Hello, we are four French friends - Antoine, François, Romain and Emilien - dreaming of the same adventure ! We're all finishing this year our master's degree at university and in a few months, the constraints of classes, timetable, studying, academic counselling, cold fries at student restaurant etc. will be over … That didn't happened to us since our admission to children school ! We catch this opportunity to carry out a project that we really believe in. Flowing down on kayaks the Vjosa river in Albania. We planned it several months ago, for summer 2017, and called this project "Albanyak".

The Vjosa, lying in Southern Albania, is one of the last wild rivers in Europe. That means its course has not been stopped or modified by human with dams or various obstacles. The four of us having a biology background from university, we all feel concerned about the quality and preservation of natural habitats and landscapes. But actually, there is no need to be biologist or hydro-scientist to realize that this place is exceptional because the landscapes speak for themselves !

However, very few people know that the Vjosa exists. Even fewer know that it is endangered today : 8 dams are in project across the Vjosa and the authorization procedures for construction are going fast. To save the Vjosa now, the attention should be drawn on this unique place and make its richness recognized and protected. Faced with this crictical situation, we decided to do our possible to preserve the Vjosa, using our scientific skills in natural habitats and species.

Albanyak is not only a sport challenge (272 km paddling for non-expert kayakers) or a simple tour in Albania. We want to help local defenders of their natural heritage, but avoiding interventionism. The idea is to meet differently involved people to exchange points of view, not to impose ours. During the whole trip we will be shooting. Once back to France we will edit a film, and show it to millions of people (hopefully) !

We are already in touch with local institutions, who seem very enthusiastic about our project. In France - and Europe, why not ?- we contact companies and media to spread our message as widely as we can.
 
If you are interested in Albanyak, do not hesitate, contact us !