Zygi Carob Factories and Storages

The seaside village of Zygi, at least in its present form, was built in the early years of British rule in Cyprus, in 1870. Due to its seaside location, offering easy access to the pier, large warehouses were built to mill and store carobs nearby so the product could be loaded onto ships for export. The architecturally interesting large stone-built warehouses, built in the Colonial style, still exist today and dominate the central and seaside area of ​​the village.

Carob cultivation was very important for the economy of the island; it was the main source of income of the rural areas of Larnaca and Limassol. Carobs are deeply ingrained in Cyprus culture and history; they are often described as the Black Gold of Cyprus.

Over the years, as the demand for carobs started to decline the residents of the village started to decrease. Today, there is only the one remaining carob gathering and processing company, the Larnaca Cooperative Association of Carob Ltd, which, in addition to carob milling, also processes cereals and almonds for the wider region.

Researcher Elia Neophytou