insight - in greece, a painful return to country roots - graphic design tablet

Conica, Greece (Reuters)-
13 years after giving up a graphic design career in rural Greece, Spiridoula Lakka found herself in the last position she expected --
Water a piece of lettuce and herbs in her sleepy village.
Greece has fallen into the worst economic crisis since World War II, and Raqqa has given up his dream of becoming a web designer.
Even a waiter seems impossible.
She faced a simple choice: either to be trapped with no money in Athens or to return to the old village where she was going to run away when she grew up.
The 32-year-old Lakka, an office worker who also works in juggling, joined more and more Greeks in the hope of returning to the countryside.
It was a reversal of the journey of their parents and grandparents at the age of 1960 and 70.
There is little data on how many people have traveled long distances, but with anger at the June 17 poll, anecdotal evidence and interviews with officials suggest that the trend is becoming strong.
In Kapa Research's survey of nearly 1,300 Greeks in March, more than 68% said they were considering moving to the countryside, most of whom thought rural life was cheaper and of higher quality.
Most people are expected to move permanently.
"A year ago, I couldn't imagine myself holding a garden hoe or engaging in any farming activities," Lakka said . " She said when watering the village of Konitsa that it was in the snow
At the top of the mountain near the Afghan border.
"I always wanted to leave the village.
I never thought I would spend my life here.
Her experience is far from idyllic.
Young arrival, city-
Those who had never left looked at the Greeks who lived with compassion and hope.
"Those who came back were desperate.
They won't come back because they want to, "said Stefanou Vaggelis, 50. year-
He threw tsipouro back.
Strong spirit that locals like
There are friends in the center of the village, surrounded by pubs.
This summer, from the inquiries he received from the city --
Vaggelis predicts that as many as 60 people will move to Konitsa for vacation, where more than half of the population of about 3,000 is aged 60 or over.
"They usually ask if the country is subsidizing agriculture and growing pomegranate, snail and vanilla medicine," he said . "year-
Old acquaintances returned to the mountain to look after the sheep.
Greek farmers mostly run small businesses and survive on EU subsidies.
They complain that subsidies have halved in the past five years.
In the northern city of Thessaloniki, a farmer's school said applications for its high school program have tripled this year. Cheese-making and bee-
The American Farm School, founded in 1904 by an American missionary who was passionate about teaching practical skills, was also very dynamic.
Its course from pre-
From school to adults.
Panos Kanellis, principal of the school, said: "Everyone is very interested . "
He said that this trend is driven by the crisis and the desire of many Greeks for the quality of life in the city, which is impossible to find in the city.
Greek families traditionally own houses or land in their hometowns, often working on fragrant olives, lemons and orange groves, or mixing vibrant greens and tomatoes.
For those who return home, rural life promises to rent a house
Free housing, farm produce in the backyard to fill the plate and get support from the network of relatives and friends.
According to the Kapa survey, most people plan to rely on family and friends to help them.
"In Athens, I did a lot of work that I didn't like, but I had to compromise," Lakka said . ".
"In the village, you have your own home and you can grow vegetables to eat.
Fifty years ago, one in every two Greeks was engaged in agriculture. The Pan-
The Greek Union of Agricultural Cooperatives is a union of farmers. The coalition said employment had steadily declined in early 2000, but agriculture had increased 38,000 jobs between 2008 and 2010, as Greece fell into a fifth-year recession.
Ioannis Tsiforos, general manager of the Union, said that in 2011, when the bank crisis squeezed loans to farmers, it lost its job again, but people continued to return to the village.
"We have a lot of people, most of them in the middle --
"This trend is particularly evident in Crete and the twelve islands in the East," he said.
Until recently, the countryside of Greece was where young people fled.
After World War II, the temptation of urban employment triggered a wave of migration to urban centers.
In the 30 years to 1981, the population of Athens had more than doubled to 3 million.
Today, the Greek capital is still home to about 4 million of Greece's 11 million population, but it no longer attracts young and promising people.
The unemployment rate in Athens was 22%, slightly higher than the national average.
Homeless people lined up in the streets, and poor people looked for scrap products through garbage bins.
The closed shop window is marked with a "rental.
Crime surged, turning parts of Athens into virtual
Go to the area at night.
All this is a shock to Laca.
Like everyone else in Konitsa, she believed from an early age that moving to a big city was a ritual.
She studied design in Thessaloniki and moved to the capital when she was 22.
It turned out that it was hard for her to find a job in graphic design, so she started doing odd jobs.
Her major breakthrough was the signing of an interim contract with an office staff member of the national social security fund, which she hoped would eventually become a permanent contract.
The remuneration of 640 euros is negligible ($800)
Every month, Lakka works as a waiter and office worker.
Subsequently, the debt crisis broke out, forcing Greece to accept aid from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
It's hard for Leica to find extra work. Panic set in.
The last straw was in last June when she knew there was no money to renew the contract.
"At that moment, I said to myself, 'This is it.
"It's impossible for me to start begging my friend for a new job again," she said . ".
"I decided to return to my village.
A wild cherryand maple tree-
Boulevard from Lakka family business-
Gas stations and cafes
Konitsa deputy mayor Nikos Karras smiled while thinking about the unexpected return home of rural youth.
About 10 people returned last year, he said, and the area is preparing for more people.
"It is important for the young people to come back to the area, because so far we have been living in the opposite environment: everyone has left, the only person who stays is the elderly, 41 saidyear-old.
"When someone is unemployed in a city and has no hope of finding another job, they come here as a last resort.
We will be the last to starve because when you have a field or garden you can produce food for yourself and make sure you survive.
But it is not easy to adapt to life in the village.
Lakka wants to use her city skills to try and transform the gas station cafe.
With the decline of coca
There is a Coke sign outside, with a mass of cigarette smoke hanging on the wooden table inside, and the cafe provides old customers with basic food for tsipouro, coffee and sandwiches.
Raqqa is not.
As she spoke about her plans from a table in the corner of the cafe, her eyes lit up and her mother was by her side.
She wanted local hunters to cook their food on the grill in the restaurant;
She will season the menu with goat stew, tripe, casserole and pasta.
"My dream is to change the store completely," she said . ". But the tight-
There are other ideas in Knit village community.
A rival cafe owner said he wanted Raqqa to close the store and return to Athens.
Others sneaked behind her.
"A woman said that girls from Athens came to change our way of life, but she had to adapt to us, not the other way around," Raqqa said . ".
"These things upset me.
I'm just not used to it, "she said.
"They don't say it directly to me, but the people they know will pass it on to me.
As a single woman without a wedding plan, Raqqa is also an abnormal place in a very traditional place.
"Even my own parents are under a lot of pressure to get married and have children.
She used to wear short skirts and bare backless tops.
She replaced them with loose jeans.
"There is no privacy in the village.
"You feel like everyone is judging and trying to control you, there's gossip," she said . ".
"This is a closed society.
She turned to herbs.
The rugged mountains that surround her village are home to more than 2,000 varieties.
She also likes a row of beehives on the dirt road near the cafe.
Lakka said she hopes to one day sell a bunch of her rat Lee, net hemp and mint in a small kiosk on the side of the road.
The happy ending is uncertain.
All she knew was that Athens did not leave her much choice.
"I still have a second idea, though from what I heard from my friends in Athens, I made the right choice," she said . ".
"Things are getting too difficult there and they want to leave too.