Accommodation & Transportation

You will be picked up in Bucharest Otopeni airport by the Ithaca team and after three hour drive you will arrive in Camena, Tulcea . As an Ithaca participant you will be hosted with a family in the village or at the nearest bed&breakfast

“Camena reminds me of…”

Camena reminds me of my childhood and because of that it helps me to put things into perspective… It reminds me of where I began.

Photo gallery

“Life in Camena” Frans

Life in Camena is simple and refreshing …you eat outside; you are active all day building and doing things. I spent 10 days there and loved it. I will definitely go back.

Y2I Innovation prize

 Steliana Economu,one of the three winners at the Youth to Innovation contest , was invited as a speaker at the  infoDev’s 3rd Global Forum on Business Incubation in Brazil in October 2009.  InfoDev is an agency of Wold Bank supporting business incubation and entrepreneurship. The Forum  brought together more than 1000 participants from over 50 countries!

The Ithaca Legend

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon — do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would have never set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what Ithacas mean.

Constantine P. Cavafy (1911)

The Program

Workshops:
All about You. Talk about what is important in your life (your goals, your dreams) and gather 360 feedback . Receive input and feedback from fellow participants and career coaches.
Change & Attitude. Find out what is stopping you from following your dreams and learn ways to overcome the inner and outer barriers. (e.g Workshops on personal change, risk taking, etc)
Relationships. Improve your interpersonal communication skills through practicing new techniques (clarifying and confirming, managing differences, feedback). Receive direct and on-the-spot feedback.
Start your Own Journey –Enhance your entrepreneurial skills by learning from successful entrepreneurs. Initiate your own entrepreneurial journey towards your dream.
Work with Others – Team simulation of the rural life for 1.5 days. In the last days you will be engaged in a team simulation of the rural life and you will use the newly learned skills. This is the time to show your entrepreneurial skills and run the farm.

Ithaca Journey

 When was the last time you reflected on what makes you happy? The modern life is a race – we are constantly striving to stay one step ahead of the competition, tied to our mobile phones and blackberries, always trying to learn as much as we can as quickly as possible in order to stay one step ahead of the pack. In these fast-paced times, in pursuing success we have too often moved away from many of the things that are essential to us as human beings.
In the rural communities, life is different. Their traditions and rituals are still being carried out, preserved by word of mouth and practiced for thousands of years. Why this ancient knowledge has survived to this day: curiosity, practical focus and, above all, the feeling of belonging and sense of identity.
We at The Ithaca Journey believe that we have something to learn from the simple rural way of living. We believe we should return to our roots to find something important that may be missing from our modern way of life.  Ithaca is a learning centre where urban professionals can experience the rural lifestyle and develop themselves through our week-long program of personal coaching and learning. Ithaca is located in the Romanian village of Camena, where you will reflect on your goals and life choices while enjoying the simplicity and charm of a place where people still bake their own bread, make their own cheese, and drink homemade wine. The Ithaca Journey aims to bring together the representatives of two cultures – the urban professionals and the rural villagers. While you participate in The Ithaca Journey and seek for yourself what is truly important in your life, you will be helping to open up the world to the people of Camena.