How we started
Our story, inspired by the chapters of the novel "The High Mountains"
of Zacharias Papantoniou
Chapter 4 of the novel
In 2013–14, during the first years of the crisis, at a time when most of their friends were emigrating abroad, a group of five young people decided to stay and settle in Demati, in Eastern Zagori, at an altitude of 1,020 meters. They chose to clear and reclaim the fields and terraces of their grandmothers and grandfathers, cultivate them, produce organic mountain products, and pursue a different, more beautiful and more livable way of life, like the one described in the novel by Zacharias Papantoniou, “The High Mountains”, from which they also borrowed their name.
Chapter 10 of the novel
Despite the adverse conditions, they tried to keep the village of seven permanent residents alive. They distributed any surplus products beyond their personal needs through a local exchange network or directly, without intermediaries.
Chapter 12 of the novel
Their presence led the village to function collectively, with a general assembly of residents. They welcomed supporters from all over Europe, while in the summer they hosted refugee children from the Katsikas camp. The TV program “To Antidrastirio” followed them to the 23rd Panhellenic Festival of Organic Agriculture and Handicrafts in Ioannina.
ERT3 feature in 2016. Program “Antidrastirio”, episode title: “The Power of the Community”
Chapter 69 of the novel
Since then, we’ve come a long way… We were disappointed many times and felt firsthand all the difficulties and challenges faced by anyone who tries to take the step toward decentralization and returning to village life. We came to understand that beyond the drive of romanticism, what is truly needed are infrastructure and solutions to fundamental issues. We met many people like us who faced the same obstacles. We realized that the revival of our villages will never become a reality if every young person who tries to settle there has to reinvent solutions to the problems they will face from scratch, or fight for them alone.
Chapter 27 of the novel
Thus, we decided that the Social Cooperative Enterprise we had originally founded with the aim of producing, processing, and selling mountain products needed to evolve into an organization capable of supporting the people who live, produce, and create in mountain villages - as well as those who wish to begin a new life in the high mountains.
Chapter 20 of the novel
And after all these years of experience, we have reached a point where - using networking, the Social and Solidarity Economy, and innovation as our tools, and equipped with new models of production and the methodology of Worth-living Integrated Development - we strive to create the conditions and prerequisites for a truly livable life in the thriving mountain communities of our future.