Ikossi Estates Ltd. is a young, privately-owned Cyprus-registered Company that was founded with the purpose of renovating the traditional houses of the Ikossi family in Lefkara. The Ikossi (Ikochi) family lived in Lefkara for generations. They owned and operated in Lefkara the first open-air rural cinema in Cyprus in the 1930s. They were also involved in the production and sale of Lefkaritika (the famous hand-made lace of Lefkara); they are well-known and respected in the village. They owned and operated embroidery shops in France until 1940 and later in Nicosia. |
The younger generation, all females, grew up in Nicosia, and gained doctorate degrees in the US, where they pursued their professional careers. Their desire to restore the old family houses, maintain their ties to their birthplace and contribute to the local economy prompted them to get involved with Agrotourism in Cyprus. The restoration of Aunt Maria's house is a pilot project. It was approved by the Cyprus Tourism Organization and was carried out under the supervision of the Department of Urban Planning and funded in part by the European Union. |