“Pánjika” is a non-profit Cooperative based in Leonidio, a village of 3.800 inhabitants in Arcadia, Greece. The cooperative has, at the moment, 15 members, both locals from Leonidio, and other countries.
The idea for the Cooperative came from some of its members, who are also climbers and had started being active in Leonidio by 2013, in what concerned the development of climbing in the surrounding area.
​
Since more and more climbers started visiting the area, it was clear that we lacked a meeting point, a place where visitors could share their ideas, get involved with locals, and get to know Leonidio; the tradition, the culture, the mentality. While Climbing was and still remains the main motive behind the creation of the Cooperative, the diversity of the people involved led to a broadening of the Cooperative’s aims.
One of the most important intentions was to create our own working circumstances, with our own rules and ideas in a working environment where we would be the bosses of ourselves; meaning that everyone participates in the decisions. In this way, we express our opposition to the ways of the global economy, which aim to obtain the highest possible profit at the expense of producers, consumers, workers, and the global natural environment.
Another aim is to support and promote the idea of a solidarity economy through the collaboration with producers and employees that are also organized in communities and cooperatives and whose working relations are also based on solidarity and mutual respect.
​
Publishing our own guidebook was driven by the need to finance route setting projects in the area with the best possible quality of materials as well as to contribute to the maintenance of existing routes, with respect to the surrounding natural environment.
Our Story
Our Aims
Panjika Today
Pánjika is a Café, a Bar, a Restaurant, a climbing shop, a food market, an exhibition gallery, and a social space for alternative learning practices, focusing on art education and climbing. We are a cooperation between professionals of various fields who work together in the making of anything that is produced in this Cooperative. We hold events, educational seminars, and other activities regularly, and we are the publishers of 4 climbing guidebooks about climbing in Leonidio, Kyparissi, and the surrounding areas. Our books are a collaborative endeavor between members of the cooperative and the volunteer work of many climbers and external contributors who share our vision. The profit from our books supports the sustainable development of our vision through financing bolting and infrastructure maintenance of the climbing sectors, operational costs that ensure the functioning of the cooperative's activities, and the implementation of social and cultural activities that strengthen community bonds, like exhibitions, music events, educational and creative workshops and more, donations to social initiatives and more.
If you are interested in our activities or would like to support Panjika Cooperative in any way, please contact us via e-mail and share your ideas with us