Overview

The Centre for the Preservation of Omodos’s narrow-knit lace (“pipila”) was created by the Cyprus Handicraft Services of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism in collaboration with the Church Committee and the Community Council of Omodos. The Centre aims to preserve the traditional folkloric art and cultural heritage of narrow-knit lacing, and promote its contribution to young women. The Centre is housed in a room in the Monastery’s north wing and showcases over a hundred specimens of narrow-knit lace. The women of Omodos showed great love and pride for the Centre, offering part of their creations from their cabinets for display. These women spend their free time making the traditional narrow-knit lace and continue to pass on the craft to future generations. To preserve and revive this folkloric tradition, training programs are offered by the Cyprus Handicraft Services and the Agricultural Home Economics Department. The research of Omodos’s lace and Cyprus’s lace must be conducted by expert researchers and historians to become a part of the wider research on material civilization.