Writing courses in Greece

Planet

When you book one of our writing vacations you are joining a 40-year tradition of supporting the local community and working together to maintain a responsible lifestyle. We aim to create a total living experience which can lead to changes beneficial both to the individual and to the world we live in.

As part of your booking, you will be provided with a copy of the company philosophy and pre-trip information on the host community to raise cultural awareness and help you to make decisions on how to integrate responsibly. During your vacation you will have opportunities to learn some local language, and will enjoy locally-sourced national cuisine. Many vacation sessions include courses on local history and culture, language or art forms, visits to the woodcarvers, potters, cheesemaker etc. (depending on the time of year some visitors can even tread the grapes to help with local wine production!). On some sessions there are other opportunities to further integrate with the host community in various ways e.g. volunteering to enter the mini-marathon which brings visitors and locals together.

At the village:
- All accommodation is locally owned and maintained
- Furniture and furnishings are sourced on the island
- Visitors are requested to limit the use of running water.
- We are working with the local authority to bring further recycling to the island – plastic, glass and aluminium

The village is protected by the Greek government because of its architectural heritage. We limit sessions at the center to a total of 30 participants and staff to minimise impact on the local community and environment.

Guests wishing to visit bars and tavernas offsite will also be directly benefiting the local economy as internationals are virtually unheard of here. The objective is the creation of an ethical mini-society in which decent human behaviour counts more than money.

However our commitment to positive action is not restricted to this island alone. At our administrative offices various environmental policies are in place, including:
- All single sided printed material is stapled into booklets and re-used for notepaper
- All staff living within a 3 mile radius have elected to walk to work
- We have made available downloadable versions of literature from our site to reduce reliance on printed brochures and encourage online booking as an alternative to paper-based methods
- Waste materials are sorted for recycling wherever possible

Staff, guests and suppliers are also actively encouraged to suggest further ways in which we can increase our environmental responsibility. The ethos of our courses focuses on creating rather than consuming.

People

For decades we have have enjoyed a somewhat symbiotic relationship with our host island that has been, by definition, a mutually sustainable core. The local community has benefited from it as a significant part of our vacation fees is intentionally spent locally on goods, services and jobs.

As the economic situation in Greece created new problems for the locals in 2008, we took this approach one step further. We set up a fund to fill the gap that appears in the supply of fuel to the island’s three schools, the clinic and the nursing home during winter. This had been suggested by the locals as the government subsidies for the purpose have dried up. We succeeded in raising over €27,000 in 2013.

Charity, it is often said, begins at home, but for many of us the island is our home – be it a vacation home that makes us feel, when visiting, like coming home, or a spiritual home. The island is certainly something more than a pleasant vacation destination.

We have also often contributed generously towards various projects that benefited the island. Our support includes an £17,060.82 (US $27,930) contribution towards the purchase of medical equipment for the local health center and £2,843.44 (US $4,655) towards the refurbishment of the island’s school theatre. Our staff and vacation makers also raised £10,425.85 (US $17,068) to help locals recover from a devastating forest fire. Support has also been offered to the local Folk Dance Society, the Greek Animal Welfare Fund (GAWF) and to the fund for stray cats and dogs.