A group from Municipal Youth Centre returned home from Karlstad – Sweden. The project was a bilateral youth exchange with an ecological theme “Up-cycle”, financed by the Swedish National Agency for the “Youth in Action”. The project was organized in two parts. During the first part Swedish group visited Rousse, and in the second Swedish group returned the hospitality. During their stay in Bulgaria youths discussed the benefits of recycling, worked in groups, made interesting things of already used materials.
Another important part of the project was the exchange of experience between these two countries regarding recycling. When the youths arrived in Karlstad they had the honor to visit one of the largest companies for the production of organic coffee in the Nordic countries – “Löfbergs”. The company was founded in 1906 and today it is still a family company. Private company director Catherine Lyofbergs familiarize local citizens with this story. More than an hour and a half Ms. Lyofbergs presented interesting facts about coffee – the process from planting to manual harvesting and facts about purely environmental roasting and packaging. Of course youths from Rousse tried by that famous Swedish coffee. Another eco-destination that group visited was the “Plant for recycling and production of electricity.” Initially young people acquainted with the work of the plant through presentations and then fitted with special equipment were divorced in the factory. Originally they passed in the hall where the garbage trucks unloaded meetings trash, mixing it with special machines, and then burned to produce electricity. Then they passed through the halls in which banked “wood chips” processed from naturally fallen trees, which also serves to generate electricity. Also, the territory of the factory was one of several distinct Municipality Karlstad, “Center for recycling.” In these centers people coming and leaving useless already electric appliances. For each species has separate seating – appliances, furniture, batteries, small appliances, fluorescent cigars ordinary bulbs. Director of the Municipal Youth Centre Rousse – Mr. Marian Savov was a special guest of the deputy. Mayor for Culture and Tourism of the Municipality of Karlstad, Mr. Bo Svensson. They discussed joint future projects. During the rest of their stay youngsters had workshops in which they made different kinds of art with already used materials and were introduced to some landmarks. One of them was the Natural Science Museum, located in a lovely scenery with houses from the time of Vikings and Zoo, in which people can freely enter and walk along with its inhabitants. Project participants returned with unforgettable emotions and experiences as well as ideas for future joint projects.
