Basics for Life
For those intending to buy a plot of land and build away from main utilities, water, light and heat in winter must be provided.
Light
It is wonderful to live by the sun and seasons rather than the clock. In summer there is little need for artificial light and it can be provided by a battery operated or a wind up torch or lanterns or by candles or olive oil lights. All are readliy availabe in Greece. In Winte, in a caravan or camper van, gas lamps provides much better light and heat as well. We adapted to winter evenings in local tavernas and reading during daylight hours between work projects.
The Night Sky is beautiful and Full moon on a clear night gives a surprising amount of light.
At the Lemon Grove we used olive oil lamps as night lights. Olive oil that is past its best for cooking is traditionally used for lighting or to make soap. It gives steady light when floated on water in a small glass, using a wick set in a cork (sold locally). You will still see these small lamps in cemeteries.
Heat
Winter can be cold, but more to the point- very damp in the Methoni area. Some homes manage without heat, especially those with solid stone walls; however, a more usual solution is a black iron wood-burning stove. Olive wood burns well, and an important part of the olive harvest is the collection of sawn wood from the trees for winter use. A nicely stacked wood-pile is a pleasure to see, older (seasoned) wood being the best fuel. I once saw a wood-pile which included every size from large branches to the tiniest twigs. The twigs would be used as kindling.
In Winter at the Lemon Grove, a calor gas heater provided sufficient heat for the farm building. Electricity can also be provided by a generator but it is noisy. The lemon grove building has thick walls which retain the heat and it seldom gets too cold there. For the future, it will be worthwhile for us to invest approximately €300 and install a wood-burning stove with a side oven and top plate for heating water.
Heating water for washing was easy in summer - we put a bowl of cold water in the sun, left it out with the washing in until around 3.00 pm and could then wash and dry the clothes before nightfall. Black plastic shower bags or even drinks bottles can be used to speed the heating of water.
Machinery and Tools for Smallholdings
The "agria" was still very common until recently. Consisting of a diesal engine on wheels with handle bars and an attachment for a cart, it was a useful carrier of wood, olive branches, fruit crates etc. it was preceded by the donkey and has been superceded by the pick-up truck. At Trigono Grovese groves, we used a car for transport and hired larger transport at harvest time. The small Kubota tracor originally purchased has been sold and tilling is now contracted out.
Generators were used in the renovation of the farm building and briefly as power for the newly inhabited house. However, the need to carry fuel for the generator and the noise as it echoed through the valley, made bottled gas a better option.
The most commonly used tool is the Axina, with a wooden pole handle and a head shaped like a large, deep, unrounded hoe. It is still used at Trigono-Lamda as the clearing tool and is very effective, with a chopping action which can rapidly clear undergrowth. Elsewhere it is being replaced by strimmers, but they don't get to the root of plants as the axina does, and are less effective against tougher stems.
Other traditional tools are the long-handled scythe and the simple saw. Most work at Trigono-Lamda can be done using the axina, a hand saw and strong leather gloves which guard against brambles, thistles and lemon tree spines. It has to be said, however, that the noisy chainsaw makes harvesting olives and pruning considerably faster.
Traditional tools and crafts are similar throughout the world, but their use is declining as speed is increasingly important in order to keep labour costs down.
We can't do without modern machinery but working the land by hand can be very satifying, when it is a hobby and not essential.