A Legacy of Progress: The Koksmas’ Contribution to Kythira
In 1956, Bishop Meletios Galanopoulos (who passed away in 1972) appealed to the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva for assistance in improving living conditions on Kythira. This request reached the WCC office in the Netherlands, leading to civil and architectural engineer J.M. Koksma’s investigative visit to the island in 1959.
Koksma’s initial assessment focused on “community development,” and this website presents his handwritten notes notes from those first five days, outlining the Bishop’s vision for Kythira:
- Reforestation: Growing olive, carob, almond, and other tree species.
- Livestock Increase: Boosting food availability by raising cows, goats, sheep, rabbits, pigs, and poultry.
- Agricultural Development: Intensifying the Karavas agricultural school and establishing a model farm at Myrtidia.
- Cooperative Farming: Creating a central agricultural park at Agios Theodoros to cultivate unused land, including abandoned properties, church holdings, and former British-occupied areas. Revenue generated would further support island development, with a proposed profit-sharing arrangement for returning emigrants.
- Irrigation: Improving water resource management.
Bishop Galanopoulos’ impactful work and ideas continue to be recognized today. In September 2023, a tribute was held at Panagia Myrtidiotissa, where a bust was unveiled in his honor.
Click here for the video of the unveiling
George Koksma submitted a report to the WCC in Geneva, but not without expressing some personal requests.
“My wife and I we will be at your disposal for a period of at least 12 to 15 years if you are able and willing to leave Kythera to our care. I think that most of your conditions are known to us and accepted, but we would like to ask your attention for some extra wishes:
Geneva agreed to these terms in the winter of 1960.
Click here to read about the World Council of Churches Team for Kythira
Read here the report of the World Council of Churches in 1969, Ecumenical Team Greece
