Μ.Α. SOPHOCLEOUS
Scientific Director of
Pattichion Historical Archive Museum Research
Centre"
The
building known
as
Tragasol,
within
the
surface area
of
the
Limassol,
is
today
a
cultural centre,
but
it
does
have
nonetheless its
own
history. The word «Τragasol», came to us as a chemical term, from England, at the end of the 19th
and from 1913 onwards it came to be identified with a specific block of
buildings, as a unit grinding carobs to begin with and then as a storage
facility for Limassol customs.
Tragasol was
set
up
as
a company in Limassol in the year 1894, at a time of
British colonial rule in Cyprus, and represents an integral part in the
industrial history of the city.
The world tragasol is
actually the
scientific-chemical
term
describing a substance than can be found in carobs, and has
various industrial uses.
This seems to have been the inspiration for the English-owned Tragasol Company
Ltd, which, as we said was set up in Limassol.
It was around 1860, during Ottoman rule in Cyprus, that carobs started being packaged and exported. Ahead of that they were just used
as animal feed and, in most cases, they were not used at all. Farmers of the time used to view them as a product without any economic
value. However, it did not take long before some merchants, especially from
Limassol, came to realize that certain countries were in fact interested in
importing carobs. So they started buying carobs delivered to them by villagers
and these were exported in packages to Egypt, Russia and other countries.
Tragasol has its
own history
which begins
with British
colonial rule
in Cyprus
in 1878 and the establishment of British companies on the island, most of which were active in the processing of agricultural
products. Preparations for the construction of the Tragasol factory began in
the year 1910 and actual construction work got under way three years later. The
facility remained essentially the same all the way to the 1950s when it was
sold to the colonial administration and made part of the port of Limassol,
which was built in 1954.
British entrepreneurs showed interest in
carobs, described as Cyprus’s ‘’black gold’’ and having given the matter
serious consideration in the years 1898-1900, they moved to Cyprus and
registered a company by the name «TRAGASOL PROCUCTS LTD». The company main offices were in Hooton, Cheshire. In Cyprus, the company had to create the infrastructure for the storage and grinding of carobs, ahead of exporting the finished product from Limassol.
Carob processing equipment was installed at the southern part of the
building whereas the northern part was
for storage and processing purposes. Carobs were grinded, separating the seeds which were sent abroad to be used in the production of gum. Grinded carobs were used abroad to make animal
feed, as well as for other purposes, including in the production of
confectionery products. It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that
Tragasol turned out be a ‘black gold mine’ for Limassol, offering employment to
some 40-50 permanent staff, in addition to a number of students who were
working there during their summer break, earning their pocket money.
