The association FILOXENIA – Intercultural-Environmental Organization – was founded in 1995. It combines many years of intercultural experience with educational work in the fields of ecology, history and politics.
FILOXENIA participated in numerous European and national programs and youth trainings and provided know-how transfer and support for youth structures in Greece.
The association is based in the rural mountain community of Kryoneri Korinthias, to the southwest of Corinth. There is also the hostel and conference house “Elisson” located, where international work camps and seminars take place.
Kryoneri became internationally known when residents of the village where honored as “Righteous Among the Nations” by the Israeli Embassy in 2018. During the German occupation, villagers hid a Jewish family from Athens in their houses and in a nearby cave. FILOXENIA has set itself the task of remembering this history and has reopened the access to the cave via hiking trails.
Important to mention is the well connected lively village community. There is a cultural association, a youth club, an olive oil cooperation and a variety of activities, such as mountain biking for children and youngsters in the area.
Activities for Volunteers:
Development of the Website “Memory Alive”
Documenting the Role of the Greek Resistance in Rescuing Jews during the German Occupation 1941-1944
Maintenance of hiking trails in the area leading to the cave where a Jewish family was hidden in 1943-1944
Digitization of the village archive
Support of FILOXENIA and the hostel “Elisson” (in terms of content and housekeeping activities)
Work in the youth club
Community work – participation in events
Requirements:
The inhabitants of the village are really friendly and open-minded, so the volunteer should be communicative and not shy about meeting new people. The work with FILOXENIA can be manifol. The association is small and does not have a lot of members, which is why a lot of activities happen on a voluntary basis.
The volunteer should be practically oriented, enjoy landscaping and housekeeping activities and at the same time be interested in educational programs and content development.
Hi :))
Report by the ASF volunteer Renée Ziegler who is working in Kryoneri (01.09.24-31.08.25)
Kryoneri and the surrounding area has a lot to offer in terms of landscape and nature, which after 19 years of living in Berlin was a very pleasant and calming change from the usually stressful and hectic everyday life of a big city. The village is beautiful, not exactly big with around 900 inhabitants, but it has everything you need: a minimarket, two taverns, a pharmacy, a bakery, a café and a lot of events and cultural activities you can participate in.
In Kryoneri I suppored FILOXENIA, a historically, politically and ecologically active organization. FILOXENIA also hosts national and international youth exchanges where I supported the planning and structuring when needed.
Whenever there were no seminars or groups that we had to support, I worked in the office or helped in the hostel that hosted the groups. In the office we concentrated mainly on video editing, which had been surprisingly fun. Apart from that, we also took care of FILOXENIA’s websites by keeping them up to date or doing aesthetic changes which had been our main focus during the winter. At the hostel, we usually helped with cleaning and tidying up after the groups haf left. We also had our own project throughout the year, which was a cook book I did together with Anais.
In the evenings I had tandem sessions with various people from the village, most of whom are children between the ages of 9 and 14. I would meet up with one of them for an hour a week and we would play games, talk or do little exercises with the aim of exchanging languages. It was a great way to get to know more people from Kryoneri.
Throughout the year I had a lot of memorable experiences. One of them for sure was the olive harvest end of 2024 where we supported the local farmers during the harvesting season. When you’re not from The countryside this is something you can’t experience that easily so I was very thankful that the farmers let us come along for the harvest. Also it was very fulfilling to work physically because at the end of the day you could see and feel what you had achieved. Another beautiful experience was the “Act Green” youth exchange with young people from all over Europe where I made some really good friends.
Generally every exchange where I had the opportunity to meet new people was very special because I could exchange experiences, political views and could learn a lot about other cultures and realities of life. On top of that, each exchange offered a new perspective on topics like feminism or anti discrimination which as a result taught me to be more open minded and curious towards others.
I also had the chance to participate in the cultural week of Kryoneri, where different kinds of activities that the village has to offer get presented every year. I was part of the dance group that performed traditional greek dance that we had practiced for multiple months. By that I could experience a part of the greek culture very near which was definitely one of my highlights. Of course I also got to see a lot of different places in Greece by traveling or doing day trips with FILOXENIA.
Because I lived and worked together with other volunteers, I could learn a lot about how to navigate a household and workspace in a practical and cooperative way, how to solve conflicts and how to motivate myself and others.
I am more than grateful that I had the opportunity to experience this year full of culture, new people and a life that was way different from what I knew before. I felt welcome from the beginning till the end and hope I could also give something to the community of Kryoneri.
Now have fun with Anais report :))
Here it comes!
Report by the ASF volunteer Anais Sakka-Camelin who is working in Kryoneri (01.09.24-31.08.25)
In Kryoneri, our work mainly revolves around the FILOXENIA organisation. We support and accompany their youth exchanges, which mostly deal with political and social issues. The nice thing about working here is also our environment, because we interact with young and open-minded individuals. When there are no exchanges taking place, we either work in the once and create videos, edit websites, and translate small articles, or we help with the olive harvest and support the village community. Personally, I really enjoy the harvest! It’s so interesting to be able to participate in something like this, especially if you come from a big city. You learn a lot about physical labour, which I’d had very little contact with before.
Our accommodation is not far from our workplace, which has some advantages, especially in winter when it’s cold and you want to be outside as little as possible. Our house is very big, so it’s easy to fit two ore three people in there. Kryoneri itself is beautiful. With wide panoramic views and great hiking trails, it’s a pleasant change from Berlin. The village is quite small, but very cosy. It has a café, a mini-market, a pharmacy and three tavernas with delicious food.
In the last 5 months the small village was buzzing with new people from all over Europe again. Just as we did during late autumn, Renée and I started working with them. During different projects, we learned various new things, from how school systems work in Greece to what civil courage means. I enjoyed all the new experiences a lot, especially after the long and slow-paced winter. These programs gave me the opportunity to dive into topics that I would have otherwise never heard off and meet a lot of people that I am still in contact with to this day. Through collecting several vacation days, we also had a lot of free time that I used to go on trips with Renée and my family, savoring the good weather, Sea, and Food that Greece has to offer.
A highlight was a youth exchange that we accompanied was on the subject of film. The idea was for young people from the Bavarian young film scene and film-interested youth from Greece to come together, share their cultures and get to know each other while working together on a short film. It was so exciting accompanying the filming team, watching them and helping them in their work. We were able to be a part of all stages of the film and learn something from each category: music, acting, filming and editing. I was also able to learn something about working under extreme time pressure and remaining flexible, as well as how to communicate with people from different backgrounds.
Another youth exchange was about the so-called ‘memory trails’. These were historically linked to the rescue of a Jewish family who found refuge in Kryoneri during the Second World War. For a month, we worked our way up to the cave where this family was hiding with 10 other volunteers so that anyone interested could walk along this path. The project was also set up to bring people from different cultures together. We had two people each from Spain, Italy, Turkey, Austria and Finland, which meant that Renée and I came into contact with lots of different people. Halfway through the project, we had already done a lot of work. After we finished the path to the cave, another path was started to the old mill, which played an important role during the Second World War too, by feeding the people of the village when all other food sources were scarce. It was really nice seeing the progress we made every day and how the work became less tiring day by day. We (Renée and I) were also given the task of filming the process and making a short video at the end of the month. The recording and photographing was a lot of fun and gave me a better understanding of how to film and edit properly. It was something completely new for me, but I really enjoyed it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQkbJWZo47A
One of the most significant experiences for me was the cultural week. Because of my participation in both the theatrical and dance groups of Kryoneri, I worked hard towards this week for several months, but in the end, it was worth it, because it couldn’t have gone any better. The performances that we did all went amazing and I had a tremendous amount of fun on the stage. I felt connected not only to the Greek culture, but to this village specifically.I am really happy that I had the chance to meet and work with all these amazing people in Kryoneri.
This voluntary year opened my horizon a lot and made me grow into a person with a completely new set of aspirations and hopes for the future. I am truly grateful for everything that I learned through this experience.
Anais Sakka- Camelin
Report by the ASF volunteers Anne Dahlhoff and Leon Kesper who are working in Kryoneri (1.09.22-31.08.23):
ένα θερμό χαιρετισμό
A warm welcome – That’s how it felt for Leon and me when we first arrived in Kryoneri. Not only by the summer temperatures, but also by the people and the environment. Leon (18) is from Dortmund. My name is Anne (18) and I am from Essen, Germany. Together we are in Greece with the German organization Aktion Sühnezeichen Friedensdienste (ASF). ASF also calls their voluntary services “peace services”. Their work is based on solidarity with their partners in Europe, USA, Israel and Great Britain. They support peace and respect for human rights.
Here in Kryoneri, we work together with the Organisation „FILOXENIA“, that has many years of intercultural experience in educational work in the fields of ecology, history and politics.
Leon and I have a project based on Memory. During the nationalism, a Jewish family was hid in Kryoneri by the community. Every time German soldiers came to the village, the family hid in a cave nearby. Today, tourists can visit the cave. Leon and I guide them through the mountains and beautiful hiking trails to the cave. Clara, a short term volunteer and I were able to join a hiking group from Corinth for a day hike in the bush. The people were open-minded and fun to be around.
In the morning, we usually work in the office on different topics. Together, we improved the Matsani Website, which represents the village itself. We translated the greek information into an English version. Therefore, the website becomes more transparent for a wider audience. Leon also works together with an IT Expert and updates the website regularly.
Additionally, we use the time in the morning to prepare activities and games for the youth in the village. I created games, which are played in our weekly Tandem lessons. Every Tuesday and Thursday, teenagers between 12 and 14 come to the Youth Center to learn English and German. At the same time, we can improve our greek skills.
Furthermore, we painted the stairs at the office as well as old cupboards. Although we had some challenging moments, we enjoyed the variety and distraction. In the end, we were proud of the results and can now walk our own painted stairs every day. As a group, we restored and painted the school walls. Leon did graffiti and Clara and I repainted old drawings.
At the beginning of November, we helped an acquaintance of the village with the olive harvest. It was interesting to learn about the harvesting process and the hard work involved, as well as about the problems caused by climate change. We were exhausted after two days of work. Depending on how many olives can be harvested, the workers need several weeks. At the end we tasted fresh olive oil itself, with bread and a good pinch of salt.
Max, another long term volunteer in Kryoneri and I give standard dance lessons once a week. Max is the experienced one and I always learn the dances just before the next lesson. I always wanted to learn standard dance, and now I can learn and teach at the same time. I also offer table tennis once a week. This is also fun for me, because I can be active myself and connect with more people from the village.
Leon has soccer training twice a week with local team called Aetos Kryoneri. There, he gets to know many young people from the village and can improve his language skills. On the weekend, he always has a game. So far, they have always been friendly matches, and in mid-November the real season starts. Leon and I go to Pilates and Aerobic twice a week together with the other volunteers. Our Trainer Anna is excellent at her job and knows how to push us to our physical limit. Most of the time we have sore muscles on the following days, but we enjoy it anyway.
In our free time we normally try to do trips around the country, relax on the veranda, sing and dance together, play chess, watch a movie together or spend an evening at the local tavern.
At the beginning of our time we had greek lessons once a week with the president of FILOXENIA, Katerina, and now continue practicing with a local every Wednesday during office work. Panos, the manager and general person in charge as well as Sia, our mentor, help us with our program and always try to get the best out of us.
We are very thankful for the experiences we made so far and are looking forward to upcoming projects, interesting encounters and unforgettable experiences.
Report by the first ASF volunteer Marlene who is working in Kryoneri (1.09.21-31.08.22):
An important concern of FILOXENIA is that this story shouldn’t be forgotten and that it should receive more attention outside the region, on which my activities are based to a large extent. The main task of my voluntary service is to develop the websites “Matsani” and “Memory Alive”, on which I document the history of the village and the civil courage of the villagers.
In order to obtain the necessary information, I have access to different text sources and also the great opportunity to speak with contemporary witnesses or their descendants. Most of the time I work independently but I can always contact the person in charge if I have any questions.
During the first two months, I mainly worked on small translations on the website “Matsani”, which represents Kryoneri as a whole village with all leisure activities, clubs and restaurants.
At the moment, my focus is on capturing Kryoneri’s moving story and its background on this website. In the course of the year, I will also report on various projects in which volunteers deal with the occupation in Greece.
Another part of my service is the digitization of the village archive, which contains documents that are more than 100 years old. And I also take care of the development and maintenance of the hiking trails that lead to the cave where the Kamhi family hid temporarily.
Almost every day I meet the youngsters from the region– in groups of two, we exchange cultural differences and everyday situations in English, German or Greek and learn languages in a playful way together. A “language tandem encounter” takes about an hour and is prepared by me.
In addition, I plan various leisure activities and events for young and old inhabitants of Kryoneri together with other volunteers.
In Kryoneri there are regular international exchange projects, which intensively liven up the village and are a cultural enrichment. The Hostel Elisson is an important place of contact for volunteers and offers space for encounters of all kinds. My colleagues and I also stay here.
Now during the summer my everyday life changes a bit. Besides working in the office, I spend a lot of time with the groups and youth exchange programs that come to Kryoneri. Most of the time this is connected with showing them the Karamanos Cave or talking to them about historical and cultural topics. I am looking forward to every new group that arrives because I get to know the most different people and it always remains varied. Apart from that, the other volunteers and I offer various leisure activities for the young people from the village, such as painting a wall, tie dying or different kind of sports.
During my free time I really enjoy to swim in the Gulf of Corinth or to explore Greece.”
In cooperation with:
