The impressive terracing is one of the most outstanding features of the rural landscape of Kythnos. They are called skales (steps), anavathmides (grading) or pezoules (ledges).
People have been terracing for years to secure land for their crops and, consequently, their food. Terracing holds rainwater which infiltrates the soil deeply and replenishes the aquifer, instead of flowing down streambeds into the sea. This way, the soil is protected from erosion and run-off.
Terracing is achieved through dry stone walls used for the ridges.
Terracing is deployed over a significant area of the island because local residents have always been farming. Naturally arable land lies around the mouth of valleys towards the sea or at the Chora plateau.
Travellers to the Cyclades describe Kythnos as a well cultivated land the residents of which are self-sufficient. A characteristic indigenous variety of barley is the prevailing crop on terraces. Barley from Thermia is one of the main agricultural products of the island and has contributed towards shaping local history. Barley cultivation was widespread and the main ingredient of residents’ staple nutrition. It was also very profitable, because the surplus was sold to FIX (Fuchs) brewery up to the ‘70s.
The founder of the company was Karl Johann Fuchs, who died in 1922 and left the family business to his two sons, Ioannis and Antonios, who had worked with him since they were young. The two brothers extended the business and created a malting factory, so that ale could be produced using Greek barley. Using their mules and donkeys, Kythnos producers transported barley in sacs to the then anchorage points of the island (Kanala, Episkopi, Agios Stefanos, Skylo, Gaidouromantra, Agios Dimitris, Flabouria). They weighed the sacs on arrival and then emptied the barley that would be transported to Piraeus loose on commercial boats.
For many years barley was almost the only crop of the island, but today it has almost disappeared, given that growing this crop is labour intensive. The basic phase in its production is harvesting, i.e., when farmers cut (reaped) the ripe barley stalks and then carried them to the threshing floor to release the grain. Harvesting was a major operation because it ensured the family had bread for the entire year. It was a tough farming task, as people had to work a full day bending down, under difficult conditions, since temperature is already high even in June. Both women and men worked in the fields; they wore light coloured clothes with long sleeves, to protect themselves from the heat and the thorns.
The main reaping tool was the sickle. It was a sharp tool with a semi-circular crown fixed on a wooden handle. The length of the crown was around 60-70cm and its width about 3-4cm. The inner part of the crown was serrated to facilitate reaping cereal stalks. The reaper grabbed a sheaf of stems with the sickle, held it in their palm and cut it. They then held 2-3 stems and skilfully twisted them to tie the sheaf so that it would hold together. Such a sheaf was called a cheria (hand sheaf). It could also be cut in a looser manner into a cherovolo (hand lot)
When the harvest was completed, stacking started. One stack of wheat was 25-30 hand sheaves or 6-7 hand lots. Stacking was also a demanding chore, because stacks had to be similar in size and sheaves well made, otherwise the stacks would be difficult to tie and transport. Stacks were tied one by one and were left standing in the field, ears up, until they were transported to the threshing floor. When they stood around the field in groups, they were called themonies (stooks). The threshing floor is a flat area paved with stone tiles lying on sites with strong, mainly west and north, winds. Before threshing started, people had to prepare the threshing floor. They started with filling any small spaces in tile joints so that no grain would be lost. They used loamy soil, mixed it with manure and made mud to fill in the gaps between tiles. After a few hours the mud dried and the gaps were filled. Then each tile was checked to make sure they were all stable when stepped on. When these preparatory tasks were over, the threshing floor was thoroughly swept and well prepared for use. Stacks were thrown onto the floor and one or more animals (mule, donkey, ox) stepped on them for the grain to come loose.
After cereals had been reaped, sheep were taken to graze these fields that were left to rest over a fallow year and then be sewn the year after.
