The folklore museum “Maria Koutsochero” was founded in 1990 and located in the village of Karia in Lefkada, a mountainous village of Lefkada where its history is closely tied to the “Karsaniki” stitch, a peculiar kind of embroidery that consists a rich tradition of embroidery art of the island. Founder of the museum namely “Maria Koutsochero” is Mr. Theodore Katopodes a resident of the village Karia.
In the folk museum “Maria Koutsochero” guests can admire handmade embroidery with the famous “Karsaniki stitch” handmade exhibits several of them dated the end of the 19^th century as well collection of old objects and furniture in a space formed so as to remind a traditional house of mountainous Lefkas.

The story of "Maria Koutsochero"
Maria Stavraka having a nickname as “Maria Koutsochero”, born in Karia of Lefkada between 1860 and 1865 while she passed away in 1948. At the age of ten years old Maria fell off a tree several banging her right arm. The scarce medical resources at that time forced the doctors to severe Maria’s arm. The young Maria learns to embroider by one hand and began to stitch embroideries with art things she saw in the fields such as birds’ flowers leaves, trees etc. that is how Maria created the Karsaniki stitch. The village was slow to accept her as a teacher however this perspective did not last long as over time no villager could deny the great talent of “Koutsochero”.
In 1915 Zoe Valaoritis sister in Law of the famous Greek poet Aristotle Valaoritis, visited Maria and stayed amazed by the grandeur of her art. Along with the Greek queen Sofia founded in Karia a handicraft school which was named “progress” where many girls on the village were taught the art of embroidery.
A few years later after Maria’s death, the “Royale Welfare” furnished the women of the village with the threads and fabrics that were required for the creation of their embroideries thus providing the local women with an income. Today the technique of Karsaniki stitch has significantly reduced as only the eldest women dealing with embroidery. The folk museum “Maria Koutsochero” is aiming not only to expose this unique art form but also to pass it on to younger generations so that this local embroidery technique of unique beauty the “Karsaniki” stitch to maintain in the future.