‘Farm2Fork’ was an Erasmus+ youth exchange by the Scout Association of Malta – Xaghra Scout Group. Between the 17th and the 22nd of August. 32 Rover Scouts between the ages of 18 and 26 from Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania, Spain and Malta were united in a camp that was held in both Gozo and Malta.
The camp was officially opened by Parliamentary Secretary Chris Agius. The project was financed by Erasmus+ and held in collaboration with Fish4Tomorrow, MEUSAC and Permaculture Research Foundation.
The main topics that were catered for during this week were health and wellbeing, rural development, urbanisation and intercultural and intergenerational education and life-long learning.
Through a learning by doing approach the youths got the chance to do an orienteering food themed hike, kayak, visits to different farms, debate, reach out to teenagers and much more.
Project Manager Josmar Azzopardi recounts, “when the concept of Farm2Fork was brainstormed 8 months ago while enjoying coffee and cake at Marsalforn, we never assumed it would turn out so great!”
Josmar added, “I believe that we have showed that it is fun to explore beyond the usual scouting boundaries and deal with topics of food security, supply chains, food waste and so on. Having the opportunity to work with an amazing planning team and awesome participants from across Europe, turned out to be quite a challenge, thrilling and most often surpassing my expectations.”
The experience ended with an International Evening held at the Xaghra Square, where the participants cooked their traditional food for the general public to taste. This was a huge success as all those present welcomed the Scouts with open arms. Participant Angie Hategan from Romania summarised her experience as follows:
“Probably one of the most beautiful experiences I’ve ever had in my life. The staff made it possible for us to have the best time possible in Malta and Gozo. Farm2Fork was a project out of which I got heart-warming memories, a new scouting experience, new friends from around the world and big smiles to last for a long time when looking back. Fun, challenging, uplifting, rewarding. These are just a few words that come to mind when thinking of my ten days spent in Malta with all those beautiful, great people. Thank you all for making this happen!”