NATURE CALLING
Nature that RE:connects us
Kuterevo Bear Refuge, 11th till 21st of May 2016
Nature is looking for 24 young people from Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina (6 from each country) interested in a 10-day youth exchange which will take place in Kuterevo, a village situated on the north-east slope of the Mountain Velebit.
Our only planet is being challenged by the industrial civilization and capitalistic system. Our society is constantly facing some kind of crisis – financial, social, environmental, energy, food – just to name the most pressing ones. Climate crisis is being the biggest challenge, because it affects lives everywhere and threatens the survival of many species, including humans. Additionally, the social climate in Balkan countries has not been stable. Although we live in a time of big crisis, a life-affirming, creative and sustainable future is possible. Such a future depends on a radical transformation of both the individual and our society.
The main idea of this youth exchange is about reconnecting with nature inside us and around us. Kuterevo Refuge is the perfect place for healing disconnectedness between people and nature, since bears can help us to reconnect with wilderness. In the same time, we are aiming at healing social alienation and disconnection and hopefully inspire each other to build another world…
During this gathering, we will be…
…exploring the meaning and practise of coexistence with nature in rural areas,
…getting to know the local community, customs, tradition and lifestyle, and living with seasons,
…learning about and from wilderness (orientation, edible and medicinal plants, tracks…),
…tribalism and music from nature
…deepening awareness of the richness and diversity of life outside ourselves
…reflecting on ecological dimension of our identity
…enjoying, having fun and much more 
The program will be diverse and intensive, since we will be having sessions in the morning and afternoon, but also evening activities.
WHAT IS A YOUTH EXCHANGE?
A Youth Exchange in the frame of the Erasmus+ Program is a project which brings together groups of young people from two or more countries providing them an opportunity to confront and discuss various themes while learning about each other’s countries, peoples and cultures. Youth exchanges give young people the opportunity to become active, involved, creative, and critical, to learn from each other, to learn about and challenge themselves, to make mistakes and learn from them, to experience diversity in small…
LOCATION & CONDITIONS
Kuterevo is a small village of approximately 550 habitants in Velebit. It is situated between the seaside and the Velebit Mountains. It is 30 km from Senj a beautiful city on the seaside; 60 km from the Plitvice lakes national park and only 10 km from the national park Northern Velebit. Kuterevo is extended on a 6 km strip of valley.
The group will stay in wooden house located in the Refuge for bears and people. The house used to be a hayloft and is today used for groups. There are only two big spaces for sleeping, so no privacy. Cooking will be done together and with help of a Kuterevo woman. All meals will be vegan with vegetarian option.
REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPANTS:
Each partner organisation will choose 6 participants, among which one will be a group leader. Previous experience in international youth gatherings (exchanges, seminars, workcamps…) is not required nor advantage, but here are several points which will be taken into account:
be interested in topics and willing to get prepared before the youth exchange
be willing to disconnected virtually, but connected naturally
be willing to live sustainably and in an international community in a remote place for 10 days
be ready to actively participate and contribute
be aged between 18 and 30 (few exceptions possible for young people under 18)
PRACTICAL CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION
accommodation and food will be covered, including group trips/excursions during the program
visa costs will be fully covered
travel costs (only environmentally friendly means of transport) will be reimbursed after ALL ORIGINAL tickets have been received by the organizer
internet will not be available, except for urgent (really urgent and important) cases, so if you are supposed to write your thesis or cannot survive without Facebook, please consider applying some other time
This exchange is part of the project Nature that (re)connects us, within which we already met in the Sharr Mounatins (Kosovo) in November last year. More about that and other wild youth exchanges organized with the support of Erasmus+ can be found at our blog mountainsconnectingpeople.wordpress.com
If you are interested in taking part in Youth exchange Nature that (re)connects us, send your applicationto [email protected] until 20th of March 2016.
Application: Nature that reconnects us – APPLICATION
more about Kuterevo Refuge:
https://kuterevo.wordpress.com/
http://www.kuterevo-medvjedi.org/hr/index.php
Contacts:
Serbia – Volunteers’ Center of Vojvodina ([email protected])
Bosnia and Herzegovina – Terra Dinarica ([email protected])
Kosovo* – GAIA SCI Kosovo ([email protected])
Croatia – Velebit Association Kuterevo ([email protected])
