Training course: Think Like Nature: Lifestyle With Alternative Sustainable Communities

Location: Ca La Fou and Can Tonal communities in Region of Catalonia, Spain

Dates: 25 September – 2 October 2017

Number of participants: 24

Participating countries: United Kingdom (3 participants), Lithuania (2 participants), Italy (3 participants), Hungary (3 participants), Turkey (2 participants), Malta (3 participants), Romania (3 participants), Spain (5 participants)

Organizer: Abroadship.org

Application form: apply here

Deadline to apply: 4 August 2017

Date of Selection: 8 August 2017

Inquiries about this training course: Justinas at hello@abroadship.org

Costs:

• 100% accommodation, food and program materials are covered by the grant from Erasmus+
• 80% traveling costs are covered, up to the maximum reimbursements:
  • €0/participant for Spain;
  • €275/participant for Italy, Hungary, Malta, UK, Romania
  • €360/participant for Lithuania, Turkey
• There is no participation fee
• For traveling reimbursement, it is mandatory to keep and bring all your tickets and invoices, boarding passes and receipts (originals). Without these documents, traveling costs cannot be reimbursed.

Think Like Nature: Lifestyle With Alternative Sustainable Communities

Download infopack here: Think Like Nature – Spain – training course – Abroadship.org

Click to access Think-Like-Nature-Spain-v3.pdf

Think Like Nature is an intergenerational long-term project, with the scope to create a framework that would capture/involve/educate a person of all ages: from a three years old child to a pensioner, maximising the benefits of learning with the help of nature. Consequently, this project would offer three training courses, which would address three generational shifts in life, at the same time connecting the individual path through nature.

“Lifestyle with Alternative Sustainable Communities” training course in Catalonia, Spain is designed to experience and learn from the existing alternative sustainable communities in Spain in order for youth workers and youth leaders to create and run local community projects. The ultimate target group of this training are all ages, especially mature persons.

The ultimate goal of this project is to equip and inspire youth workers and outh leaders, educators, partners and other involved parties (especially communities) with a set of innovative methods and tools as part of the “Think Like Nature” framework, so that to develop competences, enhance work with target groups and further spread the non-formal methods. We want to deconstruct, reconstruct and test with the participants the framework, which is based on non-formal nature- and community- inclusive methods. This project is practical, based on real problems and needs, offerng competences and skills that are applicable and transferable in participant’s personal life and work with youth.

Objectives

• Raise the awareness of youth workers on the influence and importance of nature and outdoor activities as part of the education.
• Promote a non-formal nature-inclusive education as an important way to grow emotional and social intelligence, leading to self-development and stronger community sense.
• Equip participants with the new concepts, innovative tools and methods of “Think Like Nature” framework
• Facilitate discussions and activities to find out together methods, actions and events, which can boost youth’s self-awareness, self-esteem, self-development and consequently community development with the help of nature.
• Develop participants’ competences and skills in learning systems of collaborative consumption, co­-distribution, co-working, co-sharing and accompany them with practical examples when and where they can be used.
• Create a collaborative environment, where “Think Like Nature” framework will be both extensively discussed by participants, but also new projects to further deepen, develop or extend the topic be developed during and after the project.
• Meet the representatives of sustainable communties in Spain, find out about the context, aims and also processes of their projects and learn from their practical approaches

Who Should attend?

• You are above 18 years old and from one of the partner countries: UK, Romania, Spain, Lithuania, Italy, Malta, Turkey;
• You have a diverse background, which could be a source of inspiration for others;
• You are eager to gain new competences for your NGO in the field of sustainability, alternative models, personal and community development with the help of non-formal method application outdoors;
• You are youth educator, worker, project leader, facilitator, trainer, NGO representative, teacher, volunteer, staff member or other multipliers, who are already involved in non-formal youth education, outdoors education, environmental and community projects, and social work.
• You want to learn about alternative sustainable communities
• You seek to find new ways how to approach and motivate youth to be active and contribute to their community;
• You want to share experience and help others to see new perspective and opportunities in their environment;

Programme

DAY 1 (25 September): Arrival, Intro, getting to know each other, needs analysis, what is sustainability?

DAY 2 (26 September): Meeting and discovering Ca La Fou community

DAY 3 (27 September): Working together in Ca La Fou community

DAY 4 (28 September): Trip to Can Tonal

DAY 5 (29 September): Meeting and discovering Can Tonal community

DAY 6 (30 September): Helping community, Work party, celebration

DAY 7 (1 October): What is next?, follow-up projects, E+ and youthpass, closing

DAY 8 (2 October): Departure

Delivery Style

This project is based on non-formal education principles. The working methods will include presentations, expert input, case studies, working in pairs and small groups, team building activities, role plays, workshops, discussions and self-assessment.

Think Like Nature Team

Project initiated by:

• Martin Harrison (UK)
• Bhunesh napal (UK)
• Adrià Sonet (Spain)
• Eva Dumitrescu (Romania)
• Edward Gabriel Moise (Romania)
• Katlier Brigi (Romania)
• Justinas Brikys (UK).

Joined the project:

• Chris Wishard (UK)
• Ionut Badica (Romania)
• Claudian Dobos (Romania)

Trainers of this TC:

• Adria Sonet (Spain) – Trainer with broad experience in non-formal education. This passion comes from his background in the Scouts movement, first as a participant and later on as a mentor-coach for the last 6 years. His work includes design and management of English Summer Camps, volunteering in the reforestation project, facilitating ecology sessions in the alternative boarding school.
• Justinas Brikys (UK) – an entrepreneur and founder of Abroadship.org, a centre of learning through mobility, which is an applicant organisation of Think Like Nature project. He is based in London, lives on a boat and enjoys alternative lifestyle. Justinas is excited to transfer his passion for outdoors in the training course

Financial Costs

• 100% accommodation, food and program materials are covered by the grant from Erasmus+
• 80% traveling costs are covered, up to the maximum reimbursements:
  • €0/participant for Spain;
  • €275/participant for Italy, Hungary, Malta, UK, Romania
  • €360/participant for Lithuania, Turkey
• There is no participation fee.
• For traveling reimbursement, it is mandatory to keep and bring all your tickets and invoices, boarding passes and receipts (originals). Without these documents, traveling costs cannot be reimbursed.

Where

We will stay in two communities in the region of Catalonia:

• Calafou (2.5 hours train from Barcelona) (location here)
• Can Tonal (2.0 hours train from Barcelona) (location here)

You will have to bring your own mattress, sleeping bag and tent.

How to Get There

You will have to get to Barcelona (Spain) and take a 2 hours train to the Calafou community.

Please use skyscanner.net to find flights to Barcelona

Travel will be reimbursed only up to the limits (see Financial costs slide)

Traveling options must be confirmed at hello@abroadship.org prior to the purchase of tickets.

When to Get There

Arrival Day: 25 September

Programme: 25th September – 1st October

Departure Day: 2nd October

Allowed to stay in Spain days: You are allowed to come max 4 days before the TC or leave after max 4 days after the TC, but the total amount of the days that are not part of the programme is max 4 days (so it can be 2 days before and 2 days after for instance, in total 4 days). If you decide to stay more than 4 days longer than the official programme, you will have to cover the traveling expenses yourself. During these extra days, you have to find your own accommodation and no other expenses are covered

Practicals – What to Bring!

• Tent, mattress and sleeping bag is mandatory!
• Casual, warm and sports clothes for outdoor (take into consideration rainy weather);
• Small backpack (not necessary, but very practical for the outdoor activities);
• Comfortable walking shoes;
• Bring Passport, ID cards also works for EU citizens;
• Medicines;
• Towel and organic personal higiene products
• Sun hat, gloves and working clothes for the practical sessions
• Insurance – this is critical! Please bring European Health Card or Insure in other ways

Weather

The average daytime temperatures in the month of September are around 26°C, whereas the average minimum temperatures drop down to 17°C. The summer season in Catalonia generally lasts from June 22nd until September 19th.

Medicine, Allergies and Diet

If you have illness, physical limitations and/or use medicine we need to know about, please inform us. If you are vegetarian or have special diet, let us know, indicating what you can and cannot eat, so that we can arrange the suitable food.

How to Apply?

In order to apply for TC “Think Like Nature: Sustainability with Permaculture, you must be over 18 years old and a citizen of one of the partner countries. Please fill the application form: https://goo.gl/forms/IW8EliD3Bjy8svaV2. If you have a question in terms of application, please contact partner organisation:

What now?

Apply here: https://goo.gl/forms/IW8EliD3Bjy8svaV2

Contact

For information about practical matters, accommodation or how to get to the place, please contact

Abroadship.org at hello@abroadship.org