Beskrivelse af organisationen

The School of the Earth ‘Nea Guinea’ is an NGO that came into being out of our belief that human activity as a whole can fit into the natural environment and become a regenerative factor for the local communities and ecosystems that surround it. It was founded with the primary goal to explore and study new healthy and meaningful connections with nature and the people around us, aiming at the emergence of a new culture with local characteristics based on solidarity and respect for life as a whole.

The School of the Earth's activities are aimed at developing tools and practices that promote resilience and self-reliance on an individual as well as on a collective level and at the same time support people and communities in the transition to a sustainable and balanced lifestyle, with consideration of the multiple ecological and social crises that are intensifying before of us.

Our action is developed on three main axes:

1. Permaculture and regenerative design: Designing sustainable food and energy production systems and livelihoods, based on the principles and patterns of natural ecosystems, which meet the needs of the people who manage them while contributing to the regeneration of the natural landscape.

2. Skill developing and sharing: Development and dissemination of the appropriate practical skills that enable people to meet basic daily needs in a sustainable and eco-friendly way and also promote active engagement in the food and energy production process, while reducing dependence on services and products of the globalized market.

3. Community building and binding: Development and dissemination of intellectual tools and techniques that promote creative interactions between people on a collaborative and solidarity basis and also enhance synergies and positive feedback loops on a community level.

In concrete, our activities include:

- Designing and implementing renewable energy and regenerative food production systems in urban and rural environments for supporting projects and communities in need;

- Organizing educational programs and publishing educational material on permaculture and regenerative design, practical skills for self-managing everyday needs, as well as non-violent communication and conflict resolution;

- Organizing open informative events, activities and festivals, that aim at raising awareness on current ecological and social issues, as well as promoting alternatives for the transition to an integral, balanced and regenerative way of life.

Our activities’ target groups include:

- People and groups from the local community and the nearby city of Athens, but also people from the rest of Greece, Europe and the world, with a focus on young people;

- Students and educational staff from formal education institutions (schools, universities, etc) and practitioners coming from the non-formal education community;

- Women and kids from marginalized and minority groups, with a focus on migrant and refugee backgrounds.

Our organization is located in Nea Makri, Attica, in a small (half acre) permaculture farm in a suburban setting.