Menu

Friends of Karpaz Association - About Us

 

About Karpaz…

Karpaz is the part of Cyprus that makes up the approximately 40 km long tail, or pan-handle, in the east of the island.  Karpaz could be said to start north of the long curve of Salamis Bay where the island narrows to about 10 km across.  It continues to narrow down until the famous Monastery of Apostolos Andreas and then ends at the cape, with the tiny Klidhes Islands off this tip.

The rich history of this part of Cyprus, coupled with many archaeological finds, competes in importance with the wealth of the natural environment which makes Karpaz one of the most bio-diverse areas in the whole of the Mediterranean.

Because of its isolation from major towns and central government, the rural people in the Karpaz suffer many social problems including higher rates of unemployment and a lower standard of living than other Cypriots, all leading to migration away from the villages.  Additional threats of recent droughts and a boom in unplanned housing development all over Cyprus makes the saving of the cultural and traditional village lifestyle an urgent problem.

To defend the unique biodiversity of the flora and fauna, the traditional architecture, archaeological sites and the natural beauty of the land and maritime coast, there has to be lobbying for legislation to protect Karpaz. The short term solution of unplanned development might make a few people rich today, but it is only through long term, forward looking goals that the wealth that is Karpaz can be saved for our grandchildren, and the world, as a site of environmental and cultural heritage.

 

About our Association… past, present and future...

It all started in 2004, in Dipkarpaz village, as a result of a call for leadership training from the Management Centre (an NGO helping civil society development).  The people who attended that course became the founding members of the Friends of Karpaz Association; all were from the Karpaz area and were active in many different fields such as teaching, medicine and tourism, as well as government workers, university students and retired individuals.

We created our vision and mission statement that heady week-end and began to climb the difficult path towards our goal of “being there”, to raise awareness, to save the environment, to lobby, to protect. The social problems of the rural population became our struggle, the endangered species of flora and fauna became our children to be protected, and the beauty of the coast became our anthem to the world.  We wanted to get rid of the bad, protect what was the good, be like a guardian angel for this oddly long promontory of land which time seemed to have forgotten. We had many lessons to learn.

We learned that civil society associations are a necessary part of modern democracies, but at the same time it is hard work keeping NGOs dynamic, relevant and flexible. Our association was fortunate to get funding from UNDP-ACT for seed funding through their Civil Society Strengthening and Capacity Building grants.  The 18,000 Cyprus pounds in 2005 helped us equip our new office in Pamuklu village with telephone, fax, computer, printer and other essential office supplies, as well as pay for a project coordinator for 2 years to help implement the training courses in capacity building.  These included information on fundraising, volunteer management, networking, lobbying and advocacy, to name a few.

The Friends of Karpaz Association has emerged stronger and better equipped to go forward.  We now envision sustainable rural development, such as eco-tourism, as the best solution in Karpaz to many of the problems being faced by the communities in the area.  Activities which support women and youth in finding employment, alternative forms of crops and organic farming, the use of festivals and cultural events are all ways in which the traditions of food, dance, crafts, music, skills and knowledge can be saved for upcoming generations.  Small guest houses and family run restaurants serving locally grown food is a better model that large hotel complexes which put a strain on resources while creating lots of traffic and rubbish which damage the environment.

To summarize, our current goals include:

·       Supporting sustainable rural development, such as ecotourism

·       Encouraging volunteering and active participation in environmental and social projects

 One future goal that we are aiming for is big and exciting, that is to:

·       Establish an environmental center in Karpaz.  This could be a place where children and adults, locals and international visitors alike can come to learn all about the unique environment, both terrestrial and marine, and of the flora and fauna of Karpaz, to become aware of solutions to problems related to protecting the environment and achieving sustainable living, to help all of us cope with global challenges such as climate change and our increasing carbon footprint.

 An important lesson we learned over the last few years is that as an association we are only as good as our active members; those people from all walks of society who donate their time and energy for something they feel worthwhile defending.  We are always open to new membership and volunteers, so if you feel interested in joining or just helping, contact us and together we can make Karpaz a better place for all.