2 days trip: "Aromatic Weekend: Herbs, Art, Environment & Tradition" 1-2 of November 2025

🌿 Aromatic Weekend: Herbs, Art, Environment & Tradition 🌿

On November 1–2, 2025, our team enjoyed a wonderful weekend exploring the villages of Kalavasos, Choirokoitia, and Voroklini — a journey filled with creativity, nature, and community spirit! From discovering local art and herbal traditions to learning about village heritage and meeting inspiring locals, the trip offered moments of reflection, laughter, and connection. Together, we explored how culture, sustainability, and youth participation intertwine — and ended the weekend with new ideas, fresh inspiration, and lots of beautiful memories to share!

The trip took us to our first stop of the day, which was the village of Kalavasos, in the province of Larnaca. Starting off strong, the first spot we visited was the local art gallery, created by Michalis Mouzaras, the creator of the space. The art gallery is open air, in a garden, made up exclusively of stones. It is a beautiful sight to behold.

After this short visit, we came to our first workshop, titled “The Art of Herbs and Natural Products”. Hosted by Elsie Hadjipavli, as part of Gaia Olea, a small women-owned business who craft herbal skincare and wellness products, the workshop focused entirely on tea.

Ms Elsie explained how, often, while we eat a wide variety of vegetables every day, we rarely stop to think about the specific ways each plant benefits our health. There appears to be a common misconception that we need to consume large amounts of certain plants for them to have any real effect. In reality, this isn’t the case—just two or three cups of herbal tea, for example, can be enough to make a positive difference. There was also an emphasis that there is no need to wait until we are sick to consume natural remedies, but they can be used to support our wellbeing daily.

After introducing us to Herbal Reality, a good resourse online to understand traits of each plant, she gave us some tea and guided us through a mediation as we drank the tea.

Some of the statements she put where –

·       If this were a place, what kind of tea would it be?

·       Is the tea dry or more wet?

·       Does this tea remind you of a person?

·       Does it remind you of an experience?

·       What message or lesson does this tea have for you?

After the workshop by Elsie Hadjipavli, we had the opportunity to meet the Community Council President, Mr. Eleftherios Sozou. Serving since July 2024, he spoke about the long history of the village, from its roots in copper mining to the challenges it faces today. As he explained, the famous Kalavasos mines once played a central role in the area’s economy, even back then during ancient times.

He also shared some of the current issues facing Kalavasos, such as the lack of young people, the need for better infrastructure, and the importance of preserving the village’s heritage. Despite its dwindling population (especially when it comes to youth) he expressed a strong desire to establish a form of youth center, believing it could serve as a place for young residents and visitors alike to gather, learn, and connect with their community, however small it may be.

The last stop of the day, before going to our accommodation in Voroklini, was the “Basket Weaving Museum” in Choirokoitia. This was a private museum, operating for the past 10 years. Based in a traditional building, originally built in 1850, the place promotes the art of Cypriot basket weaving.

Visitors come from all over the world, even as far as America, to learn about this unique tradition. The museum also runs workshops and programs where guests can try weaving themselves. Today, only about five people in Cyprus still have the skillset to make baskets professionally.  As this place is also a restaurant, this place was in fact where the King Willem‑Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands visited for lunch during their visit to Cyprus in March this year.

Day 2 – 2 November 2025

After waking up and checking out from the hotel, our first stop was the offices of  Polychoros Voroklinis, this was where we hosted our dissemination for the following projects. A lot of participants, facilitators and stakeholders represent the programs that ACPELIA running at the moment as followed:

10.00 – 10.30: Παρουσίαση δράσεων, στόχων και μελλοντικών σχεδίων του οργανισμού.

Νέες ευκαιρίες για νέα διεθνή προγράμματα και τοπικές δράσεις. Πρόσκληση για συμμετοχή στα διετή προγράμματα που έχουν εγκριθεί:

·       KA210YOU: “GAMECHANGE: Innovative Board Games for Youth Engagement”, https://www.acpelia.org/post/gamechange-is-coming-to-cyprus Project started on September 2025 – completing the team 

·       KA210YOU: Digital NGOs Speaking Youth Language, SYL,  https://www.acpelia.org/post/ka210you-digital-ngos-speaking-youth-language-syl Project started on September 2025 completing the team

·       ERASMUS SPORTS: Project that Starts on January 2026 we didn’t created yet the team

·       GRYW: Gamifying Rural Youth Work Project that starts on NOVEMBER 2025 we didn’t created yet the team.

10.30 – 11.00: Δράσεις Προγραμμάτων σε τοπικό επίπεδο

·       KA154YOU: Roots – Παρουσιαση Στέλλα Κωμοδρόμου, Μαρίνος Ελευθερίου

·       ΚΑ210YOU: 🎭 Θεατρική Παράσταση «Α-ΟΡΑΤΟ» – Θέατρο Αισθήσεων. Παρουσιαση Ερμα Γεωργίου, Ειρήνη Χριστοφή, Κατερίνα Φαρμακίδου, ........... Link

·       KA210YOU: CREATIYOK παρουσίαση αποτελεσμάτων του προγράμματος από τους Erma Georgiou, Boghos Avetikian https://creatiyok.webnode.page/ 

11.00 – 12.00: Προγράμματα και διάχυση εμπειριών που έγιναν τους τελευταίους δύο μήνες:

·       YE Greenwood: Exploring New Path in Nature and Culture, Lithuania | 🗓️ July 10–16, 2025, https://www.acpelia.org/post/greenwood-exploring-new-path-in-nature-and-culture-lithuania-july-10-16-2025 Συμμετέχοντες: Effy Nikolaou, Loizos Selipas, Nikolas Angelides, Stavros Stavrinides, Anastasis Nicodemou, Maria Iakovoy, Natalia Frangoudi

·       Non-Formal Education for Inclusion of Youths with Disabilities in Community Activities, PDA, Iasi, Romania/24 - 30 of August 2025, https://www.acpelia.org/post/art-id-pda-porto-portugal-13-19-of-june-2025-1 Συμμετέχοντες: Boghos Avetikian, Stavros Stavrinides, Eirini Christofi, Charalampos Chatzikonstanti, Chrysanthos Georgiou

Youth Exchange in Italy – “Earth Food: A Taste of the Mediterranean”, 3–13 October 2025, https://www.acpelia.org/post/youth-exchange-in-italy-earth-food-a-taste-of-the-mediterranean-5-14-september-2025 Συμμετέχοντες: Artemis Michaelidou, Prokopis Prokopa, Kalliopi Christofi, Sofia Kousioumi, Nicholas Loizou, Panagiota Christofi

·       “Step Out of Your Comfort Zone Mentally: Embrace the Unknown.” MENTAL COMFORT, YE in Cyprus/12.10-19.10.2025, https://www.acpelia.org/post/step-out-of-your-comfort-zone-mentally-embrace-the-unknown-mental-comfort-ye-in-cyprus-12-10-19 Συμμετέχοντες: Lambidona Stylianou, Raphaela Nicolaou, Assad Mariam PDA, Erma Georgiou, Boghos Avetikian, Gita Vaskelyte. 

·       (UN)Plugged, SOFIA, Bulgaria, 14 to 22 of October 2025, https://www.acpelia.org/post/pda-un-plugged-sofia-bulgaria-14-to-22-of-october-2025 Συμμετέχοντες: Despina Georgiou, Stelios Economou.

·       YE MYTHS AND FACTS: Unveiling the Truth, Pissouri, Limassol, Cyprus, 19–27 October 2025, https://www.acpelia.org/post/ye-myths-and-facts-unveiling-the-truth-pissouri-limassol-cyprus-19-27-october-2025 Συμμετέχοντες: Michalis Chatzimarkou, Raphaela Nicolaou, Panagiotis Ioannou, Apostolia Analyti Vaskelyte, Sari Orabi, Eryne Hully, Erma Georgiou, Boghos Avetikian, Gita Vaskelyte. 

 Right after we headed to the Flamingo spot in Voroklini lake. This was where Marinos Eleftheriou explained all about how during winter months, the lake fills with water and becomes home to hundreds of flamingos that arrive to feed and rest on their migratory journey. Interestingly, dyring the colonial airport, this place was used as a temporary airstrip, and its still visitable on Google Maps. Using binoculars, we had a good look at the flamingos.

As for the last activity and based on everything we did in these two days, we split into groups, and brainstorm what kind of youth initiatives we would like in rural areas, such as Oroklini, Chirokitia, and Kalavasos in order to improve them. All these areas face challenges when it comes to engaging young people, as they lack youth centers or organized spaces where young people can gather, express themselves, and take part in meaningful activities. Some participants presented how we could establish multifunctional youth hubs, organizing cultural and environmental projects and even weekly mini concerts.

To finish off, we, of course, enjoyed some traditional Cypriot lunch.

Over the weekend of 1–2 November 2025, our team embarked on a memorable two-day excursion through the villages of Kalavasos, Choirokoitia and Voroklini. We immersed ourselves in local culture by participating in a traditional basket-weaving workshop, exploring an open-air stone art gallery, and enjoying a hands-on herb workshop that awakened our senses. We also engaged with community leaders and paused by tranquil landscapes — from the lakeside of Voroklini to serene nature moments aimed at reconnecting with self and environment. The weekend combined creativity, nature-loving mindfulness and meaningful conversation, leaving us inspired and eager to carry forward what we experienced into our youth-empowerment work.