Routes
Engage with Local Communities: Rediscover Cultural Routes through Participatory Development, Refostering the use of Abandoned Areas
In an attempt to revive and highlight the old paths we mapped one of the main pastoral routes created by the Vlachs through the centuries, connecting the Aoos/Vjosa valley through Grammos mountain grazelands, in order to promote transborder hiking and trekking tourism on both sides of the borders.
Transhumance culture and the Vlachs: The basic characteristic of Vlachs is the semi-nomadic life that dictates a special way of life and identifies the characteristics of their society and economy. It is about a way of life indicated by the ecological conditions themselves that sealed the collective life of these people. Until the beginning of the 20th century only the Vlachs of Aetomilitsa had about 40,000 sheep and goats, from which they produced milk and wool products. There are six Vlach villages in Konitsa and until today there are people speaking the Vlach language, which is only oral and is something between Latin, Romanian and Greek. There are Vlachs on both sides of the borders in Greece and Albania, but for them there is no border, they use the same routes to graze their sheep before the borders even existed. Another interesting element about them is that in some villages they never developed individual land ownership; the land was and is common. Moreover, they developed a system for distribution and use of pastures. The annual redistribution of pasture use is done by a general “gathering” of the livestock farmers, in accordance with unwritten rules and in a ceremonial manner. The final decision is taken unanimously and is respected by everyone.
Following a request from the community of Kallithea village, we proceeded with the opening and mapping of the path that connects the village with the holy church of St. Constantine, a vaulted three-aisled basilica that is a historical monument of the region’s recent cultural heritage and dates back to 1820. The path is part of the trail that used to connect Papigo with Konitsa, which has been closed for years.
The project was carried out by village residents and volunteers who came from 5 different parts of the world to support the project. The effort was supported by the “The High Mountains” Social Cooperative Enterprise, the Cultural Association of Kallithea “Goritsa” and the Municipality of Konitsa.
By exploiting the social dynamics of the region, through participatory planning, and the tools offered by the Social Economy, such as Solidarity Tourism, we aim to promote local culture, but also to promote an integrated sustainable development model, based on the visitors of the region and their connection with the place and its people.
