The 4th class of the 2nd Primary school of Vrontados is taking part in a mastic-project organized by the environmental center, this spring. Mastic is not only a universal product for cosmetics, sweets and much, much more, but also the specialty of Chios. Only in the South of this Island, the mastic trees are provided with the climate they need for growing. Therefore, all students and also we volunteers expected an interesting excursion on the 17th of March in scope of that project.
And we were not disappointed! We first stopped in the seminar room of the environmental center next to Κλειδού. Two staff members were our project-managers and +prepared a PowerPoint-presentation for the children which taught them about the extraction, the working-procedure, the production and the use of Mastic. Many pictures, an interactive round of questions, a historical timeline, as well as the repetition of the school’s syllabus completed a successful presentation. The traditional background of mastic production on Chios Island was not only fascinating for the 4th graders, but also for us: Many different tools are necessary for the collection of mastic and its processing is time-consuming.
Moreover, various living things and the Southern vegetation were shown to the project-participants. Chios is famous for its 4 different climate zones and during this lesson, the pupils got aware of the meteorological influences on the natural cycle.
Furthermore, all children also got the chance to be active – and together with our seminar-leaders, they were baking a typical cake with mastic flavor and took a closer look on the structure of mastic through a microscope.
Generously, the center also offered us a lunch snack with sandwiches, juice and coffee for us and the teachers. After this refreshment, we went by bus to the library of Chios. There, we got an extensive guide through the treasures and exhibition pieces. Not only was the lore of traditional mastic trees a subject of our visit, but also Koraes who wrote a lot of books and donated them to Chios, the first tries of former people to draw a map of the Island, typical traditional garments and the paintings of the Greek-Turkish war.
To put this excursion in a nutshell: students, as well as teachers and volunteers enjoyed a varied program, gained a lot of new knowledge about the history, environment, traditions and characteristic resources and products of Chios Island.
To see all pictures go into our gallery!
