Athinodoros Georgiou and his team of local craftsmen recreate Cypriot culture!
Craftsman Athinodoros Georgiou along with a team of local craftsmen revive the old trades and customs of Cyprus in an effort to promote folklore tradition and preserve the authentic culture of the island. At a time when old Cypriot crafts tend to disappear, Athinodoros and his team revitalize the Cypriot culture in an imaginative way.
Demonstrations of traditional crafts
The craftsmen utilise their creative talent, offering experiential demonstrations of traditional Cypriot crafts and rural occupations such as:
- Grape stomping (pressing the grapes for wine production)
- Distillation of zivania
- Decorative carving mallow ( pumpkin’s decoration/engraving)
- Chair and bottle (“lamintzana”) lacing
- Wood carving
- Basketry (basket weaving)
- Weaving
- Leather knitting
- Preparation of traditional spoon sweets
These demonstrations are interesting recreational activities ideal for the entertainment of hotel guests (Cypriot nights), wineries (wine tours), travel agencies, organisers of group activities and incentive trips and for the entertainment of various local communities (traditional festivals). With these demonstrations, guests have the opportunity to discover several traditional trades and customs just the way they were once applied, while having the chance to create their own piece of art under the guidance of the craftsmen.
Cypriot handicraft lessons
In promoting the richness and the quality of local handicrafts, Athinodoros Georgiou along with his team, offer Cypriot craft workshops that can be offered as a team building activity for incentive groups. Athinodoros’ workshops include tutorials of decorative carving mallow, weaving on the loom (“fithkiotiko”, “lefkonoitziatiko” design and “kourelou” – patchwork), basketry weaving (baskets – “paneria”, “tsestoi”), leather knitting (“vourka” – shepherd’s bag) and more.
Crafts, visual art and souvenirs
Apart from these, the traditional exhibit which is presented on Athinodoros’ website presents all the work available for sale (different kinds of handicrafts, artistic creations and original souvenirs).
Athinodoros and his team bring foreign and local visitors closer to the Cypriot culture, helping to preserve the cultural heritage of the island.