When Cyprus was still under British rule, land registry officials visited Agios Epifanios, asking villagers for their help in identifying local toponyms, which would later be used to create maps of the area. Locals recruited their fellow villager, Toumasis, to assist the foreign official.

Toumasis, a simple farmer at the time, was very familiar with the surrounding area, as he kept plots of land close to natural water sources, where he built retaining walls using stones (‘δόμες’, similar to today’s gabion walls) and cultivated orchards. In steep and rugged areas lacking a nearby water source, he passionately cultivated vineyards, producing his own wine and zivania, as taught by his father and grandfather. His wife – Maria, would make raisins and other vine products, to be consumed during the cold winter months.

Toumasis helped the foreign official to record toponyms, streams, and other important geographical landmarks in the village and surrounding mountains. From then onwards, villagers (unfamiliar with the English language), gave Toumasis a nickname after the foreign official’s name, which to them sounded like ‘Povis’.

Toumasis, also known as Povis, passed away in 1978, leaving behind the vineyards he lovingly cared for all those years. Following his death, his children and grandchildren took over in cultivating the vineyards, making wine and zivania in traditional clay pots (‘πιθάρια’). Today, his grandchildren are carrying on the tradition of producing wine and zivania from those same vineyards, using new modern equipment.