The training course in Ramales de la Victoria
If the name caught your eye, you’re not the only one. This rather special training program, financed by Erasmus plus, took place in a camping site near the village of Ramales de la Victoria in the region of Cantabria, Spain. With the support of Association Strive! the two of us left Zagreb on the first day of October and set out on the road. Soon enough, we would meet other participants, who, much to our joy, came from all over Europe – given the number of participants per organization limited at only two, there were 10+ countries involved in the project. Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, France, Italy, Netherlands, Lithuania, Estonia, Czech Republic, Portugal, us and our Spanish hosts, along with the newly arrived volunteer from Malta, made for a very jolly, albeit miscellaneous group.
The local organization Permacultura Cantabria went out of its way to help us all manage there. The subject of this particular training course was how to make youth initiative projects sustainable and our days were filled with visits to professional examples of it, such as local farms, factories, tourist and cultural agencies. We got to try the special dough that was produced in a national factory for generations and was passed on as a family legacy; feed the calves on a farm, who seemed to mostly like our fingers (no, it doesn’t hurt, it just tickles a lot), and, undeniably the most popular one, listen to a lovely British lady talk about her alpaca business and getting to pet and walk them (they are actually pretty stubborn).
A professional ‘Dragon dreaming’ trainer and university professor came to coach us, where we got to learn about the Aboriginal origins of this approach, practice our organizational skills and get familiar with the process. A lot of this had to do with facing our weaknesses and getting acquainted with the practice of Pinakarri, a sort of ‘deeper listening’ and group understanding, somewhat similar to meditation, but done exclusively in groups in order to reach the collective goal. We all got a personal quote to present, apply and remind ourselves and others in the time of need; our coach Julia had us divided into groups of Dreamers, Planners, Doers and Celebrators, and then all of those mixed again in making a hypothetical project come to life. Workshops were mostly held in the morning, while afternoons were dedicated to us getting to know each other.
Through country and organization representations Filip and I set a standard for everyone else to make their own country quizzes as well (or so we like to think), while a Frenchman Leo made us all test our endurance and knees while hiking through stunning hills Cantabria is known for. We managed to squeeze in a visit to two of the many caves found there, several of them preserving some of the earliest prehistoric drawings known to mankind, and even wet our feet in the wavy Atlantic ocean, enjoying the sunny weather and sandy beaches.
We like to think we made our fair share at making the project a fun and productive one. From proudly presenting our countries and organizations, to eating each other’s national candy and dancing it out, we hit it off with other participants and made them promise to come to Croatia. Not to brag, but we championed all of each country’s respective quizzes. Filip got everyone hooked on Foot Twister, which we played relentlessly during breaks; the following picture shows what happens after several circles – the infamous knot where you don’t know whose foot is whose and where, but hey, that particular time we kicked all the boys out.
We came back eager to apply the newly learned skills, even receiving a written guide for more details. Cantabria will remain in our memory as a place of great company, lots of sunny and rainy hills, full of caves, cows, goats and us trying to manage through its rocky roads on our even rockier Spanish. Thank you so much for this opportunity.
Participants: Filip Koprčina and Matea Irena Majstorović
Written by: Matea Irena Majstorović
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