Rural Europe on the move English_chapt1_6 | Page 26

CHAPTER 2
Karditsa -
An Ecosystem
of Collaboration
The Karditsa Development Agency
ANKA, our host of the gathering, was
formed back in 1989. Its aim was
to create a lively and strong social
economy. From the beginning, it
included an ‘incubator’, a space to
host and support innovative local or traders, for example. Together sports, social care, activities against
initiatives in all sorts of areas, from they develop and implement a exclusion and discrimination,
farming to finance. The ‘incubator common strategy for the future of theatre and culture. In farming, the
concept’ is pretty hip nowadays the area and its social economy. ‘Ecosystem’ is active in the production
and you see such ideas all over the They develop mutual support tools of milk, cereals, tomato, snails, honey,
place, but at that time it was really to enable the emergence of new tobacco, legumes, stevia, superfoods,
something new. collective initiatives offered by the grapes and forest products, wine,
‘incubator’. Today, ANKA’s incubator spirits, wood pellets, fruit jams and
collaborative spirit. ANKA is also supports or hosts over 15 collective sweeteners made from stevia. It
managing local action groups (LAGs) schemes: 2 civic cooperatives, 5 also offers farm extension services,
of the EU LEADER programme for the agricultural cooperatives, 3 social fertilisers and seeds. More than
region. cooperatives, 3 networks of small, 5.000 citizens participate in 230 local
family-run businesses and 2 NGOs. associations, acting mainly in villages,
is a local network that links these The Ecosystem of Collaboration organised in a Union on a prefecture
collaborative initiatives. Members of includes 36 collective schemes in level. The Ecosystem offers 105
the ecosystem are complementary to total. Impressively, during the financial permanent and 68 seasonal jobs. Its
one another, each with an awareness crisis, the establishment of local turnover is €65 million.
of the work of other individuals initiatives actually accelerated.
It was about fostering a
The Ecosystem of Collaboration
and groups in the network. Each
In Karditsa more than 11.000 citizens
member engages preferentially with participate in Social Cooperative
other members of the ecosystem, Enterprises (KoinSEp) The cooperative
rather than with external banks bank offers support for rural tourism,
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4. Field trip to Oikosfaira, an organic farm and a
socially embedded initiative
5. 6. Meeting with “Roma without borders”,
member NGO of the Karditsa Ecosystem