Field Investigation for entangled milieus: Along the Karkotis River

 

The “Entangled Milieus: co-constituting a shared futurity” conference starts with a field investigation along the Karkotis River, Cyprus.

 

Area Of Investigation - Solea Valley, courtesy of Socrates Stratis.

 

About the area of investigation

Karkotis river, or Klarios river, runs along the north slope of Troodos mountain to Morphou bay. Part of the river is located on the north part of Cyprus, controlled by Turkey since the 1974 invasion that followed a coup d’état instigated by Greece. The river is 24.75 km long and crosses the United Nations, Cease-Fire Zone. Karkotis river is rather precious and an object of contention. It is the only river on the island that contains water all year round. A complex system of water canalization spreads across the Solea Valley, supporting agricultural activities and the villages located at the edge of the valley. Skouriotissa is the name of the mine that is located further south by the river. The copper extraction dates back to ancient times. The mine still operates. The city of Lefke lies in the north part of the divide. It was a regional administration centre during the British colonial era. University education is Lefke’s actual main income. During the first half of the 20th century, due to the intense mining business, there were a lot of labour struggles with Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot workers joining forces.

 

Cyprus Map, courtesy Hands on Famagusta, AA&U.

 

Area Of Investigation, courtesy Google Earth- LUCY.

 

The aims of the field investigation

• To put on the foreground forms of entanglement through the perspectives of extraction concerning the Skouriotissa mine, food in respect to the river valley and land consumption in terms of real estate and non-agriculture activities. 
• To understand the complexity of such forms of entanglement complexified by frozen Cyprus conflict and the island's division. To study the consequences of the UN cease-fire zone that divides the Karkotis' river valley. 
• To make visible intertwinings and dependencies between humans and other-than humans.  
• To discuss shared futurities in a reunified island.

 

Area Of Investigation - Skouriotissa, courtesy of Socrates Stratis.

 

The organization of the field investigation

The field investigation is six days long. It will take place between Saturday, October 22nd, and Thursday, October 27th. 
On Saturday, October 22 we will gather in Nicosia, at the Department of Architecture, University of Cyprus where we will have a lecture by Raviv Ganchrow and get to know each other. Cooking and eating together will be part of learning about each other.
From Sunday, October 23, until Wednesday, October 26, the participants will have the opportunity to visit the area under study and reside in hotels in nearby villages (Kakopetria, Evrychou, Galata). A bus will be available to take the participants along the Karkotis river to Morphou bay and Lefke. Part of the itinerary will be done on foot! At the end of each day, we will be summoned to a beautiful place closed to Katydata, where we will have seminars with colleagues who will share with us their knowledge and experiences of issues at stake. 
We return to Nicosia on Thursday, October  27, where we wrap up the produced work to present it at the conference the following days.
Friday, October 28, the participants continue to work on their presentations.
On Saturday, October 29, the conference will take place with the presentation of papers and reports.

Sunday, October 30 - traveling back to your home countries.

 

Food for the Future: The Harvest of the Past, That Awaits My Hunger

Besides the transdisciplinary field research about the multiple ecologies of the river, we will undertake the Food for the Future culinary procession, organized by Armina Pilav, Jamie Allen, and other conference participants. Food for the Future is the practical provision of food for the Entangled Milieus un-disciplined conference, as a real, material cooking exercise as well as a provocation into the temporality of world food. Through daily evening meal/workshop/exercises in the field throughout the event, participants will work together to entangle their individual metabolic needs with their situated environment.

Read here the full program of the Food for the Future: The Harvest of the Past, That Awaits My Hunger.