[:SH]U centru Balkana i na svega 13 km od centra grada Niša, nalazi se omiljeno izletište nišlija – „Kamenički vis“ i u njemu devastirano kamp naselje koje nije bilo u funkciji poslednjih 10 godina a koje je Udruženje Kamenica sredinom 2015. godine preuzelo na dugoročno korišćenje.
Naš cilj je da renoviramo devastirani Kamp i formiramo regionalni obrazovno-rekreativni omladinski kamp koji će u potpunosti biti integrisan u prirodno, ekonomsko i socijalno okruženje našeg regiona i biti u blizini svojih primarnih korisnika – mladih sa Balkana.
Planiramo organizaciju raznovrsnih kampova koji će po sistemu „edukacije kroz rekreaciju“ mladima ponuditi dopadljivu mešavinu obrazovnih sadržaja sa obiljem prakse, izletima i rekreativnim sportskim i socijalnim sadržajima. Sve ovo sa ciljem da naši mladi dostignu svoj puni obrazovni potencijal i izgrade socijalni kapital neophodan za „bekstvo iz siromaštva“ a ne za „bekstvo iz zemlje!“.
Kamp će funkcionisati po principima socijalnog preduzetništva – naša generalna ideja je da ponudimo usluge smeštaja, ishrane, rekreacije i edukacije na tržištu a da potom iskoristimo svaki eventualni profit u kombinaciji sa našim drugim resursima kako bi:
– kreirali sopstveni program besplatnih ili subvencionisanih kampova za ekonomski i socijalno ugrožene mlade i za organizacije mladih sa invaliditetom;
– podržali lokalne organizacije koje se bave očuvanjem prirode, kulturnog i istorijskog nasleđa;
– podržali inicijative koje obogaćuju lokalnu turističku ponudu, proizvodne kapacitete ili druge koje imaju potencijala da unaprede uslove života u našim lokalnim zajednicama.
O kampu
Kamp se prostire na 3 ha šume, uokviren je sopstvenim pristupnim saobraćajnicama i ispresecan sa 1200m staza i stepeništa koje vode do 21 drvene kućice sa ukupno 100 kreveta (svaka kućica ima 4-6 kreveta, klub stolove, stolice, kupatilo, drvene tremove…). Ove staze povezuju kućice sa terenima za fudbal i košarku koji se nalaze bočno i sa izletištem, restoranom i malim ski stazama sa dva ski lifta koji se nalaze iznad. Kamp je priključen na sistem javne rasvete i osvetljen je sa 17 velikih „bulevarskih svetiljki“ po obodu i 15 manjih parkovskih na stazama unutar kampa . Kamp ima sopstvenu vodovodnu i kanalizacionu mrežu i sopstveno postrojenje za prečišćavanje otpadnih voda sa peščanim filterom ispod Kampa. Zbog činjenice da se nalazi na svega 13 km od centra grada Niša i istovremeno na 800m iznad njega, iz njega se pruža prelep pogleda na grad i čitavu okolinu…
Kako je Kamp uklopljen u prirodno, ekonomsko i socijalno okruženje našeg regiona
Priroda je bogato okružila Kamp sa preko 20 pećina neverovatne lepote. Na svega 4-8km od Kampa šumskom stazama i putevima može se doći do „Cerjanske pećine“ koja je duga 6,5km i ima podzemne sale veće od fudbalskog igrališta i visoke preko 60m. Pored nje je i manja bezimena pećina u kojoj su pronađeni ostaci pećinskog čoveka. Tu je i „Milutinova pećina“ u kojoj je speleolog Milutin Veljković oborio Ginisov rekord boraveći zazidan u njoj 465 dana, zatim „Biserna pećina“ sa endemskim vrstama daždevnjaka i slepog miša, pećinski sistem „Samar“ kraj koga se nalazi i veličanstveni kameni prerast kao i „Prekonoška pećina“ koja je bila prva uređena za turiste još početkom 20 veka a potom je zaboravljena….Tu su i brojne krečnjačke klisure sa planinskim potocima gde ima pastrmke i druge ribe… Na 5-10 km od Kampa nalazi se i 5 malo poznatih seoskih banja sa lekovitim geotermalnim izvorima koji su još uvek poznati samo lokalnom stanovništvu. Kamp je okružen prostranom i bogatom šumom sa proplancima na kojima raste preko 40 vrsta samoniklog lekovitog i aromatičnog bilja, među kojim je i endemska „Ramonda serbica“ ili cvet „Feniks “ koji je američka NASA proučavala zbog jedinstvene sposobnosti da oživi uz samo nekoliko kapi vode nakon par godina osušenosti. Ova bogata priroda je vekovima unazad privlačila ljude koji su za sobom ostavili brojne tragove. Na udaljenosti od 5-10 km od Kampa mogu se videti naseobine iz kamenog i metalnog doba, ostaci rimskog akvadukta, srednjevekovna utvrđenja, crkve i džamije, tradicionalne seoske kuće i ekonomski objekti poput vodenica i valjarica a tu su i specifična muzika, ples, dijalekti i raznovrsna kuhinja. Zbog svega navedenog područje oko Kampa je izuzetno pogodno za razvoj eko, etno i adrenalin turizma i kao takvo je prepoznato u „Strategiji za razvoj turizma Grada Niša“ 2011-2016. ali se nažalost nije otišlo daleko od identifikacije…
Kamp se administrativno nalazi na tromeđi siromašnih opština Pantelej, Crveni Krst i Svrljig i ka njemu gravitira 40 planinskih sela sa preko 27.000 još uvek vitalnih stanovnika. Među njima je i značajan broj mladih koji pripadaju takozvanoj NEET kategoriji – Not in Education, Employment or Training–NEET (preko 25,3% prema „Drugom nacionalnom izveštaju o socijalnom uključivanju i smanjenju siromaštva „ Vlade RS„). Kao i većina mladih sa Balkana, oni su frustrirani usled siromaštva, njihova pokretljivost je mala i nemaju mogućnosti da putuju i razmenjuju iskustva sa vršnjacima iz drugih sredina i zemalja. Veoma često oni ne dele iste vrednosti sa vršnjacima iz razvijenijih sredina a na probleme i različitosti u svom okruženju uglavom odgovaraju bojkotom, nasiljem ili migracijama. Oni su uskraćeni za adekvatna znanja i socijalne veštine (know-how i know-who), zbog čega ne razmišljaju o otpočinjanju sopstvenog posla i ne učestvuju u društvenom životu svojih zajednica već uglavnom planiraju iseljenje u veće sredine ili azil…
Šta smo uradili do sada
– U kratkom period od svega nekoliko meseci dobili smo podršku Mladih istraživača Srbije i Ministarstva omladine i sporta koji su nam pomogli u organizaciji našeg prvog međunarodnog omladinskog kampa, tokom koga su mladi iz svih delova Evrope došli i pomogli nam u našim start-up naporima na renoviranju Kampa i pomogli nam da zajedno praktično testiramo naše ideje.
– Naša ideja o eko kampu koji posluje po principima socijalnog preduzetništva na nacionalnom takmičenju za zelene ideje osvojila je treće mesto i nagradu Erste banke i Trag fondacije. Sredstva od nagrade usmerili smo ka realizacji prve faze renoviranja/konzervacije našeg Kampa i nadamo se prvim mladim kamperima već počev od 1.maja 2016. godine. Naša generalna ideja je da ponudimo naše usluge smeštaja, ishrane, rekreacije i edukacije na tržištu a da potom iskoristimo svaki eventualni profit u kombinaciji sa našim drugim resursima kako bi:
– kreirali sopstveni program besplatnih ili subvencionisanih kampova za ekonomski i socijalno ugrožene mlade i za organizacije mladih sa invaliditetom;
– podržali lokalne organizacije koje se bave očuvanjem prirode, kulturnog i istorijskog nasleđa;
– podržali inicijative koje obogaćuju lokalnu turističku ponudu, proizvodne kapacitete ili druge koje imaju potencijala da unaprede uslove života u našim lokalnim zajednicama.
– Na regionalnom/Balkanskom takmičenju “Filantropija za zelene ideje” naša ideja je osvojila prvo mesto u konkureniciji organizacija iz svih zemalja Balkana i nagradu koju dodeljuje Rockfeller Brothers Fund. Novac od nagrade planiramo da investiramo u renoviranje dela Kampa i pripremu za našu prvu letnju sezonu tokom 2016. godine.
Kamp je veoma veliki u poređenju sa našim skromim kapacitetima.
Zato vas pozivamo da nam se pridružite doniranjem sredstava za našu ideju ili da postanete naši partneri tako što ćete nam pomoći u osmišljavanju modela za inkluzivnu edukaciju i različitih socijalnih sadržaja za mlade sa Balkana.
Svi ste dobrodošli !
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In the heart of the Balkans, at only 13 km from the downtown of the city of Nis, there is a favorite picnic site of people from Nis – „Kamenički vis“ with a devastated Camp settlement which was not operational for the last 10 years. In mid-2015 the Association Kamenica claimed this Camp for long-term use.
Our goal is to renovate the devastated Camp and to form a regional educational and recreational youth camp, which will be fully integrated with the natural, economic and social environment of our region, close to its primary users – young people from the Balkans.
For our young people we plan to organize various camps according to the model „of education through recreation“ which will offer the appealing mixture of educational content with a lot of practice, local excursions and recreational sports and social activities. All this in order to reach full educational potential of our young people, and to build their social capital necessary to „escape from poverty“- but not to „escape from the country!”
Camp will operate under the principles of social entrepreneurship – our general idea is to offer services of accommodation, food, recreation and education to the market, and afterwards use the potential profit in combination with our other resources to:
– create our own programs of free or subventionalized camps for economically and socially endangered youth and for youth organizations of PWD;
– support local organizations dealing with preservation of nature, cultural and historical heritage;
– support initiatives in enrichment of local touristical offer or production capacites and others with direct potential for improvement of living conditions in our local communities.
About the Camp
The Camp is spread on 3 hectares of forest, framed by own access roads and intersected with the 1200m of internal paths and stairs that lead to 21 wooden cottages with a total of 100 beds (each cottage has 4-6 beds, club tables, chairs, bathroom, wooden porches …). These paths also connect the cottages with football and basketball fields from the side of the Camp, and with picnic site, restaurant, and small ski slopes with two ski lifts above the Camp. The Camp is connected to a system of public lighting and is illuminated by 17 large „boulevard lights“ on the edges, and 15 smaller park lights on the paths inside the Camp. The Camp has its own water supply and sewerage network, and its own plant for waste water treatment with the sand filter which is located below the Camp. Since it is only 13 km from the center of Nis, and at the same time on 800m above it, Camp offers a beautiful view of the city and the surrounding area…
How the Camp is integrated with the natural, economic and social environment
Camp is surrounded by more than 20 beautiful caves at 4-10km from the Camp which are easily accessible by forest paths and roads. Among them are „Cerje cave“, which is 6.5 km long and has underground halls larger than a football field and higher than 60m, next to which is a small nameless cave where the remains of an ancient caveman were found, there is also a „Milutin cave“ in which the speleologist Milutin Veljković broke the Guinness World Record by staying walled up in it for 465 days, the „Pearl cave“ with endemic species of salamanders and bats, the cave system „Samar“, next to which there is a magnificent natural stone bridge and „Prekonoga cave“ which was the first arranged for the tourists at the beginning of the 20th century, and then forgotten…
There are also many limestone cliffs with mountain streams with trout and other species of fish … At 5-10 km from the Camp there are 5 small rural spas with healing geothermal springs, which are still known only to the locals. The Camp is surrounded by vast and rich woods with clearings where there are over 40 species of wild medicinal and aromatic plants, among which is the endemic „Ramonda serbica“ or flower „Phoenix“, which was studied by NASA because of its unique ability to revive with a few drops of water after several years of being completely dry. In fact, the territory around the Camp represents a landscape of exceptional beauty which, at the same time, provides possibilities of crop farming in the flat area, vineyard and fruit farming in the hill area and for cattle breeding, exploitation of various forest products and wood biomass in the high area, all this in a relatively small space.
This rich nature has been attracting people for centuries, which left us with diverse and interesting material and non-material heritage. At a distance of 5-10 km from the camp, we have settlements dating from the Stone and Bronze Age, the remains of Roman aqueducts, medieval fortresses, churches and mosques, traditional houses and economic buildings such as water mills, and also specific dialects, folk music, dance and varied cuisine. This is why the area around the Camp is identified as ideal for development of eco, ethno and adrenaline tourism in the „Strategy of the Development of Tourism of the City of Nis“ 2011-2016, but unfortunately, nothing happened after the basic identification…
The Camp is administratively located on the border of the 3 poor municipalities – Pantelej, Crveni Krst and Svrljig, in the center of the territory with more than 40 mountain villages and more than 27,000 still vital inhabitants. Among them is a significant number of young people who belong to the so-called NEET category – Not in Education, Employment or Training-NEET (over 25.3% according to the „Second National Report on Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction“ RS Government „).
Like most young people from the Balkans, they are frustrated due to poverty, their mobility is small –they are not able to travel and share experiences with peers from other communities or countries. So, very often they don’t share the same values with peers from developed areas and usually respond with boycott, violence or migration to the problems or differences in their surroundings. They are also deprived of adequate knowledge and social skills (know-how and know-who) which enable them in using of advantages in their surroundings. This is why, instead of thinking about starting their own local business, they are mainly planning to migrate to a larger environment or to seek asylum…
What have we done until now?
– In the short period of the last few months, we have received support of the Young Researchers of Serbia and the Ministry of Youth and Sport, who have helped us in the organization of our first international youth camp, during which youth from all around Europe came and helped us in our start-up effort on renovation of our camp and in practical testing of our ideas.
– Our idea of eco-camp, which operates under the principles of social entrepreneurship, won the third place in the national competition for green ideas and a financial prize given by Erste Bank and Trag Foundation. With this amount we have started phase 1 of renovation/conservation of our Camp and hope to receive first young campers starting from First of May 2016. Our general idea is to offer services of accommodation, food, recreation and education to the market, and afterwards use the potential profit in combination with our other resources to:
– create our own programs of free or subventionalized camps for economically and socially endangered youth and for youth organizations of PWD;
– support local organizations dealing with preservation of nature, cultural and historical heritage;
– support initiatives in enrichment of local touristical offer or production capacities and others with direct potential for improvement of living conditions in our local communities
– At the regional/Balkan competition “Philantropy for green ideas” our idea won the first place and a prize awarded by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. The awarded money will be used in restoration of the part of our Camp and for the preparation of our first season in summer 2016.
But, the Camp is very large compared to our modest capacities, so:
We invite you to join us by donating your funds for our idea, or by becoming our partners in shaping of various models of inclusive education and social contents for the youth from the Balkans.
You are all welcome!
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