Why
“There is more to life than increasing its speed” ( M. Ghandi)
When was the last time you took time for yourself and reflected on what makes you happy?
The modern life is a race – we are constantly on our blackberries or Iphones always trying to do as much as we can as quickly as possible. In these fast-paced times, in pursuing success we have too often moved away from many of the things that are essential to us. We at the Ithaca Journey believe that we have something to learn from the simple rural way of living and if we return to our roots we could find something important that may be missing from our modern way of life. The Ithaca Journey back to basics retreat will be a great opportunity to finally take some time for yourself and explore some life questions you normally have no time for.
Why should you, as individual, join Ithaca Journey?
- By going back to basics you will gain some perspective and apreciate better your own situation
- You will take time for reflecting on what’s important on your life, what are your goals and what do you need start doing to achieve them
- You will get to know new people, make new friends and you will also network and learn from each other
- You will learn the skills you need to survive when you are back to basics: gardening, milking the goats, making bread, etc
- You will operate in a new culture and learn how to adapt your own communication and working style
Why should your company or organization support your people to join Ithaca Journey?
If understanding stakeholder needs and engagement skills is an area of focus for the development of your employees, than the participation in the Ithaca Journey learning activities could give them an unique learning experience. Especially if your company is planning to expand or grow in an emergent market like Romania, 5 days spent in rural Romania could be the best field training for understanding how Eastern Europe really works.
By engaging with a local rural community on a higher dimension than just being a tourist, the participants will gain a deeper understanding on the impact business decisions could have on local communities and learn how to better engage with community stakeholders. In the Ithaca Journey learning process the participants develop their interpersonal and teamwork skills, their coaching skills and gain an entrepreneurial spirit by being able to follow through ideas from start to implementation. In the same time they gain an external perspective by engaging with peer participants and the local community.
Why cho0se Camena, a village in SE Romania?
With Romania’s recent entry into EU, old styles of doing things in small villages like Camena are quickly disappearing. People in these communities are having to come to terms with foreigners, new ways of doing businesses and other changes as the modern world arrives on their doorsteps.
For Camena, a village with 150 households and an aging population, hosting a group of 12 foreigners represents a new social and economical development. For the host families it means that they get to meet people from a different culture and this could encourage them to learn about the world outside of the village. It also means that they would get access to a new source of income.
Growing up in Camena for the first ten years of her life, Steliana Economu understands the rural life in Camena. At the same time, because of her professional career in industry-leading multinationals, she understands the struggle of professionals in the middle of their careers that want to remain true to their dreams and their personal aspirations. Camena, by the old name Vicus Petra, is situated in a valley and surrounded by forests. As the land is very rich, the breeding of animals has had an important role in the life of the people in the region. The river of Camena springs from the Eastern foot of Ceamurlia de Sus (the northern neighboring village) and flows into the big lake of Ceamurlia de Jos (Razelm).
