Green Practices in Tourism, Tradition and Sport for the Local Community and Tourists
This study is a collection of good practices in the field of green and sustainable activities that encompass tradition, tourism and sport and include the organisation and/or involvement of rural women's organizations in Cyprus, Greece and Poland – the EU partner countries participating in the Erasmus+ international partnership project with the acronym Rural Women's Clubs.
The participation of rural women’s groups in these activities is significant in creating awareness and education for both the local community and visitors (tourists) and keeping traditions alive. This study constitutes part of the results of the aforementioned project. As such it has been prepared by all partner organisations participating in the project (2 partners per country = 6 partners). The main goal of the project is to increase the diversity of the offer of rural women's organisations in Cyprus, Poland and Greece; to demonstrate the value of such women’s groups and how their knowledge and skills relating to traditions is an essential tool for local communities to stay connected to the local heritage, and thus to increase the effectiveness of educational activities for local communities.
Due to the synergy of the different partners, each can learn and be introduced to the ways and traditions of the other partner countries and their rural women’s groups. The contribution of local women’s groups is highly significant for each partner country as these women’s groups are most likely to be the bodies maintaining a country’s heritage, history and specialist skills for gastronomy, handicrafts and events linked with tradition (festivals, seasonal customs and sporting).
The study is one of the results of the project and was created after study visits attended by representatives of all partners in Poland (June 2023), Cyprus (September/October 2023) and Greece (May 2024). The partners were able to exchange traditions and experiences and also showcase their own with pride. Best practices were shared, and many interesting ideas and opportunities emerged as a result of the project and the partnerships formed. In the study, we present individual activities in the form of unified examples from the partner countries that are linked to tradition and sustainability with short descriptions and images.
We present three customs from each country (background, significance, organisation) and demonstrate how the local communities and tourism benefit from these; how they relate to a country’s identity, along with how the women’s rural groups are a driving force for their countries in keeping tradition alive. We have prepared the study in three language versions: English, Polish and Greek so that the study may be widely shared and disseminated within the three partner countries.
For the convenience of readers, we have marked different language versions with different font colors; black – English, Polish – red, Greek – blue. On behalf of the project, it is our pleasure to offer insight into the wonderful and unique traditions of each partner country that its women continue to cherish and promote for generations to come and which this project will also help to maintain and promote.