Kalotrofa is a research program about Food sovereignty and the diffusion of Social and Solidarity Economy, coordinated by the Department of Social Policy of Panteion University of Athens and funded by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation.

It aims to build on existing research findings and materials by using diverse participatory tools and processes to raise awareness about the subject of sustainable food production and consumption, work ethics, and the political implications of ongoing crises in terms of food chains. The main target groups which are involved throughout the entire project are:

  • school teachers
  • municipality officers
  • members of cooperatives

The main output of Kalotrofa is creating a hub to diffuse the vision of more environmentally friendly culture and behaviour relating to food. In addition, an educational game of interactive learning will be developed through participatory processes with the involvement of the target groups. People involved in the development process of the game will be the future ambassadors of Kalotrofa in their work environment.

Concept diagram

Open Lab Athens is responsible for coordinating the participatory design of the educational tool and the prototyping of the game. The process of the workshop series is based on the methodology of the Game Design Machine included in the Participatory Toolkit.

THE KALOTROFI EFFECT (the board role play game)

The game KALOTROFI Effect* is a modular educational process based on the logic of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) which is being developed in terms of the program Kalotrofa2, Social and solidarity economy hub for food sovereignty and sustainability. The central theme is the issue of food sovereignty and sustainability in which it negotiates issues of sociology, economy, politics, environment – climate crisis, utilizing the educational approach of intersubjectivity. The methodology for the creation of the educational tool is being based on the Game Design Machine. Having as a starting point an extensive research of Panteion University, the team designed and implemented a series of co-design workshops with cooperative work- ers, school teachers and municipality officers in order to collectively analyze the aspects of the theme and translate those aspects into narratives and educative game environments.

*From the greek words Καλό- (good) and -τροφή (food) _ [fictional expression] The term “kalotrofi effect” is used in social sciences to describe the collective feeling of disconnection of the members of a community from its past and its future. It took its name from a Mediterranean island name, where at the beginning of the 21st century, its inhabitants experienced a series of strange events, which led them to radical changes in their way of life and the management of the natural resources of their place. Even today these events are covered with a veil of mystery.

The project was supported by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (H.F.R.I.) under the “3rd Call for Action “Science and Society” “Research, Innovation and Dissemination Hubs”” (Project Number: 05713).