The Varnavas Folklore Company of the Municipality of Marathon, constitutes a non-profit company founded in 2002 in Varnavas, Attica. a) in 2003 inaugurated the Interactive Rural and Historical Folklore Museum (a representation of a rural house of the last century) and b) in 2005 founded the Bread Museum (with 3000 exhibits of traditional and embroidered breads from all over Greece and from forty foreign countries) unique in its kind.
Our museums are actively involved in the preservation of our country’s cultural heritage, with ongoing events and lectures on folklore, cultural heritage, promotion of young farmers, volunteerism, environmental, food and health, quality of life and support for young artists.
Our cooperation with foreign institutions and museums (Birmingham, MA, and the University of Birmingham, UK) is also important. In addition, we are working with museums and museums abroad (e.g. Birmingham, UK; Riga, Latvia; Valletta, Malta; Metz, France; the University of Copenhagen, Denmark; Naples and Sicily, Italy), the Region of Attica, the Prefecture of Eastern and Western Attica, the University of Athens, the Centre for Research in Greek Folklore of the Academy of Athens, the Centre for Research in Greek Folklore of the Academy of Athens), Nursing Institutions, Communities, Municipalities, Municipalities, Rural Associations, Cooperatives, Parents’ Associations, Youth Associations, Women’s Associations, Gymnasiums and High Schools as well as KAPI show the extent of our efforts and the offer, not only in the region of Attica but also in our country in general.
Our recognition has been rewarded abroad many times to this day. The first within the framework of the GOMINIUS program, the second by the European Centre for Children’s Television for the creation by our organization of a documentary on the natural beauties of the Attica region, the third (for the second consecutive year) representing our country within the framework of the European program Socrates, the fourth participation in the Youth In Action programme, the fifth participation (with folklore material) in the world conference of the ODYSSEY IN ACTION programme and the sixth participation (with our own booth) in honor of our contribution to the bread named PEACE OF JERUSALEM at the Palestinian European Conference in Milan.
For twelve years we have been carrying out educational programs for schoolchildren and adults with our museum partners who are teachers, historians, cooperators, farmers, businessmen, music educators, philologists, oenologists, beekeepers, bakers, environmentalists, astrophysicists, etc., people with enthusiasm, responsibility, experience and scientific training.
The needs of the sharply increased number of visitors led us to rent a new space in 2010 where we restored the traditional double-deck construction of the previous century, the traditional press, the traditional outdoor oven, the bottom/under room, and created the European Bread Museum, which today has over one thousand 4 thousand (4000) exhibits of embroidered bread from Greece and forty countries (40) abroad. In its unique environment, students, adults and institutions are taught the programs and actions of agricultural natural products by planting in the garden of the museums agricultural products which they harvest during the harvest season.
The museum’s bread collection, considered one of the largest in the world, has traveled within and across borders under the distinctive title of the “Bread Roads”.
Creation and operation of a women’s department to develop entrepreneurship in the region, reducing unemployment through actions to promote, standardize and promote local traditional products and treats.
The experiential approach of the areas of the two museums during the guided tour and the activities of the fifty (50) actions that are conducted (cultural, agricultural, environmental, quality of life, quality of life, promotion of young artists, volunteerism, preparation – promotion and promotion of traditional products) by volunteers, constitute an effort that highlights in the best way the philosophy of cultural development of the wider region of the Attica region. It is no coincidence that the number of visitors in the first year of the organization’s operation increased from two thousand (2000) visitors to twenty thousand (20,000) per year at the end of the tenth year.
On the publishing level, a) the book “Arvanites” has been released, which was presented by the University of Athens, b) the black and white photo album “Family ties and community” with the support of the Prefecture of Eastern Attica and c) the album “Bread Decorations”, which was introduced by the Academy of Athens.
A significant focus of our actions outside of culture has been given to four (4) other main actions:
a) Agriculture
For the last eight years we have been carrying out programmes and events on the Savatiano grape and the mega olive and its derivatives. The region of North and East Attica is the only one in our country where the oldest grape variety in Greece, the Savatiano grape, is cultivated and one of the few where the greater olive kind is cultivated. The central theme in all this is the Mediterranean diet as well as the diet of the Attica land. Partnership with ministries, the Region, prefectures, municipalities, universities, agricultural institutions and individual farmers with a philosophy of green development. An important part of our archive is the recording of the vegetation and wildlife of northern Attica before the fires of the last three years.
b) Environment
Since 2004 we have carried out 42 environmental actions such as: tree planting, beach clean-ups, stream clean-ups, playground clean-ups, free distribution of plants and wild trees, distribution of leaflets to thousands of schoolchildren, establishment of forest protection groups with the contribution of our scientific partners (agronomists, environmental botanists), recording of the flora of the region, creation of DVDs, raising awareness among schoolchildren by participating in an exhibition of collage paintings, art, exhibitions and poetry entitled “If I were … . . fish in the Euboean”. Our partners are the hundreds of volunteers, the Botanical Garden, nurseries of Attica, environmental organizations and the Ministry of Rural Development.
c) Volunteering
Restoration of chapels, support of dozens of institutions for the disabled, monasteries – poor families – immigrants, free medical examinations, collection and distribution of medical and pharmaceutical material, teaching Greek language to immigrants, free educational programs for the disabled, establishment and operation of a clothing bank, provision of stationery and consumables for educational tools, toys etc. to schools and foundations, shipments of medical and pharmaceutical material every quarter to MdM.
d) Education
Training courses for adults (embroidered bread, weaving, jewellery, traditional costumes, ceramics, pottery, icon aging, cooking, standardization, promotion and promotion of local traditional products, computer training, learning Greek language, Greek history and folklore, etc.)
Interactive experiential educational programmes for schoolchildren and adults such as the cycle of the Savatiano grape, the cycle of the olive tree, the cycle of bread, environment and life, wheat–wine–oil, nutrition and health, land cultivation, growing vegetables based on organic farming, learning to weave, embroidered bread, making herbal cosmetics, Mediterranean primary products and their derivatives, beekeeping lessons, making herbal soap, presentation of vegetation and wildlife.
The Varnavas Folklore Society of the Municipality of Marathon has Management Capacity C’.
In 2012, it implemented the operational programme “Human Resources Development of Public Benefit Character” in the Municipalities of Lykovrisi – Pefkis and Marathon and has also joined the operational programme “Structures for Poverty Alleviation” with the Municipalities of Dionysos, Marathon and Oropos (2013-2014).