WHEN Christoforos Papadopoulos took over as muktar of Akrounda village in 1994 the population was 200 and shrinking. Fifteen years later the population has more than doubled to 500.
For a man who has village politics and administration in his genes, his contribution to reversing the population decline is among his proudest achievements.
Born and raised in his village, 80-year-old Papadopulos has been involved in changes that have turned Akrounda from a cut off farming village, to an accessible green paradise with stunning lakeside views, a growing community of inhabitants and ambitious prospects for the future.
“I love my village and I could never part from it,” he said. “When my first term expired my wife told me not to serve another term, because I didn’t have enough time for my home and my farm, but because I had started some projects, I wanted to finish them, so I served another term. Then a third one, then a fourth. I cannot even be away from the village for any length time,” Papadopoulos said.
Being the muktar of Akrounda is a sort of family affair for Papadopoulos, whose father also served the post between 1915 and 1931.
“The role of a muktar has changed considerably over the years, particularly if I compare it to how things used to be when my father was muktar. The conditions of local administration have changed, and today the muktar has more power. Village life has also changed. The creation of the [Yermasoyia] dam, the land consolidation and the improved road connections mean that Limassol is just ten minutes away. We now have electricity, water supply, telephones, even internet,” he said.
As a retired farmer, Papadopoulos was aware of the problems facing local farmers and dedicated his time to solving the community’s practical problems. “The first problems faced by locals relate to the organisation of land as agricultural land plots were scattered,” he said. “There was no planning, and no infrastructure in terms of water provision and road connections. These problems were solved when the first agricultural land consolidation took place in Cyprus, which organised plots and brought in water supply and improved road connections.”
One of his priorities as muktar was to create good roads both for farmers to have easy access to their plots, but also to connect Akrounda to Limassol and other communities. “As muktar I had to do a lot of running around at government agencies to find the ways and the funding for the project,” he said.
It took a lot of effort to find state and EU funds, plus other contributions. “If anyone works hard then he can convince individuals to give contributions, of €500- €1000, and easily achieve one’s goals,” he said.
Papadopoulos’ efforts have borne fruit and today Akrounda is one of the few villages in Cyprus with a rising population. Development has been encouraged in recent years and land values increased considerably following the construction of the Yermasoyia Dam.
“All this green that surrounds us started flourishing, and we had the advantageous view of the dam,” he said. “People started showing interest in buying land here, including people from the UK and other countries. However, the majority of families who now live in Akrounda are Cypriots, including people whose parents or grandparents are from the village and they decided to re-locate here.”
He has also turned a rubbish dumping site in the river area into a community park, and is in the process of creating a museum, a multifunctional cultural centre and the restoration of a 6th century chapel, dedicated to St Luke.
The chapel itself stands as evidence to the village’s long yet unrecorded history. “We have evidence that there were people living in Akrounda at least since the 6th century AD, as the chapel dates from then and also water mills that belong to the same era. Although this history is not written anywhere, I believe that Akrounda has a very long history,” he said.
