The Friends of the Kalderimi of South Pelion
Οι Φίλοι των Καλντεριμιών του Νοτίου Πηλίου
Who We Are
In the South Pelion area there is a wonderful network of stone paths dating back a few hundred years, known as kalderimi. They are easily seen within the villages of Pelion. They also link villages and settlements throughout the area and are rights of way. Many of the old paths, both kalderimi and other footpaths, have disappeared under pressure from increased building and the extension of asphalt roads, and some have been converted into agricultural earth roads to allow access to fields and olive groves. Many, however, still exist,
blocked by vegetation or abandoned through disrepair, and since 2008 our society has been locating, opening up and maintaining these paths as far as possible.
The Friends of the Kalderimi of South Pelion is a nature loving, conservation, cultural and walking society and a non-profit organisation. We aim to promote, enhance and preserve the natural beauty of South Pelion and make it accessible for both residents and visitors through the following activities:
Finding, opening and maintaining paths
We try to locate, often with the help of local people and other organisations, existing kalderimia and other paths which have fallen into disuse and disappeared beneath vegetation.
We do not attempt to open every closed path that is discovered but rather give priority to those that connect the villages and settlements of South Pelion.
Members have discovered and re-opened over 100 km of kalderimia throughout the Pelion area.
When an old disused path has been located, volunteer work parties are organised to open it up and, where possible, to expose any original kalderimi stones which have survived.
Work parties take place weekly throughout the cooler months of the year, usually on a Thursday and Saturday. Volunteers will normally be working for three or four hours at a time and may go to the same area time and time again until the path is cleared and fit for safe walking.
Details of the planned work parties can be found here and on our Facebook page.
Please also go to our Path Care and Maintenance page for more information about the paths already identified and adopted, including the Wikiloc link where possible, the condition of paths, if known, and any previous or planned work parties to maintain existing paths.
Signing and mapping
The paths identified by the Friends of the Kalderimi of South Pelion are marked by yellow waymarker signs and red paint marks to help you find your way. We produce a sponsored leaflet with a map showing these walking routes and are also gradually adding our walks to the Wikiloc app under the name FOTK. In addition, one of our members has signed some local walks around Neohori and has produced a leaflet with a map showing these.
Membership
If you would like to become a member please go to our Information page for details.
New members and friends are always welcome so please do join us - as a member, a walker, on a work party or at a social event.
Our society relies exclusively on the income from annual subscriptions, donations and fund-raising activities plus the volunteer effort of our members and other supporters to keep the paths open.
Fund-raising and social events and activities
Social and fund-raising events and activities that we organise or are involved in include:
- A Friends of the Kalderimi stall at the Lafkos Spring Plant Fair, held in April. This event has developed over the past few years to include stalls selling locally produced goods and artwork as well as seeds, seedlings and more established plants for your garden. The Friends of the Kalderimi stall sells home-made snacks and the fair is the perfect opportunity to pay your annual subscription or join the society.
- The Friends of the Kalderimi Annual General Assembly is held in September. Members are always encouraged to attend and vote at this meeting. Add social side!
- A Summer Party, usually held in July, with dinner, traditional music and dancing.
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Last year we produced our first Calendar for 2019/2020, which has been incredibly successful. Stocks are still available and, as the calendar runs through to December 2020, it remains an excellent buy. Please email us if you would like to obtain one.
- Presentations of the society’s work to visiting groups of walkers.
- Involvement with community initiatives, e.g walks with schools
Information about all our events is sent by email to members, posted here or on our Facebook page.
2019 - 2020 Calendar
Telephone: 6908380110
This mobile telephone is switched on and available ONLY on organised walks or at some other events.
Please keep a record of it on your mobile phone in case you need to contact someone during a walk or event.
If you need to make contact with any member of the committee at any other time, please email them direct (email addresses here)
or email info@friendsofthekalderimi.org and we will get back to you as soon as practicable.
If you take part in a Friends of the Kalderimi walk or event you do so entirely at your own risk and neither the Friends of the Kalderimi
nor the organisers or leaders of the walk or event are in any way responsible for the safety of those taking part.