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12^th Pan-Hellenic Festival for the Exchange of Local Varieties

On April 21^th 2012 on Peliti land in Mesochori, Municipality of Paranesti, Drama Prefecture.

The festival was started by Peliti in 1999 as a need to distribute the varieties that had been collected with great effort and were being destroyed. Today, the festival embraces people from all the country and from abroad, a festival-hallmark on the issue of local varieties in Greece and not only Greece.

For the 12^th Pan-Hellenic festival we have invited as guests cultivators from all over Greece but also from many corners of the earth. The festival is open to anyone interested, regardless of whether they have seeds or not.

Entrance to the festival is free

The festival has free entrance and everything offered is for free, except for the Peliti stall, the income of which supports financially the festival and all Peliti actions. We ask you, if you perceive of a financial transaction taking place within the boundaries of the Peliti land, apart from the specific stall, to let us know of this.

The festival traditionally begins with a one-minute silent prayer for world peace.

Speeches:

University professors, farmers, animal breeders and agricultural diversity activists present their actions on the issue of local varieties and indigenous farm animals.

Parallel actions:

• 3^nd festival of children’s art: the young visitors paint. The organization of the 3^nd festival of children painting is coordinated by the Peliti team in Kozani.

Dances:

• traditional Pontiac dances by the Cultural Association of Paranesti
• traditional Thracian dances by the Cultural Association of Mavrolefki Drama.

Singing for Peliti:

• mucisians from all over Greece sing for Peliti.

Laboratories:

• laboratory for traditional agriculture by Mr Georgios Kipouros.
• how to make herb pie.
• how to plough the earth with animals by Alan Gross
• how to make wooden models, by young Michael Angelos

Exhibitions:

• photo exhibition for the eleven years of Pan-Hellenic Seed Exchange Festival
• photo and brochure exhibition about farmers that save their own seed in different parts of the earth
• organizations that work on agricultural diversity in Greece
• “from schools to homes”, environmental education programmes of primary and secondary education that deal with local varieties, nutrition and agriculture.
• presentation of Environmental Education Centers that deal with agricultural diversity
• presentation of Oak Forest of Lefkada-Skari

Artistic interventions:

The meal of love:

• free meal for all, the meal of love. The meal will be served at 14:00. All the ingredients are offered by the cooperating farmers of  Peliti and friends. You are welcome to bring whatever you wish, a pie, oil, cheese, olives, sweet, cake, bread and whatever else you think that you can offer.

Peliti philately

• the visitors of the festival will have the opportunity to send their letter from Peliti land to the whole world using Peliti stamp. It is a cooperation of Peliti and the Hellenic Postal Service.

Gift Bazaar:

This year, for the secont time  we are holding a give-away bazaar. Open your wadrobes and cupboards and bring: clothes, books, toys, utensils, and small objects in good condition.

We will close the festival by planting a tree in memory of this festival.