Pulse of Greece

Athens - Greece

I finished my exploration in the cradle of democracy. It was for me the occasion to go beyond what can be told in the media about Greece and understand better this country.

I was not disappointed at all. Athens let me one of the best impressions of my travel. People are warm, open, and very often committed citizens. Yes, their country is in a difficult situation, but I met people responding to this with creativity and determination.

For example, you can easily find cafés working in a non-hierarchical way in the city. Often, it began with a group of friends deciding to create a space where they can express their world view. Pagkaki is one of them. In the menu, you can find some explanations about their collective and what it means to work in a horizontal way for them.

It differs from other horizontal organizations I have met as Pagkaki coworkers seem to rather use consensus to make decisions. It means "many hours of thought and conversation" at their weekly assembly.

This kind of organization is obviously not without difficulties, but IT IS POSSIBLE :

"All we need is to dare experiment building upon the historical experience of other similar enterprises."

Pagkaki supports also other self-managed organizations such as the well known factory VioMe by using its eco-friendly cleaning products. VioMe is a factory that has been abandoned by its owners a few years ago. In reaction, not only employees continued the activity by themselves in a non-hierarchical way, but they also replaced the former tile adhesive production by ecofriendly cleaning products.

VioMe is a reference for workers cooperative movements all around the world. One more example that shows how local experimentations can have a broader impact by inspiring others !

This documentary gives a good idea about cooperative companies advantages and struggles. It gives also useful resources for who wants to begin a cooperative startup (See minute 17:10) :

" We represent so much just by existing (...) and by being a living, breathing, working example of better way to do business."