Long before it was appreciated that ‘tumble-down’ houses were treasures requiring love and attention, the Laona Foundation had identified rural buildings as an important part of our heritage. Specific measures were undertaken through workshops and on-the-job supervision to ensure that the principles of restoring traditional buildings would be understood and correctly applied by the 20, mainly young, architects engaged by the Laona Project to restore 26 buildings.
It was a deliberate decision to engage several architects, so that many professionals would acquire the necessary skills and avoid commonly-made mistakes, such as pointing stone walls with grey cement and inappropriate ways of strengthening a building’s load-bearing capacities.
Beyond buildings, many other aspects of cultural heritage were identified, and by the time the River Valleys Project was carried out (Life Third Countries, 2002-2004), rare traditional furniture was recorded, as well as songs and poems that had been kept alive by oral tradition.
The Foundation’s latest involvement is with re-invigorating the weaving tradition of Fyti village in Paphos. Known as ‘fytiotiko’, it forms a distinct craft, both in terms of the loom used and the patterns produced, which dates from the Frankish rule of Cyprus (14th century). Work with the Fyti community and its remaining few weavers started around 2010 and in 2016 the fytiotiko method of weaving, which has been passed from mother to daughter for generations, was included on the National List of Intangible Heritage.