Handwritten note by Achilles Ladias with the dates of birth of the family members.

Photo of Evangelos Ladias

Photo of Evangelia Ladia

The photo shows Achilles with Daphne Ladia, his mother and daughters after the death of his father

Evangelos Ladias was born in 1870 in the Ottoman Empire, lived as a Christian Ottoman citizen for about forty years. In 1914 he became a Greek citizen of the Hellenic Kingdom and died in 1943 under Bulgarian rule.

In the 20th century the cultivation of tobacco is the dominant agricultural occupation in Proti, Serres and in the villages around Paggaio. The "basmas" variety, one of the most exquisite varieties of world tobacco production, thrives in the lands of the region. The high demand for eastern tobacco and the high commercial price of basma, contribute to the economic prosperity of the region.
The tobacco growing cycle starts in February and ends in October. Family members work non-stop for the common good, without the requirement of a salary. Mutual assistance, after all, is the only way to survive at home. The woman-mother, in addition to the continuous work in the field, is also responsible for the household chores. Older children take care of the younger ones and from pre-adolescence follow their parents in the tobacco fields. Child labor is considered self-evident and part of the education of the child, who leaves school during the months of intensive work. Law 4029 of 1912 "On the work of women and minors" protects the right of children to education and prohibits work before the age of 12, but the customary rule prevails over the law, as does the need for labor. The work of women and children in tobacco growing is of great importance for the economy of the time.
In the summer months when jobs increase and the hands are not enough, the pre-industrial society employs the network of kinship relations. The mahala families exchange labor power as part of mutual aid. When this is not possible or not enough, farm workers are hired. Workers can be permanent on large crops or seasonal on smaller ones, locals without a lot or foreigners moving from non-rural areas.

The economy of the pre-industrial age is based on sustainability, reuse and processing. The limited production of products also limits the needs of man, most of which were covered within the house.
In the first of the 20th century, along with tobacco, the "good households" cultivate their cereals and vineyard. So the house always has its flour, bread and wine…
The smaller farmers, who have a few acres, focus exclusively on tobacco growing, which is more profitable.

The family schools operated from 1944 to 1979. Their purpose was the national development and the religious education of the girls in the outlying areas of the country, after the Bulgarian occupation and the civil war. The girls who left school early went to school for three years, either as full-time or part-time students, attending only a few classes. They taught sewing, handicrafts, weaving, carpet weaving, religion, hygiene and agriculture.
The curriculum was tailored to the model housewife-farmer-mother, but improved the living standards of many women who went on to work as educators, cooks, bankers and provided a solution to the food problem. The school of Proti operated from 1949 until 1956.

The oud is a versatile room on the ground floor of the house. It is used for cooking, as a living room and on winter nights the children sleep in it because it is warm from the stove or the fireplace.
Pre-industrial society uses natural resources to a limited extent as they are not readily available.



Picture right: wood stove with oven, used for heating and cooking