The second phase of the initiative is in full swing, focusing on collective action, synergies, and the continuous improvement of the village’s infrastructure, through the following pillars:
1. Vamvakou as a Destination (Tourism & Culture)
We have designed a comprehensive visitor attraction plan. Today, the restaurant-café “Voureiko” and two guesthouses (Rouga of Vamvakou and Traditional Guesthouse) are fully operational, alongside sports activities and wellness programs (mountain biking, hiking, yoga, massage). In the village, the renovated old school serves once again as a living cultural hub: it hosts events, and on weekends it welcomes art and environmental programs, free play for children and a lending library open to everyone. Major annual milestones are our established mountain rendezvous: the Vamvakou Mountain Run, the Vamvakou Experience Festival, the Vamvakou Summer Camp for children, the NextGen Vamvakou Camp for teenagers and the Vamvakou Santa School. Simultaneously, we are developing hospitality partnerships with esteemed institutions like the Greek National Opera and universities (UCLA, NYU).
2. Innovation & Education
The fully renovated village school operates as a multi-purpose activity center and coworking space for digital nomads. On weekdays, the space is filled with children’s voices, practically functioning as a creative employment center, welcoming preschoolers from Vamvakou and surrounding villages for daily creative activities. Concurrently, it houses the model STEAM center, V.Lab (Vamvakou Technology Lab fully powered by SNF), offering robotics, 3D printing, and virtual reality workshops.
3. Agri-food
In the agri-food pillar, we work to promote local products from Vamvakou by strengthening the region’s agri-food sector and its people. Since 2019 we have been running a support program for local producers and livestock farmers, and we also support two dynamic cooperatives:
The Agricultural Cooperative “Parnon Poèma” (40 members), founded in 2021, which brings together livestock farmers, olive and olive oil producers, nut growers (walnuts, chestnuts), producers of aromatic plants and herbs, and beekeepers from Vamvakou and the wider area. Its first packaged products, honey, extra virgin olive oil and walnuts, are already on the market.
The Women’s Cooperative “Vamvakia” (7 members), women from Vamvakou and the wider area who make spoon sweet olives, melomakarona, kourabiedes, baked goods and pasta such as trahanas by hand. It runs a shop and workshop in Sparta, and is preparing a new retail outlet in Vamvakou, near the village square.
4. Entrepreneurship (Vamvakou Incubator)
We created the first mountain business incubator, a new mountain entrepreneurship center based in Vamvakou. In its 1st cycle of business support, the Vamvakou Incubator supported 10 new business ideas in the fields of tourism, agri-food, innovation and culture: 5 based in Vamvakou and 5 in the wider Peloponnese Region. The program offered free business consulting, mentoring, office infrastructure, networking and support in developing a complete business plan. (The program is part of the NSRF – Peloponnese Program 2021-2027, co-funded by the EU).
