EVEHD – ENGAGING VOLUNTEERS IN EUROPEAN HERITAGE DISCOVERY

The EVEHD project is a partnership between 6 European organisations that came together because of common interests in engaging volunteers to undertake a broad range of cultural patrimony research tasks. By engaging volunteers in cultural patrimony research, we seek two complimentary outcomes – empowerment of individuals through connection or re-connection with the local cultural landscape and the discovery of ‘self’; also, a harder edged commercial outcome of volunteers aspiring to develop a career in the cultural and creative sector.

EVEHD addresses the needs of volunteers as a part of communities. Engaging volunteers in cultural discovery has the added benefit of taking people on a pathway to a job, as a guide, etc. and is a concrete way of making best use of cultural assets. Volunteer engagement is no easy task, partly because in some countries volunteering is still in the beginning. All partners  in EVEHD are also involved in the cultural & creative (c+c) industry sector and the coordinator, working over the last 15 years in two cases (DE & SK), with 3 core partners have developed methodologies and keys for successful community engagement using the c+c sector as the fuel. Where mathematics and science cannot reach the disadvantaged, cultural heritage, history, archaeology, oral history, re-enactment, reconstruction, visual art, music, dance, craftwork, storytelling, fashion & discovery of the past, can.

Most of all the project is about ‘valuing volunteers’. We are / were inspired by the Grundtvig works on volunteering and the handbook ‘Volunteering in Museums and Cultural heritage – A European Handbook’ (Cristina Da Milano, Kirsten Gibbs and Margherita Sani) and the ‘Manifesto for Volunteering in Europe’.

The EVEHD partnership strongly agrees with the Manifesto regarding the value volunteering as:

• Central to ideals of democracy, inclusion and active citizenship; (relevant to the International year for 2013)
• A powerful tool for positive social and environmental change;
• A source of empowerment for the disenfranchised;
• A source of reconciliation and reconstruction in divided societies;
• A means of lifelong learning.

For the EVEHD partnership we would add that volunteering leads into a career, it gives real experience, builds CV’s and gives confidence for job hunting.

The main activity of EVEHD involves each partner offering a 7 day-long action involving local volunteers, schools, educational institutions, local people and stakeholders (including cultural businesses). The action focuses on a skill of that partner organization and a ‘track record’ of successful work with volunteers. Each host invites staff and volunteers from the other partners/ co-organisers.

 EVEHD partnership

Grampus Heritage & Training Ltd, UK – coordinator

Bildungshaus Heideland (BHH), Germany – partner

NAVE, Iceland – partner

Satul verde, Romania – partner

Ipel Eko, Slovakia – partner

Pamukkale University, Turkey – partner

For more information about the project, please visit http://www.grampusheritage.co.uk/projects/evehd/

And the project facebook page https://www.facebook.com/HeritageGrampusEVEHD/?fref=ts

See our articles in the Sublime international magazine:

http://sublimemagazine.com/art-culture/sustaining-traditional-textiles

http://sublimemagazine.com/art-culture/europe-people-and-shared-culture

The latest issue of the Green Village magazine is dedicated to EVEHD. You can find it here:

This is our EVEHD – Best Practice Handbook

EVEHD Romania

 The main action of EVEHD Romania took place in the first week of July 2014.The area of our action was Rimeț village, situated in the Apuseni Mountains in Transylvania. Apuseni Mountains is a limestone area with a lot of caves, gorges & ravines.These mountains belong to the bigger chain of the Carpathian Mountains.  Rimet village boasts a stunning landscape with wild flower meadows alive with butterflies, insects and birds.

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Our action had three main themes:

-      spring restauration;

-      recording textile patterns from old traditional Romanian costumes;

-      making an inventory of thatched houses from the area. This includes photographing,  measuring, recording, mapping.

Volunteers from Germany,  Island, Slovakia, Turkey and the UK were joined by local people and teenagers from the area. We divided in 3 teams and started to work.

The spring restauration team was lead by Dumitru Ciocan, a Romanian volunteer and Paul Lucas, a volunteer from the UK. Together with the local builder they made a working plan and proceeded to work. The spring was to be restored so that both people and animals can have easy access to fresh water. We attempted to use only stone with no cemment but this proved to be a little difficult, taking into consideration our lack of skills as regards dry stone walling. By the time the action finished, the spring was almost complete.

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Another team led by Philip White & Joy Ede from UK  recorded thatched buildings from the area. They showed the volunteers how to use the building survey sheet to record building techniques, type of wood, type of building, interior details, dimensions, GPS position. A number of 28 thatched buildings were recorded and the information  we collected will be used to make a plan for saving these building and putting them to use as part of the cultural landscape of the Apuseni Mountains.

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The third team led by Martin Clark recorded traditional textile patterns onto paper. They had access to the ethnographic collection of the village and recorded textiles from old Romanian costumes. This was done with the purpose of discovering  common textile patterns throughtout countries taking part in the project. We found out there are many similarities between Romanian textile patterns and those from Slovakia and some identical patterns to the Turkish ones ( the “baclava” pattern). The textile team set up a fashion shoot to show how traditional textiles can be used in a contemporary way.

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During the week there were cultural trips so that participants find out more about the area. We had a day trip to Alba Iulia to visit  the Vauban fortress  and an afternoon walk to the Rimet monastery.

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Another activity of  the EVHED project in Romania started in  the spring of 2015 and its main theme is oral history. Together wih our volunteers we have been interviewing old people in the village of Gîrbovița to discover how life was in the past. We will continue with this activity in 2016. The interviews will be published in a booklet.

In the autumn of 2015 we started the preparations for a community centre/library in the village of Girbovița. Members of the community and our international partners are involved in setting up this centre.

The project revolves around local festivals and celebrations that have elements of common interest and would benefit from a wider international participation and audience. By developing the cultural assets of festivals we hope to bring about informal learning, share celebrations and promote the positive aspects of village life. This includes traditional skills and local products that can attract tourists, increase trade and provide real jobs in the longer term.

A festival is a great opportunity to see local traditions, folklore, crafts, dances, costumes; hear songs and stories and try out local food and drink specialities. Most festivals bring people together in a joyous and relaxed way. A festival also has a social function, where people meet, talk, dance & eat together, connecting with each other while celebrating “localness”. The international aspect also allows for an exchange of ideas between communities from different parts of Europe. In FILE, we will learn from each other how to make the best use of our cultural assets – including local people but also the cultural landscape in which they live.  The outcome and legacy will provide ideas and opportunities for young & old people alike.

We will show each other how tradition is kept alive through crafts, folklore & entertainments but also show that innovation and contemporization can help to retain the best from the past but add something new and exciting – helping to keep communities working together into the future.

The project runs over a 2 year period and it is funded by the European Union through the Lifelong Learning Programme.

The festivals/events we took part in 2015

Slovenia – May Day Celebrations

The second FILE action took place from 26th April to 2nd May and it was dedicated to honey production and Mayday celebrations in Slovenia. First project day was the Bumblebee walk around village of Ivanci. 27th of April is national holiday in Slovenia so a lot of of local people joined as they were off work for the day. First stop along the way was at St. John’s the Baptist chapel in Ivanci, built in 1991/2 with the old one being torn down days before Slovenian independence in June 1991. Interesting albeit violent paintings of St. John’s decapitation with Salome holding his head on the plate, pregnant virgin Mary and Joseph visiting Elizabeth and Zaccharia and Christ’s baptism by St.John the baptist are themes that Štefan Hauko explored in his masterpiece. A couple of steps out and we were in the fields and meadows progressing towards Stanko Čiček’s beehives. Participants learnt about the differences between systems of beekeeping in Slovenia and Scotland as well as different sources of honey and timeframes for the harvest. Next day at Mr. Klement in Moravske Toplice a pouring and centrifugation of honey was presented. During our Goričko tour at cheesemaker Zeleni raj in Ratkovci participants were given a description of  the cheesemaking process and at nearby licitar Celec a taste of honey cakes. Next project day was exploring Mura river and its surroundings. Floating mill in Ižakovci Island of love, apitherapist beekeeper Šemen in Melinci and another floating boat in Gornja bistrica where we crossed over to Štajerska. In  the afternoon all 3 groups gathered to bake cakes of their own country which were then used on May day celebration in Ivanci on the following day. Before preparing and raising the maypole on April 30th, participants were able to try out their straw weaving skills in Lipovci at kmetija Smodiš straw weavers . A visit to Lendava’s castle museum was also part of the programme. Another visit to Bukovnica lake and Nemec farm completed the activities for second action in Ivanci.

Romania – Hay making festival, Gîrbovița

In 2015 the FILE action in Romania (30th June- 7th July) focused on traditional hay making and herbs of the hay meadow. Local people from the village of Gîrbovița showed FILE participants from Slovenia and the UK how to make hay in a traditional way. This involved cutting grass with  scythes & turning it with  forks & rakes. Participants were shown how to use the tools and everybody had a go at cutting & turning grass. The importance of cutting the grass after the flowering season was explained.

We had a walk through hay meadows around the village to identify plants & their uses and to compare the flora of Romanian haymeadows to that in Slovenia & the UK.  A local herbalist from the village accompanied the group on the walk and initiated discussions about plants, their uses and local folklore and celebrations associated with some plants. The plants we identified in our walk  were put together in a brochure  – “Herbs of the Romanian haymeadows”, which is available in English, Romanian and Slovenian.

We saw that village people have great knowledge of plants and their uses, plants are collected and dried for teas and some of them are sold in the local market. The group also visited several shops selling  herbal tinctures, creams & teas. This is all part of a rich  culture & tradition that still has valuable knowledge as regards local flora.

Local people from Gîrbovița cooked food, made bread, pies & cakes and shared them with the guests.

We had a day visit to Rimet, where participants from Slovenia and the UK cooked a traditional meal and shared it with local people. The Slovenian participants performed a traditional dance from their village, Ivanci.

As part of the programme, the group visited an animal market in Teiuș, the ASTRA village museum in Sibiu and the Vauban fortress in Alba Iulia.

Scotland ( 23^rd -30^th July 2015) – Comrie Fortnight Festival

The programme centred on the Comrie Fortnight Festival,  a 2 week celebration of village life. There are new activities every day, from bus trips to the Trossachs to the ‘Pram Derby’.  The festival is well known through Scotland and abroad. It draws in a large number of visitors, some for just a day and some for the full 2 weeks.  It gives a huge economic boost to local businesses, filling the hotels, Bed and Breakfasts and ensuring that all of the shops and restaurants are in full swing. Economically it is a very important event in the local calendar.  Our programme set out to reflect the impact that the festival could have on local businesses, crafts people, farmers and the group stayed in Combruith, hostel accommodation run by a local sustainable enterprise, Comrie Croft.  We took part in many of the village festival  activities, The Car Boot sale which was fascinating to our visitors- an ideal way to get rid of unwanted things and gain a little money, The Garden Trail – a chance to look in your neighbours back garden. The beer festival and the outdoor service at Tullichettle were also well attended.   We visited Braco Show run by the Agricultural Society; their aim is to promote agriculture and the countryside to the community. There is an exhibition of farm machinery and animals.  Local farmers compete to win prizes for their sheep, horses and cattle.  One exhibitor invited our group to visit his farm and his prize-winning herd of Simmental cattle.  He shared a barbeque with us and showed us around his cattle sheds.

On the Saturday we visited the Lochearnhead Highland Games, Traditional Scottish games with tossing the caber, piping and highland dancing competitions.  In the planning activities for this action we invited our Scottish participants to take part with the incoming groups.  Di McNab invited the group for an evening in her home, we took food and wine to share.  Zandra Black and her partner played Scottish country dance music on their accordions and it developed into a ceilidh.  Felicity Martin made a slideshow and presentation about Comrie and its surroundings. Derek Robertson took the group for a fungus forage.  We finished our second action at an open evening at Auchingarrich Wildlife Park. Once a farm, Auchingarrich have diversified to a large café and children’s adventure park and a wildlife park which exhibits native species both wild and domesticated.

This final action of the FILE project was influenced greatly by the evaluation and dissemination from the previous activities.

The festivals/events we took part in 2014

Romania -Rîmeț village festival

The first action of the FILE project took place in Romania in the beginning of July and it evolved around the Rîmeț village days. This is an event that takes place once a year in the village of Rîmeț,Trascău Mountains, Alba county. This year the event also hosted the “Culture for culture” contest with 7 communes competing to demonstrate who has the best folk dancers & singers, food, crafts, textiles, traditional costumes.

Local people worked side by side with Scottish & Slovenian participants to set up the place of the event. They erected tents and built an eco toilet.

On the day of the event, Tarcău plateau filled with people from Rîmeț & surrounding areas, but also from Aiud ,Teiuș & Alba Iulia.

There was a stage for the folklore groups to perform and each commune had its own tent where they exhibited hand made carpets, towels, traditional costumes, pottery. There were also demonstrations on loom weaving, basket making & cooking (game stew). A forge was installed and we saw how a horse was shod. Each tent had a table in front to show traditional village food: home made pies, bread, cakes, sausages. We tasted them all!

The festival exemplified a wide range of rural crafts, from cookery to hat making.

The group also visited the village museum in Brădești that has a collection of old tools, household items & textiles & traditional costumes from the area.

The programme included a cultural visit to the Vauban fortress in Alba Iulia and the Village Museum in Sibiu.

At the end of the programme we had  a feedback session & discussions with all participants.

Testimonials

“Many many thanks for all the arrangements you made, which allowed us to experience the truly beautiful area around Rimet, and,of course, the festival.  We certainly packed in a great deal in our short stay.  The visits to Sibiu and Alba Iulia were an added bonus and helped us understand a little of the history of the area.

I left Romania with very positive feelings of your country and have already told friends that it is a very beautiful part of the world.” Di McNab, Scotland

“I had a wonderful time in Romania! I hope I was able to make a worthwhile contribution to your project. I’ve taken some super photos but they still can’t convey how beautiful the countryside is without the sounds and smells!

It is obvious that the people are extremely proud of their culture and that they want to keep it alive through the festivals”. Patricia Gardner, Scotland

“Rimet is a truly special place and the people there were very welcoming”. Bob Turner, Scotland

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Slovenia- Vegetable Days & Pumpkin Festival

The programme in Slovenia focused on pumpkins and the wine culture (which are the main activities in the area) and it culminated with the Vegetable Farmers’ Day that was celebrated in the village of Ivanci.

The programme included a field tour of the village to see their irrigation system and the fields cultivated mainly with pumpkins and corn.  There was a visit to a local farm belonging to Monika Horvat & family. They grow red peppers and tomatos in politunnels but also pumpkins for oil.

In the village of Križevci  we visited a small pumpkin press and saw how pumpkin oil is made using the “ hot pressing” method.

The village of Gančani  is renowed for barrel making and we saw how they are made.There were visits to vineyards and wine cellars around Bogojina.  The village of Filovci  houses an ethnographic museum and  participants had a go at making a clay pot. In Bukovnika we visited a small bull farm.

During these visits participants experienced Slovenian rural life & crafts and were able to compare these with those from their local areas.

On the Vegetable Farmers’ Day we were joined by local people from Ivanci & surroundings to celebrate the farmers & harvest . Each partner cooked a traditional meal. The Romanian team cooked a huge pot of beans with pork sausages.  In the evening there was a cultural programme with Slovenian music, dance and a theatre play. We saw how the community works together to organize a local event that could turn into a tourist attraction.

The programme included a cultural visit to Murska Sobota, the Transmuranian capital and to the Round church in Selo village.

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Scotland- Apple Day & Drovers Tryst

The last action of 2014 took place in Comrie, Scotland and it had apples as a main theme. In the first day we went around Comrie and at Cultybraggan Camp to pick apples.

(http://www.secretscotland.org.uk/index.php/Secrets/Cultybraggan)

The Romanian team had an expert on pruning with them and we pruned some apple trees around the village. We visited Drummond Castle Gardens where we had a look at various fruit trees and also their flower & vegetable garden.  The tour of the garden was led by the former gardener of the castle- he had been a gardener there for more than 30 years.

(http://www.drummondcastlegardens.co.uk/)

Comrie Croft (http://www.comriecroft.com ) showed us an example of how the community works together. This community- led place offers various types of accommodation for tourists, volunteers, events. We made cakes and took part in the Thursday Club lunch organized by & for the people in the village as a way to socialise & keep up with the news.  Derek Robertson took us on a tour of a fish farm to hear about how fish is farmed and sold all over the world. On Saturday we visited Crieff market where local people sell a wide range of home made products, from jams, hams, smoked fish and syrups to jewelry and soaps. In the afternoon we went to Cultybraggan Camp to help with preparations for the Apple Day.

On Sunday 12^thOctober people of Comrie & surroundings celebrated the Apple day at Cultybraggan Camp. We made apple juice together with the locals & tasted local home made apple products. The day ended with a Harvest service in Glen Artney Church.

(http://www.gateway-to-the-scottish-highlands.com/Glen-Artney.html )

In both Slovenia and Scotland we saw many examples of how people use their cultural & natural assets to attract visitors, promote the area & bring income to it. We came back with many ideas that we would like to apply in our areas.

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Between 24-28th April 2014 two members of “Satul verde” Association took part in the mobility project “Saving traditional landscapes for sustainable rural development”  at Náttúrustofa Vestfjarða, Selfoss, Iceland. The mobility project aimed to identify project ideas within the  NGO fund.  “Satul verde”  members  had meetings with  staff from The Folk Museum in Eyrarbakki ( Byggðasafn Árnesinga Eyrarbakka), The Folk Museum in Skogar and The Agricultural University in  Hveragerði, Reykjumin (Landbúnaðarháskóli íslands að Reykjum).

Discussions were held about the NGO fund and its components, identifying project ideas within the domanins “Environment protection and climate changes” and “Social inequalities, poverty and exclusion”. During the visit,  “Satul verde” & Náttúrustofa Vestfjarða ‘s staff worked on a project proposal within the NGO fund – “Sustainable development”, aiming to submit an application at the next call for proposals.

More details about the visit here.

This project was possible thanks to the financial support of the NGO fund  in Romania, a programme financed by the EEA grants  and managed by Fundația pentru Dezvoltarea Societății Civile”.

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The action in Romania took place between 16-25th June 2013 in the village of Rîmeț, Alba county. The main aim of the action was the building of a wooden, stone & clay house with a thatched roof. In the future this house will host the ethnographic museum of the village. Volunteers from Germany, Iceland, Great Britain and Romania together with locals took part in this action. It was a practical activity where participants learnt how to build a house in the traditional way by working side by side with the local people who acted as trainers.

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Forests are particularly important in rural areas and were very connected to rural people’s identity, both providing a sense of place and a physical link between generations. In the past forests provided protection to rural people and were their main source of living, particularly those living in mountain villages, as forests provided all they needed.

The Green Man is an archetypal symbol related to trees and forests and stands for renewal, sustainability and other ‘green’ matters. Using the Green Man for this project therefore raises awareness of the importance of the relationship between trees, forests and people, and with it the project aims to highlight their environmental benefits and sustainable use to people.

Ländliche Erwachsenen Bildung (LEB) in Germany will show the cultural importance forests have had through the ages by way of discovering stories and myths behind a particular forest name. Most of these stories have been forgotten and therefore the literature circle of LEB will survey old stories, myths and legends, relating to the Dübener Heide and Fläming forest areas. With the help of the Wittenberg textile group, LEB will further enhance the forest theme through the creation of costumes, whereas its cooking group will facilitate ‘food from the forest’.

“Satul Verde” aims to highlight the importance of trees by showing their versatility with respect to timber crafts practiced in rural mountain areas. One of the main activities Satul Verde therefore leads is promoting Romanian handmade products, which will benefit the partner’s general activities. Elderly wood craft participants from isolated rural areas, will be given the opportunity to develop their training skills and to transfer their skills/knowledge to adult learners.

Single trees have been celebrated in the past, either to mark a boundary, or a meeting place, or hear people speak in its shade. Ancient trees capture people’s imagination because of their individual character; the Borrowdale Yew e.g. has become famous in its own right. However, single trees are very vulnerable to building, infrastructure or agricultural development to which many have been lost. The UK still has a wealth of ancient trees and is therefore the perfect location to celebrate their importance.

Green Man- Germany
3-8th May 2012
See full programme here.
See the action here.

Green Man- Romania
1-7th July 2012
See full programme here.
See the action here.

Project partners:

Woodland Inspirations – UK

Ländliche Erwachsenenbildung Sachsen Anhalt AG Wittenberg – Germany

You can find here a collection of stories & poems that were told or created by participants in the project.

A collection of forest food recipes gathered from the 3 countries has been put together by participants. You can find it here.

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Type of project: LEONARDO DA VINCI Transfer of innovation

Coordinator:
Náttúrustofa Vestfjarða – Iceland

Partners:
Landbúnaðarháskóli Íslands (The Agricultural University of Iceland) – Iceland
Stokkar og Steinar – Iceland
Grampus Heritage & Training Limited – UK
Moorforge -UK
Bildungshaus Heideland HVHS –Germany
Ed-consult – Denmark
Asociatia ‘Satul verde’ – Romania

VAST-VIEW addresses loss of skills in traditional building coupled with the need for tangible examples of low carbon economy building techniques. Also there is a need for interactive venues to learn & teach traditional skills, (living) archaeology & heritage management. There are also old buildings that can be ‘put to work’ for best use of cultural heritage for rural jobs. The project will train multiple target groups (university students, trainees, trainers, community members, tourists) through the work-based process of reconstructing & restoring ancient buildings. The TOI will engage community members, encourage them to use existing skills & learn new skills in traditional building. The project develops a legacy of buildings for continuing VET use for other traditional skills, such as weaving, felting, woodworking & carving, blacksmithing, leather work, basketry, etc. Core partners deal with rescuing & restoring traditional buildings & teaching traditional skills in a ‘hands-on’ context. The partnership represents a geographical area spread across Europe (Iceland to Romania) linked by recognition that old building styles must be reconstructed, restored & used in order to survive.

Our actions:
In Germany, we will do a reconstruction / restoration training on the Germanic Longhouse on Kleppel Farm, Authausen .
In Iceland at Arbaer the project participants will build a Viking forge. In the UK- another Viking age forge will be constructed through the ‘Sustainable Building’ training course at Moorforge premises, with the intention to build up the UK craft centre that will be used in the future as a place for VET. The building will have a community serving function and incorporate local & sustainable materials – turf, wood & stone.

In Denmark, Ed-consult will host an e-learning meeting for Project managers from UK, Iceland, and Romania and lead the work package 6 (e-learning module) .
‘Satul verde’ Association in Romania will organize a training in building with stone, wood & clay, also in straw thatching in the village of Rimet. People from the village will be the trainers and all partners will take part and they will be “learning by doing”.
Critically, each building action uses & extends the LdV project Green Village Sustainable Building course developed in Iceland (2011).

The programme ended with a photo exhibition showing the uses of wood in the area.The alpenhorns made by participants, the “green man” face, a wooden loom for manual weaving  and other wooden objects were displayed.

Some Green Men in Romania…

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