By Judith Broeker | AiP Program Director
As we’ve discussed before in our reports about rebuilding Gjirokastra, Albania, the community’s effort to develop a sustainable economy is dependent on their amazing built heritage. So what happens when local craftsmen and contractors no longer have the skills and knowledge needed to maintain the large stone tower houses?
This question is answered regularly with the collapse of another historic building. Each loss makes the move toward a sustainable economy, largely based on heritage tourism, harder to achieve.
Fortunately for the people of Gjirokastra, the knowledge of traditional building skills still remains with a few builders in the area and in other parts of the Balkans. Adventures in Preservation, together with Cultural Heritage without Borders, is taking advantage of this good fortune.
With the help of your donations, craftspeople from the Balkans are earning a salary teaching traditional building skills to students and professionals attending AiP and CHwB’s hands-on projects at the Skenduli house in Gjirokastra.
These budding architecture, city planning and preservation professionals will be able to share their expertise during productive careers.
They will become a new source of old knowledge, once again giving property owners the ability to regularly maintain their buildings and at the same time contribute to the economic growth of their community. Thanks for working with us to support this transition.
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