We are pleased to announce that The High Mountains Social Cooperative has recently joined Euromontana! The organisation operates as a Mountain Communities Support Centre in Zagori, Greece and aims to support local communities and to promote revitalisation by providing a wide range of services in the mountain villages of Pindus.

By joining Euromontana, they aim to share knowledge and experience on rural development and revitalisation, and to contribute to policy and research work in this field.

As the main objective of our organisation is to support and develop mountain areas, we believe it is essential to become part of a network that shares our values and is focused on the same objectives: preserving the special and fragile ecosystem of the mountains and providing a better standard of living for the local population Sotiris Tsoukarelis, founder and president of The High Mountains Social Cooperative

Main missions of the High Mountains

 The Social Cooperative is a non-profit organisation that operates on four main pillars:

• Resettlement and de-urbanisation: the Cooperative supports people who want to change their lifestyle away from the city, helping them to take the first step, interact with the local community and take advantage of the opportunities offered by the mountains. At the same time, the social cooperative encourages those who want to revitalise their village to become ambassadors and a source of inspiration for others.
• Socially Supported Mountain Production: The High Mountains builds bridges between mountain producers and urban and peri-urban communities by developing the physical infrastructure of Socially Oriented Business Logistics services on the outskirts of the city of Ioannina, where local producers will deliver their products. They encourage direct links between producers and consumers, by distributing customisable product boxes, farm visits and the development of agri-tourism through workshops, events and a soon-to-be launched online platform.
• Responsible, sustainable and solidarity tourism: the organisation also promotes experiences based on cultural heritage and the preservation of natural resources. They support the digitalisation and transformation of the tourism sector and wish to develop more climate-friendly infrastructures in the future. They also run a volunteering programme that allows travellers to take part in actions to support the needs of mountain communities.
• Education & social innovation: the Social Cooperative aims to ensure a fair and just transition by providing knowledge and innovative solutions to mountain communities. Specifically, they provide sustainable social economy business models to mountain populations, creating more job opportunities and more equitable access to the information.

Focus on The Epirus Mountain Labs Network

A concrete example of the activities carried out by The High Mountains is The Epirus Mountain Labs Network, a network of 4 mountain labs created by the social cooperative that promotes open technologies, traditional building techniques and materials, metal and wood constructions and agro-ecological practices in the mountains. The first open lab “Tzoumakers” was created in 2018 and since then summer schools, workshops, educational seminars, trainings, community projects, art sessions, cultural events, retreats, festivals are organised to support revitalisation and settlement and to propose a different narrative of life in mountain communities.

The value of the social economy in the mountains

77% of the region of Epirus is covered by mountains and 33% of the population lives in mountain municipalities. In addition to its natural constraints, Epirus is the poorest region in Greece and is facing a strong demographic decline (5.1% population loss between 2011 and 2021).

Epirus is also home to many small, traditional villages clinging to the limestone ridges of the Pindus mountains. A region shared by Greece and Albania, Epirus offers striking alpine scenery and a fusion of cultures brought about by its turbulent past. With a strong cultural and natural mountain heritage and a low population density (4 inhabitants per km²), Pindus offers a perfect laboratory for social innovation.

The missions of the High Mountains are based on the principles of the social economy. Rather than focusing on maximising profit, the social cooperative is primarily concerned with the social well-being of the mountain communities. “For us, profit is the development of quality jobs and adequate infrastructure, the revitalisation of the territory and the creation of worth living communities in the highest mountains,” says Sotiris Tsoukarelis, founder and president of The High Mountains Social Cooperative.

As a founding member of the Union of Social and Solidarity Economy Organisations in the Epirus region, The High Mountains has valuable experience to share with the Euromontana network. By joining the European association of mountain areas, they expect to exchange with like-minded stakeholders, learn from and share best practices and knowledge across Europe. They also expect to work on research in the field of rural development.