teach. I also have more experi-ence so it is easier.

What is your dream job?There are so many, but ideally, it would have something to do with na-ture, for example, marine biology, or teaching yoga professionally.

What is your dream travel destination?Sahara, I have a special connection to that place.

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WHO WE ARE

OFFICE:

LONG TERM EVS:

Filaretos VourkosPanagiota Arapi

Leonard Pristl

Fiachra Mckeever

Eda TandoğanErika Funa

Carmelo Márquez

Uğurcan Pehlivan

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Fotini ArapiGeorgia Giannakea Giwrgos Housenbelli

Amaia Vilas

Jelena Scepanovič

Melina SavvidisAhmad Ayyash

Danae Lehmann

Abdurrah-man Ermiş

Mehmet Ali Şirin

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The volunteers responsible for this publi-cation are hosted in Greece in the frame-work of the European Youth in Action pro-gramme, Action 2- European Voluntary Service.

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, anvd the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.