Our activities
Low-Tech Solutions
This projects is aimed at helping refugees to create their own rocket stoves (wood saving burners for heating and cooking) and insulation mattresses to face the rigid temperatures of winter and have warmer tents. These two solutions are sustainable and are created using recycled materials found on Lesvos, including items that the refugees themselves brought to the island, such as the foam from the lifejackets. Over 20 solutions are made every day.
Bicycles
The low-tech team shares its tools, spare parts and technical knowledge about bicycle mechanics. This collaborative workshop allows people to learn how to fix their bicycle for free and share this knowledge with others afterwards.
and +10 bicycle mechanics were trained.
We maintain a pool of 200 bikes that can be used by international and refugee volunteers during their stay on the island. Visitors can borrow bikes for a day or a week at no cost.
We provide bikes to other organisations for giving bike lessons to women.
Ceramics
This workshop builds participants skills on pottery and how to create cups and objects they can use in their everyday life from clay. 5 asylum seekers have been trained by a professional ceramist on the basics of pottery and now teach weekly workshops within One Happy Family and School of Peace. The items create are directly cooked at the community centre and beneficiaries can take home the ceramic items they made.
Electronics
The team of experts provide knowledge on how to repair electronics to beneficiaries who can fix their phones, kettles and other items within the Low-tech Makerspace. This activity let them gain new abilities and permit them to keep on using important objects, such as phones that they may not have the means to repair or replace normally.
Woodwork
Wood workshops are held by professional staff – an asylum seeker who is a professional carpenter – who train beneficiaries on how to create objects such as tables, chairs, storage, from wood. We do our best to always have a stock of pallet that people can disassemble to build furniture or tent structures.
Women Workshops
In partnership with the women space of the community centre, LTWR provides time and place for the women to create and make low-tech solutions. In a safe, closed and well-accompanied environment, women can come to make insulated mattresses, ceramics, rocket stoves, shelves… The workshops are adapted according to their demand and their needs beforehand. So far, the workshops are happening once or twice a week and are welcoming around 6 women per workshop.
Permaculture design
Permaculture workshops have been held by members of the Permaculture Design Network. This course focused on permaculture design and principles that can be adapted to refugee camp situations.25 participants from 8 communities and 4 teachers took part in the training and received a certificate.The participants were then given the choice to keep practicing and strengthening the skills they acquired, whilst improving the quality of the space around the camps, by attending regular workshops organized with partner organizations to design community spaces with permaculture.