One of the local sweets in Cyprus is called loukoumi, also known as Cypriot Delight. Among the most famous places it is made in is Geroskipou, a village about a 15-minute drive from the Archaeological site of Pafos and Lefkara. Here, you’ll find local producers making loukoumi at their factories in the back of their shops and they’ll be happy to show you how it’s done.
During our workshops and through discussions it became evident that although the women had been in different places across the island and they already knew some local traditional sweets, they had never tasted the traditional lokoumi of Cyprus. There are many places in Cyprus that make lokoumi (Paphos and Lefkara).
They decided that they wished to know more about this traditional delegacy and if possible, visit a village where this tradition takes place. They researched and presented to the rest of the women how this sweet is made. They identified places where this lokoumi is created and coordinated with the rest of the teams so during our trip, they could visit a place where the lokoumi is created. During our cultural trip they arranged with a local from Lefkara to get more information on this sweet and tasting.
The women came in contact with a local shop owner in Lefkara village who makes the traditional sweet. The women arranged for an appointment with the shop owner, so that during our visit to Lefkara learn more about this tradition and taste the sweet.
EDITC supported the women during the process and introduced them to a local in Lefkara to plan for our visit to his store.
After the visit sessions were held to summarize the learning outcomes of the visit and the lessons learn from the entire process.
This activity was empowering for the women. It helped them to develop leadership skills, come in contact with the locals and learn more about local traditions.
This type of visits are applicable to all stages of the Cultural Citizenship Scale but in this case is conected with levels 3 and 4. The women themselves get the information, plan and organise the activitity in a team work.
