Our little mission

🚿This week kicked off with pressure – literally. A small crew hiked up into the hills to inspect the main water pipe feeding Liveloula. Turns out, lime buildup had clogged the top filter; a quick clean and the pressure was back. Mission: restored flow. It’s amazing how fast you learn to appreciate good water pressure when you’re living off-grid.

🌸Meanwhile, Chenny led a foraging mission for her next batch of tinctures. With poppies, calendula, malva, and a few other spring blooms on her wishlist, the group wandered through Re-Green and the nearby village of Monastiri. Later, she showed us how to prepare tinctures using tsipouro as the base – from the flower-to-liquid ratio to the patience it takes to wait for nature’s medicine to be ready.

🍓Then came a berry urgent task: saving our soft fruits from being overtaken by bindweed. This vine wraps itself tightly around everything, making harvesting tricky; or impossible. Thankfully, our volunteers stepped in just in time. The berry bushes are now breathing again; and ready to give their fruit freely in June.

🛠️As the land calls, so do our projects. Three hands-on builds are in full swing – growing slowly, shaped by patience, persistence, and teamwork. From wooden structures to creative corners, these projects will outlive our stay; and that’s a humbling thought.

💭What stayed with us this week?

That care takes many forms: fixing pipes; rescuing berries; gathering wildflowers; showing up daily to keep something growing – even when no one’s watching.

🇪🇺 Eyes Wide Open is a European Solidarity Corps programme supported by the Education & Culture Executive Agency, and co-funded by the European Union. A Hopeland initiative hosted in Liveloula.