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Presenting Lithos | The
association |
Presenting
Lithos
The
value of techniques inherited from our ancestors: the art of dry-stone
walling
The heritage of dry-stone stems from extraordinary expertise and retains
all of its relevance still today. Along with its partner organisations,
the objective of the Dry-Stone Centre is to obtain recognition and appreciation
for old techniques and traditional craft as being relevant today. The
Dry-Stone Centre has set up professional training opportunities, rooted
in the landscape, thanks to training work-sites that take account of
local constraints. The Centre tries to encourage local building companies
and potential architects or project-managers to use dry-stone techniques.
Dry-stone:
a strong marker of regional identity région
Dry-stone represents a lived-in landscape, a shared cultural trait for
numerous rural communities and regions, particularly in the Mediterranean
region. The Dry-stone Centre has given itself the objective of raising
public awareness of the value of this common heritage by supporting
public and private/voluntary initiatives, offering training resources
as well as technical assistance to managers and promoters of private
and public conservation projects.
A
precious resource in terms of ecology, landscape and economy
Dry-stone features represent an ecological asset that contributes to
the equilibrium and quality of the environment, particularly in terms
of preventing erosion and limiting the devastating effects of flooding.
The landscapes that are shaped in part by dry-stone techniques play
a major role in the reputation of a geographical region. They contribute
to the value of agricultural production, cultural tourism and economic
attractiveness. They provide a renewed base for employment, with a professional
network that includes stone-cutters, skilled wallers and project leaders.
The dry-stone centre provides a federating framework for development
initiatives that add value to the environment. Its objective is to support
efforts like the “Dry-Stone Discovery Route” through Provence,
a project originally promoted by the APARE.
Dry-stone:
creating regional unity
From Lebanon to Andalusia, from Morocco to the Cyclades, from Brittany
to Scotland, dry-stone unites territories and people. Pooling knowledge
and techniques, their shared experience turns dry-stone walling into
a theme of cooperation in the areas of culture, the environment and
the economy. This is one of the missions of the agora made up of Lithos
participants, together with the many international partnerships that
are already working together on common projects. This is how participants
from Cyprus, Scotland, Provence, Greece and the Balearic Islands came
together for the “European Dry-Stone Forum” with the assistance
of the Centre Méditerranéen
de l’Environnement (CME) in the context of the EU Culture 2000
programme. They drew up a European wallers’ charter.
The
Dry-Stone Centre: at the head of a network of dry-stone countries
The Dry-Stone Centre in Le Beaucet has made several tools available
to professionals as well as the general public: a documentation centre,
a setting for exchange and dialogue and a website to help collect and
share information through the network of countries concerned by dry-stone.
The
association
