Local involvement

Posted on by Tiziana
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Our association supports local development hand-in-hand with other local organizations and initiatives.

Promoting the local actors

We run different types of mobility projects: Erasmus+ training courses for Adult Education, European projects’ meetings, international events… This means organizing stays on the hyper-touristic island of Tenerife.

Each time we welcome foreigners, we promote the local actors and economy. Associations, project leaders, sustainable tourism guides, social enterprises, eco-farms… Our aim is double: to support and give visibility to these changemakers; and to inspire the foreign visitors.

They are the ones making our Erasmus+ Training Courses special!

Local workshops and activities

Running projects with the local community

Our latest project: Intergenerational Permaculture Garden

Socio-ecological project in Tenerife, Canary Islands: a permaculture garden where kids from the nearby school and seniors from the village will work together, thus fostering intergenerational relations, social inclusion and environmental awareness.

This local project was launched by the association La Punta-Bajamar Avanzando in January 2021 amid the complicated situation due to Covid-19 , and will encourage locals to maintain healthy outdoor activities in a safe way.

Sharing experiences, learning from each other…

Permaculture takes nature as an example: so just like nature, we adapt to any situation… Including pandemics! Gardening is done in small groups, the seniors and students communicate through a whiteboard, and of course: we breathe lots of fresh air.

News from our projects
13/01/2023We start the new year on January 5th with our last FIBIC meeting. After more than two years, our Erasmus+ project “Let’s talk about Money” is now entering the last round and therefore we are happy to meet again in person on Tenerife to discuss final details. Together with our partners from Germany, Romania, Austria, Belgium and Bulgaria we reflected on the ongoing dissemination of the intellectual outputs of our project and discussed steps to push them even further. The evaluation of the project showed that all partners were very satisfied with the results and that the curriculum and the “Financial Challenges” were very well received, especially by multipliers in the education sector. Project Meeting in Tenerife, 2023 Learn more at: lets-talk-about-money.eu [...] Read more...
12/01/2023In the course of the Erasmus+ project “Seniors in action” we were very happy to welcome our international friends from Poland, Slovenia, Hungary and Romania. From the 4th of Decembre till the 8th of December 2022 the seniors had time to exchange thoughts about volunteering activities, visit our intergenerational permaculture garden, explore the socio-educational projects of this island and discover the beauty of Tenerife’s nature. The first evening was already a great success! Together we ate paella, danced and sang. Opening night of our international “Seniors in Action” week Dance, music and corazón On Monday the 5th of Decembre we started the Learning Activity for seniors in Action with a visit to Teide National Park. Our volunteer seniors guided their international friends through the Canary Island pine forest, shared with them about life between volcanoes and showed them the best viewpoints. Together we admired the unique diversity and colors of the National Park. The seniors were particularly impressed by the plants and their adaptability to the island’s altitudes and weather conditions. A short hike was also not to be missed! After all, we seniors are in action! Seniors at Teide National Park During the third day of the international exchange of the Erasmus+ Project “Seniors in Action” we organized an international Christmas workshop in the community center of Punta del Hidalgo, Tenerife. Christmas is a celebration that unites people… All the more wonderful to celebrate it with seniors from other countries, to share traditions and exchange customs. Together with our friends from Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Hungary, we created Christmas decorations, danced, enjoyed biscuits and punch and sang traditional Christmas carols in different languages. Advent workshop Also we exchanged “volunteering- best practises”. It was a pleasure to present our intergenerational permaculture garden. Proudly the seniors showed their international colleagues the piece of land they are cultivating in a very sustainable way. Intergenerational permaculture garden For Wednesday, 7th of December, the Erasmus+ project “seniors in action” joined a guided tour of the historic city of La Laguna. The old capital of Tenerife is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and shined in December in special splendor. The Tenerife people take the Christmas lights very seriously! La Laguna Afterwards we visited the SOS Children’s Village in EL Tablero. What makes it special is that this eco-farm uses sustainability as a tool for social intervention with learners from low socioeconomic backgrounds. This socio-educational activity aimed to be a source of inspiration and we hope that this tangible passion could be an impulse for more voluntary social projects! We were happy to see that the seniors got very motivated to use their potential, increase participation in order to prevent social exclusion of people. SOS Children Village, Tenerife At the last day of the Erasmus+ project Seniors in action (8th of December) we did an excursion to the jungle of Tenerife. The forest of Anaga is a UNESCO biosphere reserve with fascinating flora and breathtaking viewpoints. We ended this inspiring week with the ceremonial presentation of the certificates. The seniors shared and learned a lot and motivated each other to keep in action! [...] Read more...
09/12/2022On 6th December 2022 Eduplus organized the Multiplier event for our Erasmus+ “Let’s talk about money” project. We invited international stakeholders (members of seniors organizations, teachers, adult educators etc.) from 4 different countries to join us in Punta del Hidalgo, Tenerife to talk about financial literacy. Our workshop aimed at promoting value-oriented and responsible behaviour of each individual in financial and money matters. By means of interactive exercises, impulse questions and self-designed teaching materials (such as our calendar), we approached socially sensitive topics. We took a look into the past, talked about the changing perception of money and analysed poverty risk and how to protect oneself from it. Especially the latter is a big issue for senior citizens, some of whom have to manage with very little money. We are all the more pleased that our event met with such a great response and that we received repeated feedback that the workshop had stimulated reflection processes in dealing with money. Multiplier Event, Tenerife, December 2023 If you are interested in learning more about financial literacy feel free to check out our homepage with free materials to download: https://lets-talk-about-money.eu/en/ [...] Read more...
15/09/2022Erasmus+ Project “Growing Communities” Several micro-trainings took place in our intergenerational garden in Tenerife. Through different activities (including a card game) the different functions of plants in a permaculture garden were learned. Bit by bit we explored the diversity of our ecosystem! Microtraining in Spain Permaculture Zones Permaculture zones help us organize our spaces according to how (and how often) we use them. As a design strategy, zones are a super powerful way to make choices about where to place elements of the ecosystem, in order to enhance their ecological performance. Try to imagine: how could these zones be envisioned? In our micro training in Spain, the participants got more practical experience about how this principle works and how human and natural interactions occur. The Permaculture Zoning activity was very popular as it could be adapted easily to the reality of our own garden and therefore allowed the participants to contribute with their existing knowledge as well as to ask questions. This activity is a mixture of a role play and a board game that helps participants to become familiar with the internal dynamics of a permaculture garden. It helps the participants to identify the elements of a permaculture garden and understanding how they are connected. “An enjoyable activity in the company of like-minded new people.” (participant) [...] Read more...
31/08/2022Tenerife, 26th of August 2022 At our international Multiplier event , we had participants from 7 countries: Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal and Romania. We are pleased that our partners Trial&Error and Dominou Association were also able to come. Together we addressed the question of how gardening together can be an opportunity for mutual empowerment. It was a great opportunity to discuss and compare the different models of community gardens across Europe. One of the most important conclusions was that PERMACULTURE WORKS, irrespective of the geographical location or the climate. We just need to observe the local conditions and adapt accordingly. We are grateful to our local partner El Mato Permaculture farm for hosting us. Also, thanks to everyone who has supported our project. Read more: https://growingcommunities.es International Conference, Tenerife, 2022 [...] Read more...
05/06/2022After two years of development and exchange between three institutions from Germany, Romania and Tenerife, we are proud to inform you about the two multiplier events we organized in order to present the educational activities we have developed for collectives that have created or want to start community gardens. Local Event in Tenerife On 2nd of June 2022, we organised a day in nature in El Mato Permaculture Farm, where we organized activities to spread our knowledge about the methods and the benefits that permaculture and community gardens have for the society. We are very happy about the great interest in our event. Our expectations were exceeded: 43 participants attended and 120 persons enrolled. Volunteers in associations, teachers, educators and citizens who wanted to create a community garden or already have one came got to know about our Erasmus+ project and could participate in parallel interactive workshop and visit. Together with all these wonderful, like-minded people, we spent a great day in nature, exchanging ideas about the future and making contacts. We received great feedback and hope to continue some collaborations after the end of the project. We felt connected… with each other and with nature. Tour of El Mato Permaculture Farm [...] Read more...
17/12/2021Yay! The 1st Learning_Teaching_Training_Activity of our ERASVUS+ project has happened, the 4 partners have met for good! Many thanks to Fattoria Pugliese Diffusa Associazione Culturale for welcoming us in the beautiful town of Taurisano. These 5 days were filled with energy and inspiration, in an intergenerational and international environment . Good practice exchanges, handcrafts, intergenerational workshops, visits, cultural exchange, dances… The participants were involved in many activities, aiming at promoting seniors volunteering and non-formal educational approach for life-long learning. Follow the project at: https://www.facebook.com/erasvusplus https://erasmuspluswebsite.wixsite.com/erasvus [...] Read more...
03/11/2021Late October we had the first training mobility of our Erasmus+ project Seniors in action in Warsaw. Four very intense and enriching days! Staff and volunteers from Poland, Slovenia, Romania and Tenerife got to exchange good practices about active ageing and supporting seniors. Each partner organization presented their own initiatives. We also shared knowledge, games and activities about our own countries and cultures Thanks again for the warm welcoming of our Polish partners from the Foundation WYJDŹ Z DOMU. Learn more at: https://edu-plus.es/our-projects/seniors-in-action/ https://www.facebook.com/seniorsinaction.erasmus/ [...] Read more...