Craftsman, teacher, historian, farmer, gardener, administrator, host, jazz aficionado, and traveler: Dimitris Fronimakis is a man of many talents, and he applies many of them to improve conditions in Gavalochori. He can often be found working in and around the Folklore Museum—building the desk at the entrance, renovating and maintaining the courtyard, or grafting a tree in the patio area outside the museum. He has also been sighted making repairs to the stone paving in the old part of the village and leading an effort to clean the trash and overgrown vegetation surrounding the ancient bridge at the Venetian Wells. He played a role as well in the selection and refinement of content for Gavalochori’s new website. Needless to say, Dimitris’s fingerprints are on many volunteer projects that benefit Gavalochori.
In his non-volunteer life–his “real life”—Dimitris is a fine arts teacher at the Fifth Gymnasium School of Chania, a middle school for students ages 11 to 14. There, he also serves as the assistant to the headmaster, which means that, on a daily basis, he plunges into a maelstrom of administrative tasks ranging from the management of the morning student assembly to advising teachers on teaching methods to managing issues that emerge from student behavior. He also ensures that the school remains in a good, safe condition and that it has the continuous flow of supplies and equipment it needs.
When Dimitris began teaching, he first taught at four different schools in and around Chania before settling at the Fifth Gymnasium. During the early part of his teaching career, he had a second life working in agriculture on his family’s land, where his crops included oranges and olives. Those properties have now been sold, but Dimitris continues to put his farming knowledge to use by taking care of the trees and plants around his family’s home in Gavalochori and advising neighbors and friends on ways to maintain healthy and productive gardens.
Dimitris has an unusual educational background. After he graduated from high school, he chose to attend the Florence Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, Italy. Although he didn’t have much of an opportunity to see or produce art growing up, he always liked making things with his hands. He prepared to attend the Florence Academy by spending a year learning Italian. While attending the Florence Academy, he also studied art restoration at a private school in Florence, where he focused on the restoration and replication of metal objects. He liked working with metal and might have made it his career except for the toxic and unhealthy materials it involved.
When Dimitris is in Gavalochori, he often can be found taking care of his family’s home, which is one of the oldest houses in the village. Although Dimitris was born and grew up in Chania, his father’s family was from Gavalochori, and Dimitris and his brother Manolis spent weekends and holidays in the family’s house there. As an adult, Dimitris decided to restore the home, which turned into a 10-year-long project during which he learned and applied traditional materials and processes in metal, ceramics, and stone. Following the completion of the work in 2019, the house became an Airbnb that he named the Lemon Tree Retreat after the large lemon tree in the courtyard. When he first began hosting guests, he enjoyed showing visitors around Crete, and he found that they were usually very interested in learning about the history, nature, and culture of the island. In recent years, however, he has discovered that an increasing number of visitors have a different set of interests and motivations. He calls them Tik-Tok guests because they visit what they consider to be key spots to be checked off on a list, and they are often more interested in taking pictures of themselves to post on social media than they are in actually exploring the island.
When he is not teaching or being a super volunteer in Gavalochori, Dimitris enjoys spending time in “untouchable places” on Crete. He loves the nature of Crete and especially likes to be on Crete in the winter. He knows Crete well and has friends all over the island, but the South Coast holds a special place in his heart. He also enjoys hiking, fishing, and biking. Dimitris also is an avid traveler and takes any opportunity to explore other countries. He has a preference for exploring mountainous areas, and recent travels have taken him to Iceland, the United States (including Alaska), the Swiss Alps, and Thailand.
Dimitris’ deep commitment to Gavalochori is very much a part of who he is. He realizes that time cannot stand still, but his memories of the old Gavalochori drive him both to help solve problems in the village and to maintain the qualities that make Gavalochori a special place. One of his favorite childhood memories is of old people sitting on benches in the afternoon, eating chickpeas from plants they had grown, and talking with one another. No one had a watch, no one knew what time it was, and no one cared what time it was. They were just enjoying being together in their lovely village.
