{"id":175,"date":"2025-07-01T20:10:05","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T17:10:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/jrn350-su25\/?p=175"},"modified":"2025-07-24T19:37:05","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T16:37:05","slug":"cheesemaking-in-the-cyclades-the-struggle-to-maintain-tradition-in-a-changing-climate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/jrn350-su25\/2025\/07\/01\/cheesemaking-in-the-cyclades-the-struggle-to-maintain-tradition-in-a-changing-climate\/","title":{"rendered":"Cheesemaking in the Cyclades: The Struggle to Maintain Tradition in a Changing Climate"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Maggie Stewart<\/p>\n

In February 2023, cheesemaker Katerina Moschou was helping her goat give birth. Six months earlier, she had given birth to her own daughter, now she was listening to the labored bleats of her goat alongside the rumble of trucks rolling in to lay concrete nearby. Moschou said, \u201cIt was a construction orgasm going on next door.\u201d As she recounted her tale, however, her humor faded, \u201cIs there space for me here,\u201d she wondered, \u201cor am I eventually going to be chased away?\u201d Moschou, 42, is one of the many small-scale farmers throughout the Cyclades who fear for their livelihoods due to the threats posed by overtourism and climate change.<\/span><\/p>\n

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On the rocky hills of the island of Paros, Moschou spoke with me, wearing all pink, down to her rubber Birkenstocks. With 63 sheep and 203 goats, caring for the farm is an intense job. Mornings on the farm start at 8 a.m. after taking care of her daughter, and consist of two rounds of milking and other chores that often last until 11 p.m. But Moschou says, \u201cIt doesn\u2019t feel like work.\u201d She remembers summers spent with her grandmother on their farm, where her love of caring for animals and cheesemaking began. As I kissed the soft fur of one of her newborn goats and watched baby chicks following closely behind their mother on Moschou’s farm, I could easily see why. Cats lounge in the sun against the backdrop of blue ocean water as goats climb the rocky hillside; a scene disrupted by the villas below.<\/span><\/p>\n

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In the eight years Moschou has operated her farm, development on the island has exploded. \u201cIt was so sudden and so big, everything started being constructed all around,\u201d she said. According to Moschou, nearby owners have harassed her over the smells and sounds coming from the farm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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This tension mirrors a broader crisis of overtourism in the Cycladic islands, including Paros, which is home to approximately <\/span>14,000 <\/span><\/a>permanent residents,\u00a0<\/span>but sees\u00a032 times<\/a> that number arrive during the summer months<\/span>. In 2024, Paros issued the <\/span>most building permits<\/span><\/a> in the Cyclades. <\/span>Giorgios Lialios<\/span><\/a>, chief reporter on overdevelopment at <\/span>eKathimerini<\/span><\/a>, explained one of the reasons that development is so damaging in Greece is because, \u201cIn Greece, under certain circumstances, you can build pretty much everywhere,\u201d leaving farmland especially vulnerable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The rise of tourism has put pressure on the <\/span>island’s water<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>land<\/span><\/a>, and culture. \u201cSun and sea tourists,\u201d as Nicolas Stephanou of <\/span>Save Paros<\/span><\/a> calls them, often overlook the lives and traditions of locals. One of these traditions being ignored is Cycladic cheesemaking, a centuries-long practice that Moschou inherited from her grandmother. In 2024, it was recognized as a part of Greece\u2019s <\/span>intangible heritage<\/span><\/a>, but recognition does not guarantee survival.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Moschou, who studied agronomy, explained that the Cycladic climate, characterized by dryness and an abundance of herbs, contributes to the cheese’s distinct, rich taste. The goats and sheep adapted to the environment produce less milk, but offer greater flavor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At around 6 p.m., she began her hour-and-a-half milking routine, changing her clothes from pink to grey. In Moschou\u2019s stable, silver and blue milking machines await her animals, who have been trained to line up in the chutes. As she works, she discusses the challenges of farming in the changing climate. To deal with rising temperatures, she has extended shade over her barn, but even that hasn’t been enough for her sheep, which she plans to sell due to their sensitivity and complicated herd dynamics. But it is not all negative. She has switched from feeding her animals with water-intensive clover to Parian barley. \u201cBarley is a win-win,\u201d she said. \u201cIt’s cheaper. It requires less water, and even though it makes the goats produce less milk, it\u2019s more tasty.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Moschou\u2019s farm is a living example of perseverance in the face of climate change and overdevelopment. Farming is essential not only to keeping culture alive but also for the longevity of the island. \u201cWe cannot only rely on tourism,\u201d said Paros\u2019 Mayor Kostas Bizas, \u201cIt comes and it goes.\u201d Paros must be prepared for when the next island goes viral or climate change worsens, and to survive, it will depend on people like Moschou, who know and love the land.<\/span><\/p>\n

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by Maggie Stewart In February 2023, cheesemaker Katerina Moschou was helping her goat give birth. Six months earlier, she had given birth to her own daughter, now she was listening to the labored bleats of her goat alongside the rumble of trucks rolling in to lay concrete nearby. Moschou said, \u201cIt was a construction orgasm … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Cheesemaking in the Cyclades: The Struggle to Maintain Tradition in a Changing Climate”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6884,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-climate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/jrn350-su25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/jrn350-su25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/jrn350-su25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/jrn350-su25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6884"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/jrn350-su25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/jrn350-su25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":190,"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/jrn350-su25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175\/revisions\/190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/jrn350-su25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/jrn350-su25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/jrn350-su25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}