We are so excited to share the story and results of our first Erasmus+ project “Culture of cooperation” that we have thought about and built to empower young people to be and act for the change they want to see in the world. The goal is also to support the construction of stronger communities, while showing care for the human beings that are part of them.
In order to share the participant experience, we will share their testimonial in italic throughout this story !
Enjoy the read !
The facilitators : Alexis and Camille
It’s 8pm, June 2025 at the ecovillage Grain&Sens. 25 young people from Moldova, North Macedonia, Spain, Italy and France are sitting in a circle in a forest in Ardèche (France). In nine days, these 27 human beings (including us the facilitators), armed with nothing but curiosity and authenticity, will transform into a community,
Before starting this adventure, many thought cooperating was about efficiency, specific tools and decision-making, yet, they were motivated by getting to know the world of cooperation better by signing up to this youth exchange and question their preconceived ideas. They will soon start to understand that cooperation, in the way that it is transmitted by fertîles, is also about learning to listen to ourselves, recognizing and understanding our emotions, speaking on our own name by saying “I” with pride.
“I learned that cooperation is not only about external actions and teamwork, but also about internal processes.”
The young people have followed different activities to support the exploration like : movement workshops to discover how the body and the physical feelings can support the understanding of cooperation and of my own mechanism, group circles to share ideas and thoughts and benefit from the diversity of all the participants and their own background or collective intelligence workshops to think and act together towards a better world. The participants also organized themselves on their own to accomplish the daily necessities of community life. This way, while exploring, they could benefit from hands-on practices throughout the youth exchange.
Day by day, each participant is evolving in his or her own way, making his or her own steps. There isn’t a unique way to discover oneself and explore cooperation. Everyone is going through small to big shifts. Some of them are passionate about non-violent communication, while others are more interested in setting an intention or looking for their reflex attitudes. Many tools and sharings are done so that everyone can find the ones that will be powerful for them.
While exploring cooperation, participants are also experiencing cooperation among the group. They learn how to formulate feedbacks to each other, to support one another in their own growth, they also take time through daily rituals to share how they feel and how the journey is going for them. Benefiting from the international perspective of this youth exchange, they also share about the differences and habits of their own culture to understand how multiculturality can impact cooperation.
Little by little, a feeling of trust is building up among the group, which will support the organization of a multicultural night for the inhabitants of the ecovillage and their local network. Each participant can find his or her place and missions. The night is colored by everyone and every country, expressing a real cooperation success.
“The experience was life-growing.”
The exploration is reinforced by daily life in the ecovillage. Every day, they gather around meals prepared by the local vegan chef Victoria who prepares the vegetables that grow in the ecovillage itself. The meals are not only delicious, but transformed into a collective ritual by singing together at the start of the meals. This supports bringing consciousness to details in life and collective sharing. “Victoria really changed my perspective on food and our connection to cooking and what we consume – I still hum the ‘thank you for the food’ before I eat.” The impact is concrete. Several participants confess: “I’ve already made so many changes” in their eating habits. Not out of guilt but out of genuine inspiration. Also, the collective supported Grain&Sens by helping to prepare the ground to support the greenhouse, take care of the vegetable garden or to support the local alternative school for children. Therefore understanding the power of local communities acting together to build a different life.
“I feel inspired to initiate local actions that promote cooperation and sustainability. It has also strengthened my motivation to be involved in future Erasmus+ projects and to support youth-led initiatives.”
The group dynamics is evolving, and is finding more equilibrium to let everyone find his or her place, and have space to be and act with what is important for them
“I learned to listen to myself more and to give space to those who find it harder to speak up”.
While daily life was going on, several times were offered to help each participant to take a step back on their evolution. This supported seeing the evolution of the young people, which departed from Grain&Sens with :
“The “Culture of Cooperation” Erasmus+ Youth Exchange was an incredibly enriching and profoundly impactful experience. It wasn’t just a learning opportunity; it felt like a journey of self-discovery and collective growth.”
After a month, the young people meet again online to share what they have experimented and put in place, as well as the challenges that they have gone through. The group takes the time to celebrate the adventure and promise to meet again and keep in touch through the tools that have been put in place to maintain this network as alive as possible in time.
“For me the essence has been to understand that, in the end, everything in life is cooperation.”
After going back home the young people continued to experience cooperation by discussing in their own organisations or reaching out to other local organizations, as well as organizing workshops to share what they have experienced in “CoCoop”. Therefore, beyond the 25 young participants that were present, it is hundreds of young people, older people, and people working with young people that are now aware of the power of cooperation and the basic tools and habits that can allow them to explore it.
“The project largely exceeded my wishes and needs regarding deep personal growth, practical communication tools (like NVC and feedback), and fostering genuine connection within a ‘Space of Freedom.'”
We, Alexis and Camille, end this project convinced that we are on the right path to making the world a more collaborative place by offering those collective adventures to young people, that will now be a part of a transformed generation, with power to act and consciousness on the society and world that they live in.
We are very grateful to everyone that has participated, close or far, to this project and helped to make it happen. Thanks to all of our partners that have been a great support throughout the development and the management of this project, and to the fertîles team who works hard to develop those collective times. We also have a lot of gratitude for the Erasmus+ program that allowed us to lead this project, and that made it as accessible as possible (while we know there are still barriers to attending this kind of exchange).
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or Agence Erasmus+ France / Education Formation. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
