The KaFEMio coffee shop project was first tested in Polystipos, Nicosia district, (2019); a small rural community on the island of Cyprus. It started from the conceptual idea that women, especially in traditional settings, do not have enough spaces to relax. KaFEMio is a play on words and comes from the Greek word ‘kafenio’, (translated from «καφενείο») meaning coffee shop. Kafenio, in rural Balkan and Eastern Mediterranean areas, is traditionally a place where men frequent – women are practically excluded. KaFEMio subverts the traditional context of male-dominated “kafenio’’ and places emphasis on the capitalised FEM, referring to our feminist lens of care.
So far we have designed, curated and facilitated four kaFEMio coffeeshops in Polystipos (2019, 2020) with related online and on-site events at the Adult Center, Deryneia (2022).
