2023 Season
It was so wonderful, meeting people from a variety of backgrounds around the world and listening and sharing. The community feel of being around positive and cheerful people, but also being free to wander off alone, is liberating. I always trusted that the core team could be approached about any problem and they would do their best to sort it. Consistently fantastic food.
– Neil Beardmore, Community Guest
I love feeling part of the collaborative team the centre structure and ethos enhances the NVC immersive experience with creative and expressive arts possible
– Tracy Seed, Workshop Leader
So much of the experience was terrific: Fantastic organization down to the even smallest details in terms of daily functioning; delicious food and nice accommodation; care about our opinions and feelings; sharing circles and safe space; gratitude and honoring jobs; clear instructions for work; transport to the beach also well organized; offers for yoga, dance and other workshops activities for free; sharing from the heart and listening from the heart; being accepted.
– Majda Škoda, Volunteer and Workshop Participant
Thank you for the sheer beauty of the place and the sense of being held by the community as we did our course.
– Gillian Crawford, Workshop Participant
I loved the location and the “feel” of the place and the community; how well held the place seemed to be by the lead volunteer team. I enjoyed the “rhythms” of each day including the sharing circles and communal cooking and food prep as well as the ad hoc sharings that took place out of the schedule. I enjoyed the relaxed nature of life at Anilio and the way that Volunteers, Workshop folk, Facilitators in Residence and Guests intermingled seamlessly. Of course this was an exceptional few days to have spend in the community with Storm Daniel raging over our heads. And with that in mind (the trepidation and fear, constant rain, restricted movements, lack of electricity and uncertainty about getting home), I felt blessed to have been in the community at this time.
– Richard Smith, Workshop Participant
I appreciated the care and nurture the members of the community show in relation to the magnific environment and surroundings.
– Vasiliki Ioannidou, Workshop Participant
The staff team were wonderful the community was warm hearted open and so supportive. I wish I could spend more time at Kalikalos with everyone – I was sad to leave this beautiful community.
– Sandra Chitty, Facilitator in Residence
Previous Seasons
The first thing that strikes me in Kalikalos Anilio is the beautiful nature. The house and facilities are nestled in the woods and designed to live in balance with the local flora and fauna. The core team/leaders hold the community ethos of compassion, intention and equality with care, knowledge and experience. I feel at my most calm and joyful and my longings for contribution, learning, purpose, connection, play and adventure are met in this community and the Pelion area.
– Candy Balfour, Volunteer
I really enjoyed the community practices, especially the teamwork in the kitchen, the dinner circle and the extra activities, such as singing by the sea at Papa Nero beach, going to the waterfalls, and eating in the Taverna. It really strengthened the feeling of community.
– Anonymous Community Guest
I loved being in such beautiful nature and meeting a diverse bunch of interesting and beautiful people. I also loved that I felt I could be authentic and honest.
– Lisa Grezo, Workshop Leader
The place in Kalikalos is like a part of a heaven! There you have the opportunity to meet wonderful people from all over the world. You can connect with each other by heart. I think that somehow the place lets emerge our best selves. So everyone in the community is calm and has softness, durability and tolerance! I feel there that i can really have deep and authentic connections!
– Calliope Savranidou, Workshop Participant
This is the first time I have experienced community living like this so I came with an open mind and no expectations. If I had, had any expectations it has exceeded them all. My first experience of the Sharing Circle was surprising and refreshing. To bring all your feelings to the circle and share them so openly was something so new to me. It was humbling. I was unsure how to be so open but just went with the flow, which felt good and liberating. I also so enjoyed the volunteering. Being part of the community all working towards keeping Kalikalos running smoothly, having daily tasks to do and share with others was great. I felt honoured to be part of this magical retreat. No clock was needed as my life was ordered by bells and drumming calling me for breakfast, snacks, lunch and dinner. It always brought a smile to my face. Meal times were great as so enjoyed the food and sharing meals together. The structure in place to keep everything organised and running smoothly was very good.
– Becca Cook, Volunteer
I love the community experiences and communications, even when it was difficult it was open and understanding.
– Lindy Vosper, Facilitator in Residence
Being part of the community and feeling like the community is interested in spending time and hearing about the experience of the participants. What I also enjoyed and appreciated was that everything was very well thought through and somewhat organized, but in a very serene matter – explaining the shifts, the community rhythms, tuning in and out, dinner circle, the explaining of the kitchen area, the rides up and down to the beach, etc… I appreciated all of this a lot and it made me feel cozy and relaxed!
– Hannah Güntert, Workshop Participant
The place/ nature is amazing, people were so lovely, volunteer work was enjoyable (not too many hours a day) and such tasks I enjoy doing anyway. Pizza and taverna nights and little trips outside were a lot of fun. All those random acts of kindness, and effort put in little things to make people feel good and uplift their spirit obove the everyday life mood. Pip, Nina and Doro really rock!😍
– Tuire Matikainen, Volunteer
This was my second visit at Kalikalos and once again it was fulfilling and inspiring. The beauty of the location, the forest and the tents, the grass and the vegetable garden, the fact that living at Kalikalos is as much as possible technology-free and follows the natural rhythm of day and night, together with the interesting people I met during my stay, made my ten days special and unforgettable. Thank you for everything and I hope we meet again.
Lydia Konsta, Community Guest
I found my stay as a guest at Kalikalos Anilio very much a life-altering experience. Over the course of my time there, I learned about the importance of slowing down and taking stock of myself and others around me. I left the community with a renewed sense of purpose and confidence. I still miss the garden, the summer sounds and the camaraderie around the table during meals.
Michael Stuchberry, Community Guest
I had one of my nicest years ever in Pelion this year (and it’s a high bar) – unexpectedly, because I thought not being at Kissos, and not being with the crowd I normally hang out with, and being in July – would be less fun. But I enjoyed being a volunteer for a week – a new experience for me which did give me a closer insight into the background work that goes on and bonded me better with people from working more together – as well as being a community guest. Having my own room (and a really nice one) felt like a fantastic luxury. Anilio was a fine location – I enjoyed being able to walk down to the beach and back. And there were lots of lovely and interesting (if sometimes a bit strange, but that’s ok!) people and activities. And great food and conversation and dancing and chess games, etc., as ever.
Guy Russell, Volunteer and Community Guest
Thinking back to Kalikalos gives me a comforting feeling. It feels like going back to a home-like place, where you are welcomed and taken as the one you are. We had days of fun and joy, days of recreation and peaceful silence, days of productive ideas and work and such very communicative, easy going ones. We had days of sun and -in September- days of rain, too, when the cats claimed their places on the couches and we hid veggie-chopping (and story-telling) under the roof, looking forward to the warm meals in good company. I always felt heard and respected the way I am and people and the place gave me a safe space to be myself and to take time to go deeper with the journey to myself.
Thanks to all the people who let this happen and who contribute to it!
Svenja Mayer, Volunteer
My stay this summer in the House of Centaurs, in Anilio, filled me up with the sensation of travelling around the world and arriving home, at the same time. I felt safe and happy in the arms of nature, while enjoying the multicultural experience of community life. I’ m still carrying this feeling in my heart every moment, wherever I am and it gives me courage for the winter. Thank you for the lifechanging experience. See you soon.
Myrto Minardou, Volunteer and Workshop Participant
Even if I am familiar with Kalikalos for a couple of summers, this year was the first time I joined Anilio team. I knew the place and its mosquitos, its dancefloor in the wood, the taste of the veggie garden and the smell of pizza night. I knew the candlelight of the sharing circle and the unique constellation of people almost every week.
I felt comfortable to meet new people, like the two Dutch guests who brought playfulness and laughter on the top of great help to build a platform. I felt appreciation to deepen my relationship with people I interacted with or joined their workshop in the past. I fell in love with a newcomer: Moustache/Tashi, a lovely, farty, black and white Greek cat. I enjoyed witnessing his interactions with human laps and Vision & Bojangles, the two white community cats.
I felt at ease with the team of the autumn camp, packing down smoothly and efficiently with time out like Argalasti market or Analepsi taverna hike. I felt belonging to Pelion with its spring waters I canyoned this year, its kalderimis I hiked, its secret beaches I swam, its tavernas I tested, its Greek I am struggling to learn.
I am happy to join the 2022 Anilio core team. I feel gratitude I crossed this place and to come again.
Nina Drops, Volunteer
We had a wonderful stay this year at Anilio. We all felt really nurtured and cared for by the whole community and although smaller in numbers than previous years, we took this as an opportunity to spend well needed time relaxing and nourishing ourselves on all levels. The dance was so potent here under the forest canopy and we cherished the time spent together in person as a balm for our weary spirits, and of course The Pelion is the most magical, beautiful, place with its crystal clear waterfalls and velvety sea. I love KaliKalos! Thank you everyone for making us feel like family.
Rebecca Hanscombe, Workshop Leader
Best place to calm down in the middle of the nature and close to real Greece.
Konstantina Albrecht, Workshop Participant