“The struggle itself […] is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”

― Albert Camus

We never quite fully understood Camus’ famous quote from the end of his philosophical essay The Myth of Sisyphus until we began this crazy radna akcija (“work action”) that lasted from May to September 2022. It took us around three months, plenty of work actions during the summer, and numerous friends and volunteers to carry around 8 tonnes of material uphill – around 400 bags of sand and 45 bags of cement – that will be used for the renovation of the old stone house.

During these three months, at least 50 people helped in one way or another, while 10–15 were the most persistent and sometimes even fanatical (not wanting to stop working). One of them spent the entire day carrying sand bags uphill (each bag weighing approximately 20-30 kg). Some did less, but in the end, what counts is the collective spirit and determination to continue even when the whole mission looked like a never-ending Mediterranean version of “Fitzcarraldo.”

Take a look at our gallery and our tired and happy faces: