„Eco entrepreneurship“ training course
„Eco entrepreneurship“ training course was held from the 23rd till the 31st of May 2022. in Thessaloniki, Greece. It being the last part of the amazing three-part project „Sew the future“ this group of young and eager Croatians already had high expectations for it going in. What we didn't know was just how much it would exceed our expectations.
During this project we had the opportunity to expand our knowledge about sustainability and ecological issues that we gathered during the last two installments of the „Sew the future“ project held in Poland and Croatia. Along with participants from Greece, Poland and Italy, we learned how to go about setting up our own ecological businesses and promoting our products.
Every day was filled with incredibly fun activities such as SWOT analysis of our entrepreneurships, learning about how to brand our ideas and role play.
We even had a study visit to the incredible Naomi workshop in Thessaloniki where we had a chance to meet some of the amazing refugees working there and to buy their handmade, sustainable products. We also visited a gorgeous little sustainable grocery/ coffee shop that supported small local green businesses by selling their sustainably made products.
This project really helped our creativity and pushed us towards innovation through activities such as business cafe and design for sustainability. We also had complex debates about sustainability and the transition towards climate neutrality that pushed us to analyse our own impact on the environment. We also researched and presented our countries policies and opportunities regarding eco entrepreneurship and funding towards green businesses.
Even though some of the activities were maybe challenging we never felt strained due to the amazing hospitality and planning by the hosting organisation. During every activity we not only learned about new and interesting topics, but bonded with our fellow participants. Through several team building activities and ice breaking games we managed to completely relax and form lifelong friendships with each other. We learned a lot about each other's culture, including Greek dances, Polish games and Italian gesticulation. We also expanded our palate by trying different and delicious foods from participating countries during intercultural night.
This project with its informative and fun activities about eco entrepreneurship was one of the best experiences in our lives. In combination with the incredible hospitality and friendliness of the Greeks, the beauty of Thessaloniki it is safe to say we will remember this project fondly for the rest of our lives and forever be grateful for the experience we got and lifelong friends we made.