"I dig with a pickaxe and make a cave in which I keep my wines. Among other elements, Santorini's soil contains pumice stone. The pickaxe I use is slightly different than the standard ones; it was specially made by a Roma blacksmith. The island's caves remained intact after the catastrophic earthquake of 1956; they're safe and cool. The day before yesterday the temperature in my concrete garage was 29 degrees Celsius while in the cave it was only 19".

He makes them all by himself

Antonis Karamolegkos, from Pyrgos of Santorini, opens an airway in the cave. Without that little "window" there can be no life in the cave because of the high humidity. He will finally whitewash it three times and the cool cellar will be ready for him to take a nap in on a hot summer's afternoon. Antonis has also made some "smart" stairs in his cave, which take up less space than usual steps.

Caves homes were once made by poor people in Santorini. The only people who lived above ground, in mansions no less, were rich captains and their families.  Those mansions were called "captain-homes". Nowadays, Oia's caves are much more expensive than the "captain-homes" and their value is higher than the houses on the famous and historical "Herodes Atticus" street in Athens.

Antonis also makes "feredinia", shears used by winegrowers for the harvest. After the death of an elderly craftsman, he is the only one left on the island with the skill to make them. "If I had 500 of them I would be able to sell them all. Before harvest, producers come and find me, asking to buy the shears. I make them using sheet metal made of semi-steel; I cut it and finish it with the grindstone. The blade goes into the fig-wood and twists under it at the end, so it doesn't come off".

Fig-wood is round and solid and can be easily penetrated by a knife. "Feredinia" of the best quality are made of oleander wood, which is very rare in Santorini. Antonis uses freshly cut wood. Its diameter is one centimetre longer than needed because it shrinks after it dries out. 

"I cut the wood after the full moon, on the very last day before the new moon. That's when the tree produces juices that keep the worms away". He cuts onions and canes on the very same day. Once, thirty years ago, he cut the onions on the wrong day. "What have you done? Now they're going to rot" his father told him. And so they did.

Fava beans need oil

Antonis also produces fava beans of great quality. Santorini's fava beans taste better because they are grown in arid and volcanic soil. You cannot eat this years' crop. Producers harvest one year and peel the beans 12 months after that. If the peeling takes place any time before that, the fava beans flake.

Those who produce tons of fava beans use pesticides to kill the insects that attack their harvest. Devotees, however, are satisfied with 100 or 200 kilos. They put the fava beans in a metal barrel with a plastic cover, which is kept in place with the tube taken out of a bicycle wheel. This way, no insects can get through. They also put some oleander leaves in the barrel, which act as preservatives.

"Cooking fava beans is not at all difficult. We clean them, wash them well and put them in the pot with three times their amount in water. When it starts to boil we skim it and add chopped onion, always stirring so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. Finally, we add salt, pepper and some oil. Once the blend is thick, we add raw onion, oregano, capers and some more oil. One should not forget the old Greek proverb which says: Art needs a craftsman and fava beans need oil".

He adores his island

Antonis studied in Athens for a couple of years, but he didn't like the city at all. When he was on the bus to go from his house to school he could only think of vineyards and beehives.

He passionately loved bees since he was a little boy when he was given a book about beekeeping for beginners. When he finished the book, he tried to make his own beehive by putting bees in a paper box with some sugar, but they died. He was so sad that he never forgot it.

Antonis never managed to get used to Athens and he was always counting the days that remained until his return to Santorini. He finally went back for good, but every now and again he has to travel to Athens to see a doctor or perform another task. The man just can't get away from this nightmare.
TEXT-PHOTOS: GEORGE ZAFEIROPOULOS
SOURCE: www.greecewithin.com

MORE PHOTOS

His works are of a great artistic value.

Tasty fava beans, cultivated in volcanic soil.

His terrace looks like an outdoor folklore museum.

Pyrgos village, the old capital of Santorini.

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