UNESCO recognition of mastiha cultivation

In 2010 the Ministry of Culture, Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation and Chios Mastiha Growers’ Association started coordinated efforts to promote the inscriptio of mastiha cultivation in UNESCO’s catalogue for the preservation of humanity’s immaterial cultural heritage, something that was achieved in 2014. The recognition of traditional mastiha cultivation signifies that Mastiha villages and their people are a special and unique cultural element, which encores the knowledge of a long tradition, passing from one genration to another, from ancient times until nowadays.

The recognition of mastiha cultivation by UNESCO has a huge significance for mastiha, its villages and for Chios island in general, because it adds prestige to the element. Also, together with the Chios Mastiha Museum, it brings mastiha culture in a new era, promoting it as a whole way of life and an integral part of the local identity.

The characteristics of mastiha cultivation that resulted in its recognition by UNESCO are:

Its worldwide uniqueness

The way this old knowledge is trasmitted, orally, from one generation to another

The fact that mastiha cultivation is an element that brings the community together and defines its identity

The networks of solidarity and help that are created around the cultivation process

Mastiha cultivation, with its deep roots in the island’s history, is at the same time part of the contemporary culture and a proof of the living tradition of Chios island.