New Sprouts - Start Your Own Sustainable Organisation

Aims & objectives

The aim was to support and empower youth to put their ideas and support them to start their own sustainable organiation, sustainable enterpreneurship in practice.

Target group & international/intercultural composition of the group & team

Taerget group
18+ years old from Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, Spain, Latvia, Romania, CZ, France, Lithuania, Hungary
working in sustainability or want to put your idea into practice
want to live and experience a sustainable community setting for 10 days
- eager to create change in society
- Don’t have a clue about sustainable entrepreneurship but have a self-starter attitude and an interest in entrepreneurship.

Training methods used & main activities

Working methods
The skills wheel
Design thinking and brainstorming tools
Business planning tools
Meeting with real organisations and real case studies
Sustainability workshops and exercises
Learning by doing
Hands experience like permaculture and farming
Reflection in groups
Circles and open space methods

Outcomes of the activity

32 people lived, experienced and engaged in a sustainable community
- 32 new plants started after the project from the bulbs given on the last day to create mini sprouts in spring for their projects
- 27 ideas about projects/organisations and initiatives
Some of them are: an upcycling clothesline, a retreat center to connect with yourself and nature, 4 youth NGOs or initiatives, a plastic pollution initiative in local community, a community space for dance and social connection, a community center for permaculture and a farm to table restaurant, a shelter for stary animals, a green day center for kids and families, 2 sustainable tourism initiatives, leveling up an eco community in Prosiliako, Kalamata.
- 13 continued their own projects
- 4 started their new projects
- 2 participants went back to Hopeland projects
- 5 people went to an Erasmus+ project about sustainable food organised by our romanian partner and trainer
- 1 fb group created https://www.facebook.com/groups/1053481662226621
- 1 very active whatsapp chat https://chat.whatsapp.com/IHSBWyie1FG8ntwgMvQAcA
- 1 video recap of the project and 6 videos during the project
- 32 dissemination follow ups either in teams or separately

Your tasks and responsibilities within the team

I was a full time trainer and overview of the trainers' team.

I worked on this training for 10 days as a full time trainer.