The Recovery of Dry Stone in the Sierra del Rincón Biosphere Reserve
Trades and ancestral knowledge around cultural heritage
The recovery of the heritage of dry stone in the Sierra del Rincón as a rural development strategy is a project that arises as an initiative from the technical office of the Sierra del Rincón Biosphere Reserve with the idea of recovering a traditional trade, maintain the characteristic architecture of the territory and promote the care of elements that are respectful of the environment.
The project has the support of the General Directorate of Heritage of the Community of Madrid and the School of Architecture of the Polytechnic University of Madrid for the process of research and documentation of dry stone heritage.
The projects are proposed from an approach that considers the local population as the protagonist of the actions that are carried out around heritage, based on knowledge and understanding of the past (the origins and contexts from which the elements come from). tangible and intangible cultural heritage) and the present (to contribute to conserving and perpetuating heritage with a cutting-edge perspective, adapting to the real needs of the population today).
Video presentation
Description:
«We work from an interdependence approach, understanding that cultural elements are deeply linked to a natural environment and socioeconomic conditions.»
Objectives
Vision and impact: Value the heritage of dry stone by the local population, be a reference territory around dry stone, open an employment niche around the recovery of this traditional trade. Making the dry stone a point of territorial union and contributing to the municipalities having a vision of identity.
- Revalue the tangible and intangible cultural heritage around dry stone as a hallmark of the Sierra del Rincón Biosphere Reserve and as a point of territorial union.
- Involve the local population in the processes of recovery and dissemination of this heritage.
- Increase scientific knowledge about the biodiversity associated with dry stone as a way of contributing to the conservation and improvement of the landscape and natural resources of the territory.
- Promote the decentralization of the tourist offer of the territory using the tangible and intangible heritage of dry stone as a revitalizing tool for cultural tourism.
- Contribute to the creation of local employment through the recovery of a traditional trade: specialized training in the dry stone construction technique.
The project proposes the participation of different agents of the territory such as dry stone masters, cultural mediators, local artists and participants with an academic profile.
Development
Research and conservation:
- Systematic study of the typology of these constructions in this area of the Sierra de Madrid, of the materials, the techniques used and the aspects that have to do with the intangible heritage that exists around these dry stone construction techniques that are ancestral techniques and with great patrimonial value.
- Research, survey (drawings), data collection of dry stone heritage.
- Database project where the data of traditional architecture are crossed not only with the physical description but also, from the point of view of the trades involved in this architecture (intangible heritage, transmitted knowledge).
- Recovery of dry stone elements in all the municipalities of the Sierra del Rincón Biosphere Reserve.
- Preparation of a guide to good practices for the construction of enclosures.
Citizen participation, training and education:
- Seminar on good practices by zoom in which very general concepts of landscape, the meaning of intangible heritage, traditional architecture were discussed.
- Round table that transferred the project to that area of the municipalities.
- Practical dry stone course.
- Management of the accreditation by certificate of professionalism around dry stone.
- Creation of a Dry Stone Headquarters.
Cultural tourism:
- Interpretive guide on the Dry Stone in the Sierra del Rincón based on the results of the research and documentation work.
- Cultural events.
Those who participate:
- Local population participating in the project, Local Master Craftsmen of dry stone, local artists, town halls, commonwealth, technical office of the Sierra del Rincón Biosphere Reserve, Community of Madrid, Madrid Polytechnic School of Architecture.
Financing:
- Biosphere Reserve and Destination Tourism Sustainability Plans, General Directorate of Cultural Heritage of the Community of Madrid.
It is a way of building inherited from the Neolithic, and that connects us with the oldest being that we carry inside. It is interesting as a resource and as a treasure to connect people who are trying to find free time in the countryside and a connection to nature.
