ECO-BUILDING A BETTER WORLD | ERASMUS+ 2015

1-10 September 2015 – Tramonti (Amalfi Coast – Italy)

“Eco-building a better world” is a training course organized by ACARBIO within Erasmus+ programme, that brought together 34 young leaders and youth workers active in 16 organizations from different countries (Europe, Eastern Europe and Caucasus, Mediterranean) for 9 days (1-10 September 2015) in Tramonti (Amalfi Coast), to exchange ideas and experiences, to develop their skills and working methods and to launch a lasting partnership that will enable them to plan and implement programs to raise awareness about “green homes” and sustainable development programs targeted to youth and citizens of their countries.

The main aim of the project was to improve the quality of youth work by exploring non-formal learning approaches connected to eco-buildings, as well as learning by doing approaches, developing their competences and strengthen the connection with the environment and the local community.

This training course was divided in 3 blocks of activities, one of which was based on a Learning by Doing approach. In fact participants were engaged in the transformation of an already existent but neglected barn, into an eco-building with efficient energy consumption and thermal insulation, using healthy and natural materials such as straw, clay, canes and wood. In the future this building is set to become a place for educational activities and workshops about local sustainability for young people as it will be a standing demonstration, open to everyone, of what is an eco-building and why it is important to follow this good practice.

The objectives of the project were:

– Exchange ideas, experiences, knowledge and good practices among the participants coming from different countries about the topic of eco-building and on the education of youth on sustainable development

– Raise awareness on youth workers on the necessity to educate young people about the value of eco-building and its impact on the environment

– Enable young leaders and youth workers to acquire new skills and techniques through practical and real experience, raising the awareness about the impact of our lifestyles on the natural resources and our planet as a whole, to promote greener life styles by applying innovative methods and to let them transfer their experience in their communities

– Equip participants with knowledge on how to design and implement good quality NFL activities for youth through eco-building activities and giving them the chance to develop skills on implementing such activities (by designing and facilitating such activities for other participants and local youngsters during the training).

– Develop concrete ideas on how the experience from this training course could be applied in the local youth work realities – planning of the follow-up steps and activities.

By the end of the project, participants developed new knowledges about eco-buildings, both theoretical and practical. They learned how to use straw bales for insulation, how make a natural mixture for plastering (clay, sand, lime), how to build a biodigester to produce biogas from organic waste.
They also learned how this know-how could be transferred in their day to day activity with young people and in the implementation of new projects on the topic. This result was achieved also with the creation of a guide on “Education on Eco-home”.