Following the impulse of an inspiring experience in the Cob community in June, without thinking too much about it, I signed up for a similar training course in the first half of October in the small town with a “big” name – Megalopolis, in the central part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Three strangers set off, quickly becoming a close-knit and well-coordinated team. We traveled south in our trusty little Golf, embarking on a series of adventures to reach the villa of Alexander, a 41-year-old man who, together with his partner Pam, is developing a wonderful young and multicultural community in a town of about 4,000 inhabitants, with a predominantly aging population, which in the recent past was engaged in the coal and energy industries. In this respect, Alexander’s mission is very important because his goal is to bring many of the local people together, inspire them, and motivate them to stay, grow and develop in this part of his country.
On the very first day, I was stunned to realize how much Alexander and I had in common, and this comparison between our similarities and differences kept my mind occupied until the end of the trip and long after that. Similar to my own story, after a long stay abroad, in 2014 Alexander returned to his native country and moved into the house left by his grandfather and great-grandfather, abandoned for many years to the mercy of nature and without any maintenance. To a large extent, I was able to imagine the energy, effort, and dedication Alexander had put into restoring the house. I could pretty much picture the energy, effort, money, time, and labor he put into restoring this property to look the way we saw it and truly be called a “home,” because I had to walk the same path over the past 11 years. Similarly, we relied heavily on friends, acquaintances, relatives, neighbors, and like-minded people to transform our inheritance and give it new meaning, combining our 20th-century family legacy with the needs and opportunities of modern life. Unlike Alexander, however, my task was relatively simpler because of my background in architecture and construction, the smaller scale of the property, and the relative proximity of the big city. On the other hand, he relied heavily on like-minded people and, over time, managed to bring together other young people from the Netherlands, the UK, Italy, Spain, and Colombia, who came to feel at home there and invested their lives in the common cause of CrossRoads in Megalopolis.
The training covered topics I was already familiar with, such as building with natural materials, but also permaculture techniques and nonviolent communication, which I found interesting. It was impossible not to draw parallels with the other community we had visited in June – both in terms of the living environment and the approach to training and trainees. To my surprise, it turned out that this was their first training course with so many trainees, unlike in Cob, where such courses were held all the time. The trainings were facilitated by the incredible Tina (Konstantina or Compostina), who had lived in Australia for many years and had a lot of experience with similar events. Almost every day began with a “sharing circle” where everyone had the opportunity to share their concerns, suggestions, ideas, and other thoughts so that they could be truly heard. Feedback was constantly encouraged, as was taking personal responsibility for the suggestions we made, with the support of the others. Plans regularly changed on the fly according to circumstances or the mood of the participants, which sometimes led to confusion. We often felt that this “sociocratic” principle of functioning and conducting the course was rather slow and did not lead to quick and effective results, but in the end, the time we gave ourselves to listen to all participants and let them participate in the organization of daily activities allowed us to really feel like a team. It is difficult to say where the perfect balance lies.
At the end of the stay, an open day was organized, for which art installations and an improvised amphitheater were prepared. On this day, many people who were trying to start or had already started their own community projects in Greece were invited to share their experiences. There were also guests from Germany who had participated in the creation of similar communities and had been living in them for decades. I was surprised at how many people are active in this direction in Greece and wondered why there is not a single truly functioning community in Bulgaria. The closest comparison to a “community” in Bulgaria would be a “village” or “neighborhood.” I later realized that all the participants from Greece (except Cob) were projects in their “infancy”—most of them initiated by foreigners, perhaps attracted by the favorable Greek climate. I remembered that communities with a similar genesis also exist in Portugal, Italy, and other countries in Southern Europe. My contact with the guests from Germany was extremely interesting. They showed us two excellent examples of how communities can be created, but also how they can survive and develop sustainably over decades. The issues of land ownership in the creation of communities along with the decision-making process were also discussed. In Germany, communities are usually formed before the land is found, and it is purchased (or leased for a long period) by the group and not by a single individual. In Greece, on the other hand, there is usually an initiator who purchases land and then tries to find like-minded people to develop it. Practice shows that the first method is more successful.
Returning to our daily routine during the course, every morning our gracious host Alexander introduced interested participants to the secrets of Falun Gong (or Falun Dafa) – a teaching similar to Tai Chi. Afterwards, a nutritious breakfast awaited us and the day began. In addition to the sharing circle, where we decided what would happen at least until lunchtime, we had regular household/community tasks that we took turns doing every day. Some of us were accommodated on the ground floor of Alexander’s house, others in a building in the same yard, a large part of us were in the hotel in the center of town, which was also his property, and a few people lived in a neighboring village about 15 minutes away by car. We had one free afternoon, during which we eagerly jumped into the car and rushed to the coast. In addition to one last October swim, at sunset we also managed to visit a cave and a fortress on the seashore. After sunset, we even took out a small telescope to enjoy the moonrise and some other celestial objects, and the evening ended late at night with gyros and souvlaki somewhere far away on the west coast of the Peloponnese.
Towards the end of our stay, we had one more free day, during which we decided to visit the hanging monasteries in the center of the peninsula. A multicultural culinary evening was organized, at which the Bulgarian team performed excellently. Perhaps the highlight was the anti-talent show (No-talent show). The last experience was unique and difficult to describe to people outside the group, but the emotion was unparalleled and we all went to bed with muscle aches from laughing. Ultimately, our stay at CrossRoads left me with the feeling that we still have a lot to talk about with the people there, that there is still a lot to do together, and that we have just opened a door behind which an adventure with a sequel awaits us…
