Mastic is a unique natural resin and the flagship product of the island of Chios. The Chios mastic tree has multiple uses and its production and trade are major pillars of the local economy. The mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus), known locally as “skinos”, grows throughout the Mediterranean. However, the special variety that grows in Chios (Pistacia lentiscus var. chia) is the only one that produces natural mastic.

The mastic harvest, known as “kentos”, starts after August 15 and lasts for about a month. It is a laborious process. Mastic workers carefully score the trunks of the mastic trees in specific places with small iron tools called “kentitiria”. Then, the resin starts to flow as mastic sap drops. In two weeks, it is ready to be collected. Before that, the process also involves ploughing the soil and pruning the trees in the winter. For the harvest, a circular area around each tree is carefully cleaned and covered with white earth (inert calcium carbonate) to ensure that any mastic drops that fall to the ground can be easily collected.

The harvest always takes place early in the morning and only once a week, to avoid harming the tree, over a period of two months. The mastic tree grows only in the southern part of the island. It is found in 25 villages in this area, which are called Mastihohoria, meaning “mastic villages”. This postcard features a photograph by Giorgos Maistros, a self-taught photographer from Kalamoti, one of the island's Mastihohoria.