1964 Technical activities of the Team -

1964 Technical activities of the Team.

1964 Up to and including June unfortunately no work reports are available.

*interesting read, letters from Koksma in 1964, Agia Pelagia

Two technical students, Gerard Helmink and Wim Rijnberk, from Arnhem Technical High School came to strengthen the Team in the beginning of February. As in June/July the construction for the rural school for girls in Mylopotamos with aid of two summer camps would start, they and Dave Vijsma had a lot to design and to draft.

Gerard has made a lot of pictures at Kythira and of the work of the summer campers. In his extensive photo album, he explained also what the pictures did contain. From these I selected the pictures you see below and tried to give some explanatory texts.

All pictures below are made by Team member Gerard Helmink

**In the archive of Gerard Helmink Jean Bingen found a serie of photos made by mr Fatseas

25 March 1964 100 Years Eptanisia

1964 Ceremony at Chora’s Kastro. Marines and their band have come from the mainland.

1964 Chora Indepence Day with marine at Kastro

1964 Marching to Chora’s square. (The tavern building is since long demolished, an ugly gap remaining!)

1964 High School Students leaving ceremony

LONG LIVE THE EPTANISIA

1964 Marines and their band leaving for Kapsali to return to the mainland.

1964 Mr. Vasili and folk dancers in traditional costumes

1964 Afterwards also folk dancing in traditional costumes on Potamos Square

1964 Afterwards also folk dancing in traditional costume on Potamos Square

>> Photos of Indenpendence day 1962 and 1965 and High School Sports Demonstration

1964 Entering Chora from Livadi: on the left the future community building under construction, existing community house, now museum, on the right the Dapontes power station. No circular road yet.

1964 Capsized and sunken small oil tanker at Diakofti. For years beaches were polluted, excavated sand was used on unpaved (dirt) roads.

1964 Agia Pelagia Small wooden boat under construction.

1964 View on Agia Pelagia, far right the small shipyard

1964 Leaving from Agia Pelagia’s small jetty

1964 Monthly reports: A summary of main topics, events, visitors, etc.

1964 July

1^st Voluntary summer work youth camp from Holland to start construction of the Mylopotamos school was lodged in Myrtidia in one of the outside buildings. They arrived 29 June and left 26 July. Athens office did send two Greek girls for the group as interpreters. Local people wondered by whom the summer campers were paid for their fare and work! Koksma therefore wrote an article about their ecumenical ideas and intentions in a local paper. Their timetable: wakeup call 04.45, after morning prayers breakfast at 5.30, then by old truck the transport to Mylopotamos. To organize the kitchen two campers were to stay behind, also two campers to clean the tree nursery that existed in Myrtidia. At 09.00 a break for a second breakfast. Work stopped at 12.30 after cleaning up the work site. Lunch was held at 14.00, after a siesta until 16.00 there was a possibility for a swim, to take a walk or sometimes an excursion somewhere by truck. First excavations for the foundations started 30 June. Team’s bulldozer and air compressor had to help breaking the harder bedrock. By this 1^st work camp in 4 weeks time in total 125 m¹ foundation beam length and the deep-water cellar was dug, rebar bending was done for column footings and beams, and 25 m³ of concrete was poured. Dave Vijsma, Team’s architectural engineer, prepared last revisions on plan drawings for the school as requested by Greek authorities. Renovating work at the monastery of Myrtidia is nearly finished. Stable building is ongoing in several places. The first plan drawings for the old people’s home in Potamos should incorporate an old existing building and should be ready next month. Bishop Meletios does not yet fully agree with these plans. A topographical drawing for Agia Pelagia’s development plan was finished by one of the technical students. An argument with the Ministry of Agriculture concerning the reforestation was settled, and money was sent for the local forestry to lessen the burden on the Team. The construction of the large cistern at Gerakari, 350 m³ for drinking water for animals, could be continued. Around this area some 50.000 dendrosa midiki, a clover variety for animal fodder, will be planted. At Platia Ammos harbour works started.

1964 August

The 2^nd voluntary summer work youth camp from Holland to continue the construction of the Mylopotamos school was lodged in Mylopotamos. They arrived 26 July and left 20 August. (Participant Hans van Oosterom wrote a humoristic daily diary, 58 pages in Dutch, from 23 July when they left Holland by train, their stay and work in Mylopotamos and up to 27 August when they arrived home again in Holland.) Halfway below the road to Agia Moni the government started the construction of a water container for animal drinking. This as part of a tremendous tree planting and cattle improvement plan. According the Team and the local forester the tree nursery for Kythera should be at Agios Theodoros, and therefore a water tank is needed. Visitors were Mr. Geoffrey Murray as Chief of the Geneva Information Department, Mr. Kassimatis from Tasmania to discuss the old people’s home in Potamos, Dr. Schepers, accompanied by Mrs. Schepers, as Chief of the Ecumenical Youth Council of The Netherlands. The two technical students from Arnhem, Holland, left Kythera 16 August to resume their study in Holland.

1964 Sep, Oct, November

First visitor in September was Dr. Tilanus, president of the social welfare division for international help from the Dutch Reformed Church and member of the Parliament from Holland. Pastor Heimer, from the German Evangelical Church in Athens, came to Kythera in October to visit 95-year-old German Mrs. Kasapis who was seriously ill and who passed away in November. Dr. Kasapis, medical doctor, who acted as interpreter the first years for the Team and taught them Greek, was a well-known Greek from Asia Minor, Thessaloniki, Crete and already for many years at Kythera. Mr. Kakarelis, geologist and hydrologist of the Ministry of Agriculture, came to discuss and determine with the Bishop and the Team the actual water situation on the island and the possible improvements. There was agreement on the location of a 1000 m3 water tank in dry riverbed at Paleopolis. Mr. Maliakos, Minister of Agriculture had promised help for this irrigation project at Paleopolis. New team member Eddy Stevels, trainee electrical draughtsman, arrived in September, also Hans Peter Jann from Switzerland, agricultural engineer, arrived the end of October to strengthen the Team for two years. Dave Vijsma, architectural designer, left mid-October after having been two years at Kythera. Mrs. Koksma bought 150 dolls and 40.000 small candles in Athens to be sold in Holland to pay expenditures for the school at Mylopotamos. Mr. Koksma mentions the way how things get started in Greece with little money and by showing there is interest and progress to achieve something, there is always the hope on getting more funding from other sources. This period 7 stables are under construction.

>> Technical activities of the team in 1965

More photos made by Gerard Helmink, click on a photo to enlarge