ASSESSING POTENTIALITIES for DEVELOPMENT

 

Opportunities & Potential of Local Values and Local Cultural Dynamics

The definition of the MaNet strategic objectives must be in accordance with the traits, qualities and values of the Mastorochoria territory. The identification of their dynamics and their potential is thus the key endeavor of the initial phase and is necessary for designing a cohesive MaNet Strategy. In order to bring forth the full potential, this procedure also includes local perceptions that reflect their aspirations for Mastorochoria. Three fundamental and lasting traits provide the outline of the designated culture of craftsmen in the Mastorochoria, the crafts, itineraries and appropriation of the natural environment. These traits have led to the identification of a series of ‘dynamics and potentials that contribute to the socioeconomic development and foster societal and institutional participation’ (Lecha-Marzo 2012:33). The traditional crafts of masonry, woodcarving and painting represented ways in which the skilled masters established their reputation and their economic development in an era of great difficulties. A plethora of traces from these crafts, which transcended the limits of art, survive today. Though few of the masters are still alive, the knowledge that has been absorbed through the passage of time seems to be awaiting a renaissance. Locals are so familiar with this legacy that they are making individual efforts to revitalize it in various ways. This fact stresses the extraordinary potential of polycentric policies focused on crafts training and safeguarding in the broader area of Mastorochoria. The Museum of the Artists of Hioniades, the Folklore Museum in Kefalochori, the Conference Centre in Drosopigi, the Ethnological Museum of the Craftsmen of Epirus, various initiatives with collaborating university programmes as well as the proposed vocational school of Masonry Craft in Pyrsogianni are an exemplary baseline that confirms this dynamic. Besides, investing in traditional crafts is interlinked with a series of benefits. Lifelong learning is rooted in the culture of the Mastorochoria. This is also the reason why women encouraged their male children towards technical training and the ‘Protomastores’ continued to fund schools and education even at times when education was a privilege of the dominant social castes. Lifelong learning is still a strategic objective for the information society and the Territorial Agenda 2020, and this local tradition has enormous potential that can be exploited (European Commission 2012:37; COPTA 2011:7-8; 2010:17; Petronotis & Papageorgiou 2008:167; Nitsiakos 1998:115). Another very important dimension is that branding the area with these skills enhances the tourist development in the niche market of cultural tourism. In addition, investing in the cultural and creative industries is in line with the objectives of the European Agenda for Culture 2011-2014 and the strategy for ‘Europe 2020’ of the European Commission. The Commission also argues that as ‘regards cultural and creative industries, investments may also relate to research and innovation (entrepreneurship, SMEs, clusters, networks), information society (digitization), education, youth, urban regeneration (as part of integrated projects), improvement of human and social capital and skills development’. Thus the traditional crafts can serve the Mastorochoria as a hub that will interlink existing developments with innovative activities compatible with the values of the Mastorochoria (2012:9-13,35).

The second trait that is part of the ‘intelligence’ of Mastorochoria is related to mobility. The area of Sarantaporos glade has been an important passage since the prehistoric
period. Ancient routes were used until the advent of the industrial revolution. This communicative network was greatly broadened by the masonry craftsmen during the Ottoman domination, in order to also serve the growing commercial activities. Those routes were the foundations for the itineraries of the ‘Bouloukia’ that over the decades spread the fame and the art of the craftsmen all over the world. The detailed topographical research and study of the historic routes has an archaeological significance and can motivate further research, as it has the potential to reveal unknown socioeconomic elements of the past with local or even universal value that is also related to the existing monuments (Lecha-Marzo 2012:34). The importance of the historic routes is not exhausted in their historical significance. The historical routes have the potential to be the core of attraction of a network of ‘itineraries for the development of motivational policies’ related to sites of tourist interest. Additionally, the fall of the communist regime in Albania and other Balkan countries and the subsequent opening of the borders re-introduced mobility, albeit in a modern fashion, with new development perspectives. In this context, projects like the ‘Routes of State of Ioannina and State of Thesprotia’ or the cross-border project ‘Ne.T.Routes’, can be integrated in a broader network of itineraries that have the dynamic to exploit modern innovative digital technologies¹⁹, to create job opportunities²⁰, to reinforce transborder relations with neighboring countries and to involve local communities in various ways (European Commission 2012:7-9; Kaliabakos 2012:147-161; Lecha-Marzo 2012:144). The routes network by definition also incorporates itineraries and sites that are significant in terms of their natural environment. The location of the Mastorochoria in an area with extensive biodiversity and surrounded by natural parks provides vast potential to appropriate natural resources, but this time in a way that is quite different from the past. ‘Improving physical and visible access to landscape’ is an important endeavor that will contribute to the general tourist development. However, the latest studies by a number of advisory bodies, as well as the experiences and aspirations of the local communities point to the conclusion that ‘harmonious, balanced, efficient, sustainable territorial development’ cannot be achieved if it is based only on the tourism sector. It is vital to support this sector with activities of the primary and secondary sector of production. Arable terraces, livestock and forestall resources can be combined with the latest technologies and provide products and renewable energy²¹, which will enhance the well-being of the locals, provide alternatives to the economic crises by attracting young people to the area and by reinforcing the attractiveness for visitors with strong ecological principles. Investments in smart innovative activities for the cultivation of organic dietary goods²² and hand made products in accordance with practices of self-sufficiency that have a long and viable tradition in Mastorochoria, will revitalize the economy and combat depopulation through entrepreneurship and new job opportunities. All these potentials are also in line with the priorities of the Hellenic State for the development of the broader region of Epirus²³. This conjuncture provides a huge opportunity to integrate the upgraded public infrastructures in a creative way (Kaliabakos 2012:77-85; Lecha-Marzo 2012:33-34,256; COPTA 2011:4,7; European Commission 2010:3; 2007). Overall, the challenges created by the ongoing economic crisis are an opportunity ‘to transform the[m] into potentials for’ smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, in line with European aspirations and designed strategies (COPTA 2011:5).