🇬🇷 Erasmus+ Youth Exchange in Greece ♻️ Dirty Hands, Bright Minds: Upcycling and Sustainability 🌿

What if the fastest way to change your everyday habits was to spend a week in a forest turning waste into something useful — or beautiful — with your own hands? "Dirty Hands, Bright Minds" is an Erasmus+ Youth Exchange that brings young people from five countries to the Plastiras Lake region of Greece to explore sustainability through upcycling, creativity and action. Youth Works Hub gathers funded youth exchanges like this in one place, and this one is hands-on, outdoors and starting soon, so here is everything the organisers shared.

What It's About

♻️ "Dirty Hands, Bright Minds" is an Erasmus+ Youth Exchange exploring sustainability through creativity and action. It focuses on upcycling as a simple, accessible way to reduce waste and rethink everyday habits — through hands-on activities, participants transform materials into useful or artistic objects and discover how small actions add up.

🌿 It follows a non-formal, learning-by-doing approach — sharing ideas and reflecting together. By the end, participants gain practical skills and stronger motivation to adopt more sustainable practices in daily life.

The Objectives

🎯 Explore how upcycling can reduce waste and rethink everyday habits.

🛠️ Develop practical skills through hands-on activities, while encouraging creativity, teamwork and problem-solving.

💪 Inspire young people to take small daily actions and feel more confident that they can contribute to a more sustainable future.

Who Runs It

🌍 Villagers of Greece is a community-focused non-profit based in Karditsa, working since 2021 to empower young people around sustainability, cultural heritage and social inclusion through creative projects, local workshops and educational opportunities.

What to Expect

🌲 Outdoor activities — connecting with nature through walks and land-art, linking sustainability with real environments.

🧰 Workshops — hands-on upcycling techniques, using simple materials to create useful or creative objects.

🤝 Team-building — getting to know each other and building a safe, open group.

💭 Reflection groups — time to pause, share and understand what you're learning.

🎶 Intercultural evenings — sharing music, food, traditions and stories from each country.

🎨 Collective creation — making shared artworks from cultural heritage and ideas. Each national group runs at least one workshop, with support from the hosting team.

🧭 New to this format and how it works? Here's the essential guide: What Is a Youth Exchange? → https://youthworkshub.org/youthexchange

Who Can Apply

👥 Young people interested in sustainability, creativity and hands-on learning. No previous upcycling experience is needed — just motivation to participate, try new things and work in a group.

🌱 The project especially encourages young people from rural areas or with fewer opportunities, aiming for an inclusive group where everyone feels welcome and able to contribute.

🎂 Age 18–30 (plus one group leader per country with no age limit). The exchange is for 30 participants in total (6 per country), and it is open to residents of Greece, Italy, Spain, Norway and Poland.

The Venue

🏕️ The project takes place at a camp in a forest in the Plastiras Lake region at 1,200 m altitude. Participants share rooms of 3–4 people and use shared toilets and showers (traditional squatting toilets, a short walk from the rooms). Internet is available only at a certain spot in the camp; there is no mini-market nearby, so bring personal items in advance. Nights are chilly and rain is possible.

What's Covered

🏠 Accommodation and meals are covered by the host organisation and the Erasmus+ programme (food is mostly vegetarian/vegan, with low meat consumption).

✈️ Travel is reimbursed by Villagers of Greece up to a per-country maximum: 🇮🇹 Italy €309, 🇪🇸 Spain €395, 🇳🇴 Norway €1,188, 🇬🇷 Greece €56, 🇵🇱 Poland €309 — via bank transfer after you submit all travel documents and complete follow-up and dissemination activities. Insurance, personal expenses and private transport (taxi, Uber) are not refundable, and costs above the budget are not covered.

🛏️ Bring your own single bed sheets (blankets and pillows are provided, but not sheets), plus comfortable outdoor clothing and personal items.

🌱 Travelling sustainably matters here — see how green travel earns more support in Erasmus+: Green Travel in Erasmus+ and ESC: More Money for Travelling Sustainably → https://youthworkshub.org/green-travel-erasmus-esc

Frequently Asked Questions

❓ When and where? 23 September (arrival) to 1 October 2026 (departure), at a forest camp in the Plastiras Lake region, Greece; activity days 24–30 September.

❓ Who can apply? Residents of Greece, Italy, Spain, Norway and Poland, aged 18–30 (plus a group leader with no age limit).

❓ Do I need upcycling experience? No — only motivation and openness; young people from rural areas or with fewer opportunities are especially encouraged.

❓ What's covered? Accommodation and meals in full; travel reimbursed up to a per-country maximum after documents and dissemination.

❓ Anything to pack? Yes — your own single bed sheets, plus comfortable outdoor clothing.

Deadline

⏳ As soon as possible! The project runs 23 September–1 October 2026, so places are filling now — Youth Works Hub gathers funded youth exchanges like this so you can apply before they close.