In the Cyclades, where dry-stone walls define the landscape and flavors are born from salt and light, livestock farming is not merely an economic activity but a culture. Dimitris Rousounelos, taste researcher and tireless defender of traditional cheesemaking, speaks to Tornosnews about a critical turning point: the pressure exerted by tourism, the responsibilities of the state, the UNESCO bid, and above all, the need to support the people, the herds, and the local cheeses.
“The herds are under persecution,” he says, recalling his remarks at the Aegean Cuisine Festival in Syros: “Tourism development, as it happens today, pushes animals and their people to the margins. Mild investments are very rare nowadays and especially on the Cycladic islands: Mykonos, Santorini, Paros, and lately Antiparos; Tinos is always at risk, Sifnos is at risk, and other islands will follow,” he notes, offering the broader picture.
The boom of accommodations and large investments—public infrastructure, private building projects, even through instruments like ESCHASE (Special Spatial Development Plan for Strategic Investments)—creates an unequal dynamic. “If you open any development plan, you will see how much money goes to tourism and how much to the primary sector. The difference is enormous: 95% versus 5%. That is the huge problem,” he stresses.
In everyday life, tensions appear even in Airbnb stays. “In rural areas, new visitors are bothered by sounds, smells, roosters crowing. It is absurd to choose to go to an island and be annoyed by goats and activities that existed long before you,” he says.
At the same time, knowledge disappears along with its people: “If we once had 300 families making kopanisti, today it may be around 30 for personal use. Home cheesemaking is fading away with the people who knew it.” However, there is also a hopeful counterpoint: “In Mykonos we have two remarkable cheesemakers. They embraced the traditional craft and are doing excellent work. And products that disappeared for decades, such as Mykonos yogurt, have returned.”
What the state is (not) doing
Rousounelos is clear: “The state leaves the survival of herds to chance.” It is not only the amount of funds, “it is where they go. After the energy and inflation crisis, after veterinary problems, costs skyrocketed. The issue is national, not only Cycladic.” He supports this by comparing with mainland Greece: “In the region of Ioannina, a few decades ago there were 80 cheese dairies. Now only 10 remain. That says a lot.”
With a clear picture, he refers to immediate actions that could change the situation.
“First: local actors must support local production. Restaurateurs, hoteliers, cooks. Otherwise it cannot work. With ferry conditions as they are, do not expect cheeses to travel far. They barely reach Athens. That is why I keep saying it: down with the dictatorship of gouda. You cannot drink ouzo and be served gouda. Greek breakfast should be Greek, with local cheeses that have a name and a surname.”
“Second: the state must invest strategically in the primary sector. Incentives, subsidies, liquidity— not vague generalities—precisely where livestock farmers hurt. If we allocate more funds, we will keep people in the primary sector. Otherwise, what young person will enter a profession that demands you to be beside the animals 365 days a year? The first thing we owe these people is respect.”
“Third: transport must be fixed. Inter-Cycladic connectivity does not function properly. If you do not solve distribution within the islands and towards the mainland, whatever you produce stays behind. How can the small cheesemaker survive when the product cannot travel?”
He also points to the tradition that will vanish without action. “Household units and passionate home cheesemakers are carriers of heritage. Every time one of them ‘goes’, he takes his curd with him. We lose not only quantity; we lose flavors and techniques. From Milos and Sifnos to Tinos, there are cheeses with place-names and practices at risk of falling silent.”
UNESCO: where the inscription process stands
The process of inscribing Cycladic cheeses with UNESCO is ongoing. “For us it was important that the Directorate of Modern Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture saw the significance. We worked with institutions, cheesemakers, cooks, researchers from the islands, and in April 2024 we submitted a file for the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. We await the evaluation this year or in 2026.” What would it mean? “UNESCO labeling encourages visitors to seek the product. It does not put its stamp just anywhere. Cycladic cheeses will be sought after, and along with them, all Greek cheeses.”
Gastronomy as an ambassador
“Gastronomy is a multiplier. It is through gastronomy that cheese reaches the visitor, who takes with them the flavor of the island. It requires conscious choices: the island and producer must be listed on the menu, there must be pairings with local wine, herbs, honey, and you should see a Cycladic cheese board. When cheese acquires a name and a surname, it gains demand—and then the herds remain on the island.”
From intention to action
His tone becomes sharp: “I consider consuming imported products a form of national undercutting. After the crisis, we lost part of our national sovereignty; let us not worsen it by preferring imports when our neighbor produces. If you do not support your local producer, who will support you tomorrow?”
And he translates this into everyday steps for the urban consumer: “Ask your grocer and restaurant for cheeses labeled with island and producer. Accept that island cheeses are not mass-distributed—they are seasonal and limited. Pay their real value so livestock farmers can live with dignity. Replace the ‘random’ cheese next to your drink—choose a Cycladic one. And in hotel breakfasts, ask for Greek products: the buffet should say the island’s name. These small, repeated choices are what sustain production.”
Cycladic cheesemaking does not ask for nostalgia; it asks for conditions of survival: land, grazing, distribution, demand with identity, targeted public investment, and above all, respect for the person who stands beside the animals 365 days a year. UNESCO can become a multiplier, not a substitute. Whether the Cyclades continue to “speak” through their cheeses depends on all of us: the state, entrepreneurs, gastronomy, travelers, and consumers.
Who is Dimitris Rousounelos
Dimitris Rousounelos was born and lives in Mykonos. A taste researcher, writer, and active cultural contributor with many years in gastronomy journalism and the Mykonos Gastronomy Club, he has also served as a municipal councilor. Author of books on Mykonian and Cycladic gastronomy, he received the 2024 Honorary Award of “Gastronomos” and authored the text on Traditional Cycladic Cheesemaking that was included in the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, with prospects for UNESCO international recognition.
Photo: Dimitris Rousounelos
