With the looming context of the fourth Greek bailout, the European Rural Sustainability Gathering 2017 kicked off in in Karditsa, Greece. The event saw the social economy, cooperatives and grassroots initiatives take centre stage, as tools and approaches to address the crisis. The location displayed the best of progressive rural development, the methods employed were aptly mixed, and the participants came away very energised. Here we explore one element of days in mountainous Greece – crisis, problems and solutions.