*By Dimitris Kyriazis
Maria Petra returned after 16 years to the town where she was born and brought up, Xanthi, with a very specific vision in mind for the balanced development of the town, but also of the Greek countryside in general.
PASTALI.AMKE, which she set up together with two other fellow travellers from Xanthi, aims to rescue, promote, highlight, preserve and ultimately reuse Greece’s productive culture and productive heritage in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. For her, the essential link between the productive past and present is more necessary than ever if we want this region of Greece to have a sustainable future.
The Faerop Festival, the brainchild of PASTALI.AMKE, is the first festival celebrating productive and industrial heritage in Greece. It focuses on on-site seminars, modern industry, the rediscovery of the historical past and its connection to the productive present, as well as artistic creation through which the organisers aim to draw inspiration from our productive history and help us embrace our productive identity without fear or hindrance.
“I was born and brought up in Xanthi, where my parents were civil servants. We are both from the region: my father is from Evros and my mother is from the prefecture of Kavala. Xanthi in the 1980s and 1990s was a lively provincial town, which thrived on the many cooperative factories. It had experienced a wave of internal migration from other parts of Greece due to these enterprises, which were founded on the initiative of Alexandros Baltatzis. It was, and still is, a city with a vibrant social and cultural life.
I left Xanthi to study in Thessaloniki, at the Department of History and Archaeology, where I spent four years. I then went on to do my master’s degree at the Department of Cultural Technology and Communication at the University of the Aegean in Mytilene. I ended up living on Lesbos for 16 years and worked in private education and, from time to time, at the Ephorate of Antiquities. For me, Lesbos was a particularly peaceful place, rich in history and with a unique way of looking at things. It became my second home for many reasons, and this bond will never be broken. I believe we always return to the places that have shaped us.
In 2019, I returned to my hometown, Xanthi, for family reasons. Returning to a familiar place after 20 years, particularly during the pandemic, was not particularly easy; however, my familiarity with the area and, above all, getting to know people who shared my interests were crucial in helping me to stay and redefine my relationship with Xanthi. I returned to stay, not just as a passing visitor.
Xanthi is never dull. It is a unique Greek region, with a diverse population and a vibrant cultural scene. It offers quick and easy access to a rich natural environment (one of the most forested prefectures in Greece).
PASTALI is the brainchild of three friends and business partners who grew up in Xanthi. First of all, let me explain that the word has its origins in tobacco processing. “Pastaliasma” referred to the process of selecting the finest tobacco leaves – the sorting process. Why “pastali”? Not only because we are based in an old tobacco farmhouse – a pre-industrial building designated a protected site by the Ministry of Culture – but also because the pastaliasma process involved the meticulous work of selecting the very best.
PASTALI.AMKE represents a first step towards addressing the issues surrounding productive heritage in our region and beyond in an organised manner. The company’s main objectives are the rescue, promotion, preservation and reuse of Greek productive culture and Greek productive heritage in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors.
Furthermore, our aim is to promote and revive the cooperative movement and education, the foundations of which were laid by Alexandros Baltatzis, the pioneer of the cooperative movement in the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, together with his associates, and embraced by workers from all walks of life in our region. The vital link between the productive past and present is more essential than ever.
Every rural community and municipality must “revive” spaces, memories and people in order to regain the foundation that provides stability and balance to societies. We study our productive past for one primary and essential reason: to recover our productive perspective. Knowledge is power only when it is clearly put into practice.
PASTALI, as a space – quite apart from being the headquarters of PASTALI. AMKE and the Faerop Festival – is evolving into a centre for research, education and hospitality, where industrial archaeology will play a central role.
PASTALI.AMKE is based in the village of Chrysa. Chrysa has been a mixed village since 1922. It was founded by Ottoman Muslims towards the end of the 18th century. The village was originally called Kiretsiler, meaning ‘Asvestochori’. The residents were involved in the tobacco trade; Kiretsiler basma was once considered the most aromatic tobacco in the world. From 1923 onwards, the village expanded with the creation of Nea Chrysa and the settlement of refugees, mainly from Asia Minor and a few Thracians. I must point out that the majority of people of refugee origin in Xanthi were from Eastern Thrace. The village is now a settlement; it has been incorporated into Xanthi.
The idea for the Faerop Festival also originated through PASTALI. This is the first nationwide festival celebrating productive and industrial heritage. “Faerop” was a slang term used by tobacco workers, derived from the English phrase “we got fired” – meaning they were sacked or “thrown out” when they were not “wise” or when their work was finished, as their employment was seasonal. However, here the word is used in a reversed, euphemistic sense, to mean that we are organising the festival so that we do not have to ‘faerop’ from our own place.
The Festival therefore began in 2024 and is based in Xanthi, but we wish to forge links with other parts of the region. This year it begins in mid-September, with a focus on seminars at construction sites, modern industry, the rediscovery of our historical past and the connection with our productive present. There is also artistic creation, which we want to be inspired by our productive history and to help us confront our productive identity without fear or obstacles. PASTALI.AMKE, through the Faerop Festival – in which we hope other organisations will take part, as is already beginning to happen – is seeking to address the issue of an unpaid debt owed to our region and the collapse of large cooperative ventures, with honesty, scientific rigour and social engagement.
I feel that my decision to return to Xanthi was the right one, as my field of work and my focus on industrial heritage is a rich and creative area.
I would like to change a number of things. Infrastructure is a major problem. For example, we have a dilapidated hospital, whilst the needs are great. Unemployment is another issue, which has forced – and continues to force – a large proportion of the population to emigrate.
I would like it to be a cleaner city; public spaces are not being looked after, and not only the local authorities but also the citizens themselves are responsible for this. Traffic is an issue that requires changes both to the way the city functions and to the mindset of its residents. I would like us to turn our attention back to production and the balanced development of the countryside. The prefecture of Xanthi is, unfortunately, a prefecture suffering from hydrocephalus.
If you mean decentralisation as a personal choice, I would suggest that anyone interested should consider the issues of work and quality of life – which, for me, also involve leisure time – as well as, of course, a supportive social environment. It is worth trying it out before making a decision, starting with frequent visits, without exaggeration or embellishment. Overall, I would say that there ought to be a structured, phased plan for decentralisation. But how can this be achieved when the primary sector is under severe pressure, and when the remaining factories are concentrated in large urban centres? At present, there is no political body in Greece that is addressing the practical issues of decentralisation. The findings regarding the decline of the countryside are not enough. We here, as far as we can, want to stay where we are, and production is the only way, I believe.”
Source: lifo.gr