Team’s air compressor
This air compressor was also donated to the Kythera WCC Team by the German Aid Organisation “Brot für die Welt” and arrived at Kythira in 1961. Fortunately this machine stood on wheels and could be tractor-pulled to all remote places on the island.
Pvc pipes had been donated by a Dutch manufacturer for community water supply in the villages Logothetianika, Potamos and Karavas in 1962. In these three villages local people dug the required trenches to the plans made by Koksma and as approved by governmental authorities. The four civil engineering students from Holland supervised the work that locations and depth of trenches was adhered to and installed also the pvc pipes. The house connections were done later by local plumbers.
Potamos got its community water years later only after a drill for artesian water had been successful near Logothetianika in 1966 and the required connecting pipes had been installed.
Logothetianika got its water already in August 1963.
Karavas got its water from a spring below Diakopoulianika, from where it was pumped up.
In Mylopotamos the construction for the home economic school for girls had started in July 1964. Excavations in hard and rocky soil was necessary for the column footings and the interconnecting foundation beams.
At Paleopolis for a proposed irrigation project a location 1500 m inland of river Peristerionas was indicated by a governmental hydrologist to excavate a 1000 m3 water reservoir. A summer camp from Holland with 30 youth started this excavation July 1965. The subsoil was very hard and needed first to broken-down by jack hammer. This project was cancelled after torrential rains in October and November had caused the excavation to be filled with rubble by a huge river flood.
A provisional path existed from Viaradika joining the road from Fratsia to Paleopolis near the church Agios Vasilios. A little above the two workmen the air compressor is located, the path should be widened towards the existing narrow bridge over a deep gorge.
Livadi 1966: After the bulldozer had left, the air compressor was needed for the finishing touch in the excavation for the water tank for the community water project. August 6 in 1969 this project was officially opened.
In Mylopotamos the air compressor did help a Dutch summer camp to dig trenches for pvc pipes from a water source to the village centre in 1967. This project was finished in November by local people.
Fratsia got its community water project in 1968. Again, youth from The Netherlands came to do the digging for the trenches in which to install the pvc pipes.
By now 6 villages between 1962 and 1968 had been provided with a complete community water system by the Koksma Team. Early 1969 also Kapsali and Kalamos partially got their community water with pvc pipes.
The Koksma-Team was discontinued after September 1971.
By then the Mylopotamos school was officially opened and also the construction of the old peoples home in Potamos was finished.
In the Kythera Summer Edition 2017 I read an article about a worn and old automobile that stood rusting away in an orchard. In the last sentence of this article appeared the name Panagiotis Kasimatis (Karinos). When I asked him about this article he told me that he also owned the old air compressor that once belonged to Koksma’s Team. He took us to have a look at this now nearly 60 years old piece of equipment.
The lettering Παγκόσμιον Συμβούλιον των Εκκλησιών which had been stencilled on in large capitals in 1965 had totally faded away.
Other equipment: the bulldozer and the jeep.