You always have to grow,
You have to learn constantly,
You have to always be on the search, on the run
Without ever listening at what is happening inside you.
This endless growth is breaking the fundamental law of nature:
The circles.
My father was traveling, to various places in Greece,
Searching for place to start his family.
They found a place they loved, here, among the mountains
It was empty, rocky field, entirely empty
It only had one tree and a house.
And there they started their life with us.
In the beginning, there was nothing outside
But one day my father threw a hose outside
and water started to run.
And we made rivers, changing its direction..
We built lakes and dams,
We played with "playmobiles" in these lakes,
We were finding endless games to play..
So that was our first inspiration, playing games in nature.
When we were 18, we started question with Samantha, what is this thing?
Imagine having a school..
similar to the way we grew up, before we went to school.
And that idea was a bit vague, beautiful to think about,
but I didn't know if it ever would become reality.
Then, at a point when we were all studying in different parts of the world.
Something happened to our family,
Our dad got sick.
We all came back the same day to help,
And all the family got back together through this really difficult event.
When this ended, we realized that nothing is forever...
That life doesn't last forever...
And all these vague ideas are nice
but at some point they have to be put in practice
This difficult year gave us a tremendous boost,
And we said: "we are coming back and we were doing it now."
"We" refers to Samantha and I, the oldest siblings
The youngest one, Angeliki, was still studying back then,
So we came back with the aim of putting this idea into practice.
We are at the "Children's Orchard",
a practical workshop in Panagitsa,
located at the base of Mountain Vorra,
a bit north of Edessa.
This is a trail of about 800m on mountain Vorra.
I study bears..
So I come here almost everyday..
and I search for animal tracks
and animal feces!
When I first came,
I doubt that young kids knew that these animals exist here,
That it was possible to see them even!
At the beginning, children didn't know what to do,
it was very strange to them.
Strange that these animals exist in the mountains,
that they feed here, regularly roaming through the fields..
I really like this idea of making workshops,
That every person can teach something
to a child or a young person,
Teach something that he or she likes personally..
That's more generally our educational method
To do what we like to do
And for the children to get involved if they like it.
And practically the least that children earn from that,
is to learn <i>how to learn</i>, how to look at nature..
"Hey Children, wait!"
The Children's Orchard is not a (regular) school.
At first we were calling it school,
because we didn't know how else to call it
But if you ask children about school,
their response is that it is boring
That's what they express,
when we ask them their opinion about what they do there
That they don't know what to say, indicates
that they might not understand why all this is happening
They are shocked by all the knowledge directed to them.
For me it's 50/50.
Meaning that children should learn things
that they can apply using their brain
But also apply them using their hands.
So that children connect life with school.
This is for me what is missing from school
It's like its outside of real life.
With the guys here we have an excellent cooperation
because many of their activities are able to support our programs
Children's Orchard operates also as a social infrastructure for this place.
it's not just for keeping kids busy,
or a place for creative occupation, as the ones we are used to.
It offers a lot at the local community.
The truth is that the work that is being done here is amazing!
Really advanced in educational standards
regarding Greece's standards, not just local ones
and the kids of Panagitsa are very lucky
living within this environment.
I understand that for the kids, this is a bit strange..
And they often ask
"why did you left Athens and came here?"
They are trying to understand what is going on with me!
I always reply that some people like to live in the city,
Others like to live in a village,
but that it is always good to experience both
and the opposite of what you're used to live
to be able to choose.
There are a lot of initiatives now,
in regions outside of Athens but also in Athens
with parents and teachers trying something different.
They see that education, as it is now, has nothing to offer..
and that it simply stresses children too much,
without them being happy nor learning something.
What we are trying to do at the Children's Orchard
is to become an example
that will inspire others to start something similar.
There is not a single answer,
because each classroom, each place has different needs
and the teacher needs to be alert and present,
so (s)he can respond accordingly
The way we began was very simple,
Two people, a lot of work
and an empty space.
We took the risk,
because we had already difficult personal experiences
so not having money, was never an issue that brought us fear.
We don't ask for tuition fees from the children,
Every week they bring some pocket money,
they go to the grocery store and buy the ingredients,
For each week's cooking lessons.
Our orchard..
is actually an example for the kids on how this model operates,
Its a building that has a plant nursery around
It gives birth to new plants, for the bigger circle
a big field where we put plants from the nursery.
There is also the processing which will take place there.
And all this comes back here at the "school"
whatever surplus is left we trade it.
but also the children are learning crafts
relative with the local area they live.
I believe that in due time each of us is going to have a minimum wage.
What we really want to do,
is to be able to work with our passion
And to build each of our workshops as nice as we can,
so the kids can visit them.
Through all the things we do, I think we are helping them to see
the different choices that they have
In relation to what they can learn
but also regarding how they want to live
Seen from the outside, it's not always obvious
what children get here
because they won't leave holding a "Disney" toy or other things
But they will leave with joy.
When I see that in children, I understand what we are doing.
We did what made sense.
What happened to us was entirely natural
We grew up in a way that was very free
in relation to nature and the village
And we simply repeat this with the children here.
The child is already a teacher and knows about many things
And you just have to catch their rhythm,
A circle and not a straight line.
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