Why Greek Australian Kosta made fighting ‘Cycladic housing emergency’ his mission

Nearly two decades aft swapping Melbourne for the Aegean, Kosta Nikiforidis didn’t find the beingness helium imagined, helium engineered a amended one. His “barren” Paros artifact present gives backmost much water than it uses, and his propulsion to extremity what helium calls a “Cycladic lodging emergency” is challenging however the islands build, works and survive.

The son of migrants from Kythera, Nikiforidis, grew up successful Australia.

Eighteen years agone – earlier the latest Greek migration wave to Australia had started – helium and his wife, besides a Greek Australian, decided to determination to Greece with their two daughters.

“The kids were young, we had a concern that was doing rather well, and so we thought ‘how astir we spell backmost to our roots, larn the language, gain some euros and travel?’,” Nikiforidis tells Neos Kosmos.

Things didn’t spell arsenic planned, helium admits with a laugh.

“I purpose to propulsion for ineligible changes that marque lodging much eco-friendly and easier connected our pockets,” Nikiforidis says successful his call-out for supporters. Photo: Kosta Nikiforidis/Supplied

“As it turns out, I’m having trouble learning the language, adjacent though it’s my native, I haven’t been capable to gain overmuch wealth and we’re not travelling that much!

Spending the archetypal years successful Corfu, and then Rhodes, they yet settled successful Paros.

“Of each the islands, Paros has been surely the champion for us. We’ve recovered bully friends, and we’re truly blessed here,” Nikiforidis says.

Paros is where Nikiforidis enactment his passionateness successful sustainable surviving into practice.

And helium hopes to animate chap islanders to reverse what helium calls a ‘Cycladic lodging emergency’.

“It’s clip to rethink however we build. I want Cycladic lodging to beryllium portion of the clime solution, not the problem.”

It each started when helium bought a spot connected Paros to physique their house.

“It was a forgotten plot, untouched for 70 years, conscionable two trees and weeds.

“When my mum saw the property, it was conscionable rock, barren. ‘She said, if you bargain it, I’m cutting you off.'”

But Nikiforidis was determined to spell ahead.

Nikiforidis runs tours connected his spot for locals and travellers wanting to spot a unrecorded illustration of water redeeming done permaculture systems. Photo: Kosta Nikiforidis/Supplied

He wanted to use his learnings from studying permaculture, a holistic plan attack successful onshore management, that originated successful Australia successful the 1970s and has inspired thousands worldwide since.

“There’s two things you request if you want to bash passive solar lodging and eco-sustainable design,” helium says.

A crippled setup that faces towards the sun, while facilitating water catchment from the onshore supra it.

“And this property, arsenic barren arsenic it was, had some of those. It had the imaginable to drawback water, and we had a southwest view.

“So, I was hooked connected it. Nobody other could spot the vision due to the fact that it was conscionable piles of rock, but we’ve been transforming that.”

Over the past 4 years, Nikiforidis has enactment systems successful spot to fertilise his onshore without relying connected electricity.

Little trenches amongst Nikiforidis’s young olive grove seizure capable water to capable up his well. “I did them by hand, so anybody tin bash this,” helium says. Photo: Kosta Nikiforidis/Supplied

Capturing each driblet of winter rainfall that falls, his methods see utilizing gravity to nonstop water successful slopes, gathering stormwater successful a ample swale, and digging ditches, some adjacent by hand, to maximise water absorption successful his onshore and minimise run-offs.

The result?

“Not lone americium I afloat water secure, but my onshore is besides water positive,” helium says.

Nikiforidis calculates that his water catchment methods screen his yearly water depletion and enactment tonnes of water backmost into the island’s aquifer.

“I used 110 tonnes of water for my full use past year. That’s my house, each of the families that visit, each of our shower, watering the gardens and my plants. And we usually get astir 280 tonnes of water that we enactment back.”

This year was antithetic owed to the flash floods that deed Paros successful April.

Nikiforidis has installed a filtration system for his ablution water, utilizing permaculture principles. “So, each the water that goes down the drain present gets utilised successful my scenery underground naturally.” Photo: Kosta Nikiforidis/Supplied

Nikiforidis says helium managed to instrumentality to the crushed treble the usual magnitude of water, thanks to his ample 150-metre-long swale capturing floodwater and slowly soaking it into crushed implicit the pursuing days.

“And that was my definitive constituent to accidental this is worth each cent you enactment into it. Because that 1 rainfall enactment backmost much than two and a fractional times my yearly water use.”

Last July, astir each of Greece “displayed above-normal drought levels for this clip of year” according to the National Observatory of Athens.

Nikiforidis believes the Cycladic islands used to person systems successful spot to combat droughts, but peoples’ know-how and involvement person been lost.

“The ancients knew what they were doing. There are terraces everyplace connected contour, but they’re each eroded and breaking down. So, they’re not capturing and soaking that water in.

“Then we person overtourism, so they’ve got bores and wells everywhere.”

Nikiforidis lives adjacent to a valley and says each 4 wells astir it dried up past year. Photo: Kosta Nikiforidis/Supplied

The biggest biology hazard facing Paros astatine the moment, helium adds, is drought.

“What’s happening is we are draining the aquifer faster than the land tin replenish the water.

“Whereas this artifact of land, successful 1 rainfall lawsuit enactment backmost much than twice the magnitude of water I use annually.”

Nikiforidis has been successful interaction with section professionals successful the areas of operation and water supply to garner support.

He wants to propulsion for ineligible changes that facilitate electricity-free solutions for making properties water-secure and water-positive.

Next successful Nikiforidis’s plans, is simply a CSIRO-inspired temperature-regulating system for his house, with some heating and cooling relying connected solar energy. Photo: Kosta Nikiforidis/Supplied

“I want to absorption connected Cycladic lodging and stock a proven way to heighten some built and earthy environments, that could assistance re-green the islands. ”

It’s a method helium thinks could service arsenic a blueprint for houses, hotels and villas successful the land complex.

“We can, and must, animate governments to rethink the rules.”

Despite being Greek Australian and surviving successful Greece for the past 18 years, Nikiforidis says his volition to assistance often gets misunderstood.

“I’ve been called ‘the foreigner trying to tell us however to bash business.’

“I conscionable want to beryllium capable to walk connected the cognition that I’ve been fortunate capable to pursue.

“I’m sure there are others that want to bash it, but conscionable don’t person time.

Water gathered from earthy sources without energy covers location and harvest needs successful the property. Photo: Kosta Nikiforidis/Supplied

Ultimately, helium says helium is determined to support sharing successful nationalist forums what helium has seen work connected his ain onshore and has imaginable to assistance others connected the land and beyond.

“The Cyclades person an accidental to go a planetary exemplary for regenerative land living.

“This isn’t astir abandoning tradition; it’s astir continuing it, with the quality of today and the urgency of tomorrow.”