Project description

The project was initiated with a focus on tourism development by designing a visitor attraction plan offering a broad range of programs and creating new infrastructure. Today, as part of the Revival project, a restaurant-café (Voureiko) and two guesthouses (Ruga of Vamvakou, Traditional Guesthouse of Vamvakou) operate. The organization provides tailored sports activities and wellness programs, such as massage, yoga, mountain cycling, and hiking across the trails around the village, which, as part of the Revival initiative, have been laid under international specifications.

The village school has been completely renovated to function as a multipurpose activity space, a seminar venue, or a coworking space for digital nomads. At the same time, V.Lab (Vamvakou Technology Lab fully powered by SNF), a model STEAM center where workshops on robotics, 3D printing and VR are provided, has been set up in the village. Mainly on weekends, throughout the year, visitors may enjoy free play in the schoolyard, Lego, board games and reading in the open lending library, while creative workshops, art classes, programs focusing on the environment, and a wide range of cultural events take place.

Important milestones that have established Vamvakou as a meeting opportunity on the mountain every year are the running race Vamvakou Mountain Run, Vamvakou Experience Festival, Vamvakou Summer Camp and Vamvakou Santa School. Throughout the year, we welcome individual guests, families, and organized groups (corporate groups or wellness retreats, school trips) from the Peloponnese, Athens and the rest of Greece, but also from abroad.

We have built strong partnerships aiming to enhance temporary stay in the village of Vamvakou, where occasional residencies in collaboration with the Greek National Opera (Music group Oros Ensemble, and graduate student groups from the UCLA and the NYU have been hosted.

In terms of attracting new residents, their number has increased from 9 people in 2019 to 30 today. The birth of two children after more than 30 years has been a significant milestone in Vamvakou’s new era. This was the reason why, from November 2024 onwards, on private initiative, the Vamvakou school welcomes preschoolers from the wider region. In addition, the 24 new posts that have opened in the village since 2019 form an integral part of the Vamvakou Revival initiative.

Regarding the agri-food pillar, we are working towards promoting local products through the development of the agri-food sector and the local producers of the region, as well as supporting the establishment and operation of the Vamvakou Agricultural Cooperative Parnon Poèma and the Women’s Cooperative of Vamvakou, Vamvakia. The Agricultural Cooperative was founded in 2021 and consists of 40 members, stock farmers, olive and olive oil producers, producers of nuts and chestnuts, aromatic plants/herbs and beekeepers, residing in Vamvakou and the wider region. The first packaged products, among which one may find honey, extra virgin oil and walnuts, have already hit the stores. The Women’s Cooperative comprises 7 members, women originating from Vamvakou and the wider region. Among the handmade products that the Vamvakia members have released, one may find olive spoon sweets, other sweets such as melomakarona and kourabiedes, pastries and traditional pasta such as trahanas. The Women’s Cooperative operates a production and retail store in Sparta, while a shop close to the village square is under construction.

Focusing on entrepreneurship, we established a business center on the mountain through the foundation of a new business incubator, the Vamvakou Incubator. As part of the first business development cycle, this has supported 5 new business ideas based in Vamvakou and another 5 in the Region of Peloponnese, in the fields of tourism, agri-food, innovation and culture. The program provided free business consultancy, mentoring, office infrastructure, networking and support in drafting a complete business plan. The programm is part of the NSFR – Peloponnese Program 2021-2027, co-funded by the European Union.