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 :))
Midterm 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 is a very pleasant and calming change from the usually stressful and hectic everyday life of the 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 and, most importantly, a café with a cappuccino for just €1.80. But what I like most is the view from the village. You can see all the way to Corinth, both gulfs connected by the Corinth Canal and the big mountains of the Peloponnese and the great mainland on the other side of the Gulf of Corinth. I hope I never get used to the view so that I’m amazed every time.
Work in the office and hostel
Here in the village, we support the organization FILOXENIA, which is historically, politically and ecologically active. They also host youth exchanges where we help to organize it. Whenever there are no seminars or groups that we are supporting, we work in the office or help in the hostel. The last few months we have been concentrating mainly on video editing, which has been surprisingly fun. Apart from that, we also take care of FILOXENIA’s websites by keeping them up to date or making aesthetic changes. We haven’t done much of this so far and it will probably be our main focus during the winter. At the hostel, we usually help with cleaning and tidying up after the groups have left. We’re also supposed to start our own project throughout the year, which I’ll be doing more of in the winter.
n the evenings on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, I have tandem sessions with various people from the village, most of whom are children between the ages of 9 and 14. I meet up with one of the children for an hour a week and we play games, talk or do little exercises with the aim of exchanging languages, where the children learn English and I learn Greek. It’s a lot of fun, even if it sometimes gets a bit late in the evening. Apart from that, it’s great to get to know more people from Kryoneri.
“Remembrance Trails” – Memorial work with hiking trails
My first project at FILOXENIA was “Remembrance Trails”. A group of 10 young adults, two from each European country, came for a month and helped FILOXENIA to maintain and develop hiking trails around Kryoneri because FILOXENIA has dedicated itself to maintaining those hiking trails as a sign of remembrance. So every day, equipped with tools such as chainsaws, large shears and hoes, we squeezed into the back of a pickup truck and drove to the hiking trail to make sure that it was properly passable and easily recognizable again. It was definitely physically challenging, but also a lot of fun. It was nice to work outside and feel like you’d really achieved something when you saw how far you’d come at the end of the day. Apart from the hiking trail to the cave, we also maintained other paths or places important to the village, and once we even cleared a completely new hiking trail. The group was great fun and we often played cards in the evenings. During the whole time, Anais and I had a side project to film the work on the trails and later edit it into a video for the European Solidarity Corps.
Here the link to the video: “Remembrance Trails” 4th round (Sept. – Oct. 2024)
Olive harvest
The olive harvest has been taking place for a few weeks now and all the families with olive groves drive to their olive groves to collect the olives and then take them to the olive mill. There the olives are then processed into olive oil. We were also allowed to help with the olive harvest for about two weeks, which was a very special experience for me. Especially when you come from a big city, it’s something you don’t get to experience that easily, which makes it all the more fulfilling. It was really nice to learn how the traditional olive harvest works, also because up to that point I had no idea what it involved.
Large nets are spread out under the olive trees and everyone grabs a tool. Either an electric one (which is quite noisy in the long run), with which the olives are shaken off, or a kind of rake, with which the olives are “combed” from the branches. When there are enough olives on the nets, they are taken to a machine where they are separated from larger branches, leaves or stones and then filled into containers for transportation. It was amazing how well coordinated the team, a group of 5-7 people, was and how quickly everything went through. We didn’t have to talk much and it was a pleasant flow of work that I got into very quickly. Working outside among the olive trees and the beautiful view over the gorge was relaxing and almost meditative. The harvest usually took around eight hours and at the end we had boxes and sacks full of freshly harvested olives. Once, out of interest, I calculated how much we had harvested and came up with around 1700 kg, although I don’t even think that was our record…
At the end of the day, we were always very exhausted, even though the work itself wasn’t that hard. Nevertheless, it was a great feeling because you knew exactly what you had achieved. It was a lot of fun and the people were really nice and open. To top it all off, at the end of the harvest we were given a 1.5-liter bottle of freshly pressed olive oil, which we now always use for cooking. The taste is really incredibly good and nothing like the olive oil from the supermarket.
Wishes for the next months
In the coming months, I hope that I can make use of my free time in a more diverse way and pursue my hobbies more. I also want to see more of the country. So far I’ve been to Patras, Corinth, Nafplio and a few other small villages, and just recently to Chania in Crete! I hope to visit some of the islands in Greece this summer. I also really want to focus more on learning Greek so that I can have everyday conversations in Greek by the end of the year. I also hope to make more new contacts with people from the village and people my age.
Now have fun with Anais report :))
Here it comes!
Midterm report by the ASF volunteer Anais Sakka-Camelin who is working in Kryoneri (01.09.24-31.08.25)
My work and everyday life:
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.
My accommodation in the village:
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 people in there, or usually three, because there’s a good chance that another volunteer will be living there for a longer period of time. 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.
Highlights of the 3 months in Greece:
‘Memory trails’
The first project that my housemate and I took part in 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
‘Youth exchange on the subject film making’
Another 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.
As the task already suggests, it was a complicated process in which many ideas from different people came together. There was also the language barrier, which caused problems on more than one occasion.
The first two days left me feeling exhausted. There were big disagreements in our group about what theme we should portray in general, what the characters should be like and who should be cast. But from the third day onwards, everything suddenly changed. After the constant arguments about the plot and the roles, we finally had to make a decision because there simply wasn’t enough time. Suddenly, within 2-3 hours, everyone had found their place and we were able to start filming. The Bavarian team had brought various high-quality film equipment, which made the whole shooting process much more professional and interesting. From then on, we were caught up in an exciting process.
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.
The whole week was a great experience where I was able to learn something not only about filmmaking, but also about working under extreme time pressure and remaining flexible, as well as how to communicate with people from different backgrounds.
Wishes for the future:
I intend to improve my Greek even more, which means that I have to be more proactive in finding a suitable teacher for myself. I also hope that I will be able to explore our region with Renée. We have already travelled a few times and I would like to get to know Greece a little bit more. As far as my job is concerned, I hope that I can continue to support the olive harvest and also be introduced more deeply to editing websites.
To the next report!
Enjoy reading :))
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:
