By Zhen HuangMESPOM 07/09
Sigri is one of my favorite places where I have even been – green sky, blue sea, attractive beaches, quiet village and friendly people. Hundreds of thousands of words are needed to describe all these beautiful things. But today, my story is not about them, but about the souvenirs in Natural History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest.
The products from the women’s cooperatives
The museum was my first stop in Sigri. For a person who just finished a three-hour’s bus travel, hungry and tired, the café of the museum no doubt was the first choice to visit. After the lunch I noticed some tourists were hanging around several shelves in the café and interested in some small bottles. I also took up one. It was a bottle of jam. The appearance was not attractive: a glass bottle with a cotton cover and a tag. “It is only a local product as in other places,” I thought, and then put it back. But nearly when I forgot the bottles on the shelves, our professor and the director of the museum mentioned them again.
Not the usual local products
These products are not the usual local products. During their introduction of the village and the museum, our professor and the director of the museum told us that most of the products in the café were not only local products, but specially made by the local women’s cooperatives. They were used to stay at home and seldom participated in the local producing process. The change of the women’s role in society aroused my interest in the souvenirs so I visited the café again.
The products from the women’s Cooperatives
Why does the museum sell the goods produced by the women’s cooperatives? The director said that the museum is trying to support the local business and these women’s cooperatives were successful in improving community development through their production activities.
In Lesvos, there are thirteen women’s cooperatives in total. One of the staff in the café told me that seven of the cooperatives supply the museum with various goods, including jams, pickled fruits, and local snacks, and the museum chooses the goods according to each place’s characteristics and the products’ quality. For example, the cooperative “ΑΓΙΑΣΟΥ” is in a place famous for its cherry so that the main goods on its exhibiting shelf are cherry products. I wished I could visit these cooperatives. But because of their far distance and my busy schedule, I had to give up the idea. However, from the souvenirs in the museum I could get part of their story.
The products from the women’s cooperatives
The museum was my first stop in Sigri. For a person who just finished a three-hour’s bus travel, hungry and tired, the café of the museum no doubt was the first choice to visit. After the lunch I noticed some tourists were hanging around several shelves in the café and interested in some small bottles. I also took up one. It was a bottle of jam. The appearance was not attractive: a glass bottle with a cotton cover and a tag. “It is only a local product as in other places,” I thought, and then put it back. But nearly when I forgot the bottles on the shelves, our professor and the director of the museum mentioned them again.
Not the usual local products
These products are not the usual local products. During their introduction of the village and the museum, our professor and the director of the museum told us that most of the products in the café were not only local products, but specially made by the local women’s cooperatives. They were used to stay at home and seldom participated in the local producing process. The change of the women’s role in society aroused my interest in the souvenirs so I visited the café again.
The products from the women’s Cooperatives
Why does the museum sell the goods produced by the women’s cooperatives? The director said that the museum is trying to support the local business and these women’s cooperatives were successful in improving community development through their production activities.
In Lesvos, there are thirteen women’s cooperatives in total. One of the staff in the café told me that seven of the cooperatives supply the museum with various goods, including jams, pickled fruits, and local snacks, and the museum chooses the goods according to each place’s characteristics and the products’ quality. For example, the cooperative “ΑΓΙΑΣΟΥ” is in a place famous for its cherry so that the main goods on its exhibiting shelf are cherry products. I wished I could visit these cooperatives. But because of their far distance and my busy schedule, I had to give up the idea. However, from the souvenirs in the museum I could get part of their story.
