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TRADITION & MYTHOLOGY

Litany: Rain-making rituals

During prolonged dry seasons the Greek Orthodox church organised rain making rituals, attended by the local community, walking around the fields in a ceremonial procession in order to bring about the much needed rain.

CHAPTER 1 • WATER SCARCITY

Why is water scarcity such a challenge in Greece?

Listen to the teaser

Listen to the teaser of the Water Scarcity in Greece based on interviews and oral history accounts. The actual episodes are available in Greek.

Transcript File

What is water scarcity? Traditional approaches of water management

What is water scarcity? Scientists, and residents from various Greek islands, talk about traditional responses to water scarcity through communal water management and highlight the links between access rights and water use. The actual episode is available in Greek.

Who is affected by water scarcity today?

Water scarcity is a real challenge even for areas of Greece with an annual rainfall twice that of London! So, what is really going on? Here we unravel the nexus of relationships between our interventions in nature (through agriculture, tourism etc) and water quality. The actual episode is available in Greek.

Creating solutions in common

From reviving old nature-based solutions to developing innovative decentralised techniques for saving water. Can we find inspiration from solutions based on ecological design and circular economy? The actual episode is available in Greek.

CHAPTER 2 • SCIENCE

Researchers in action to monitor the water quality of the Greek rivers.

How to measure water quality in the rivers?

Scientists active in freshwater research present the sampling method of ‘electrofishing’, used to monitor the state of the fish populations and therefore the water quality of Greek rivers.

The actual episode is available in Greek.

CHAPTER 3 • TRADITION & MYTHOLOGY

A collection of stories from mythology, folklore knowledge and local customs and traditions.

Stories from Kalymnos, Telendos, Pserimos

The custom of ‘Klidonas’

Kalotina, a grandmother from Kalymnos, shares with us the custom of ‘Klidonas’, in which single girls were using a jug of water to find out the profession of the person they were going to marry!

Water from the cistern, divine water

The traditional Kalymnian house is built very wisely. This episode revolves around the construction and maintenance of the cistern, as well as the life and activities around it. The cistern is considered as something sacred for the Greek islands, as its importance is vital for dealing with water scarcity. ‘

Pisperisma’: A soiree about water

‘Pisperisma’ in the Kalymnian dialect refers to an evening social exchange with neighbours. In this episode we exchange thoughts about water and water scarcity. Residents of Kalymnos, Telendos and Pserimos remember stories about their wells and springs, and share their concerns about water management today.

Episode Contributors:

Evgenia Tsianou – Coordinator, Content Creator, DISSCO.ch

Panos Petridis – Content Creator, DISSCO.ch

Giorgos Paterakis – Composer, Musician, String Theory

Manolis Mazokopos – Audio editing, Beesound for the episode ‘Pisperisma’: A soiree about water

The actual episodes are available in Greek.

Water springing from the centuries

Here we present a narrative collection of myths dating back to antiquity and to folklore knowledge, that use symbolic language to describe our relationship with water, throughout the centuries, from Homer and the nymphs, to Alexander the Great and the rainmakers of Guatemala

Production:
Design & Storytelling: Agni Stroumbouli
Music composition, Vocals, Violoncello: Stavros Parginos
Recording – Editing: Giotis Paraskevaidis, AUXSTUDIO

The actual episodes are available in Greek.

Listen to the stories

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