Beyond the vineyard: the dry stone heritage

“Beyond the vineyard: the dry stone heritage” is a camp based on dry stone works, which were declared cultural heritage by UNESCO. Participants are going to recover a huge stone wall in a vineyard area and also a shepherd's stone hut. They are also going to work in a Civil War trench area in order to make them more accessible to visitors. The main work in the camp will be the recovery of different dry stone works (wall, huts and Civil War trenches). To do this, participants will have the support of experts from CESUB, Subirats historical study group. So, the technical tasks are: - Restoration and maintenance of the dry stone margins between the cores of Ordal and Saint Paul of Ordal. -Restoration and maintenance of the remnants of trenches from the Civil War that are in the same area. - Restoration of a shepherd's hut located near the Archaeological Jaciment of Subirats. - Location of dry stone constructions using the Wikipedra portal. - Maintenance tasks in Saint Paul's Ordal (maintenance of public banks and children's park) - Build and place nest boxes. The work is always outdoor, although there are other options in case of extreme climate conditions.

The participants of the work camp will be installed in “ZER Montcau”, a multifunctional space of a school in the center of town, and will have a large patio, toilets and showers (separated boys and girls, with hot water, indoor and shared), a kitchen and the pool by the school. The participants will sleep in a large room all together in the same space without gender separation, on mattresses on the floor. The area has high temperatures in summer, so bring cotton and fresh clothes. The hosting organization highly recommends long sleeve shirts and t-shirts for the working as hat to protect from the sun. There will be a catering providing the food for the volunteers and snacks and fruit will be provided during breaks. There are vegetarian/vegan options, also other cultural reasons and any al·lergy options.

The privileged geographical situation, a plain protected by mountains by the sea, the mild climate of the Mediterranean coast and a permeable land, rich in phosphorus, make the region of El Penedès, the main producer of wines and cavas in Catalonia. This wine history goes back to at least the 4th century B.C. The vineyard structures are thus a distinctive cultural feature of the area, and they have been refined over time. The Subirats area, halfway between the Vilafranca plain and the Ordal mountains, has steeper terrain than the rest of the region. That is why, in this area, the structure of dry stone walls and constructions, which are necessary for levelling the ground and plotting the vineyards, is quite important. Leisure activities will be held every day. A list of the main activities that are in the programme: -Group games, workshops and cultural activities in order to learn more about Catalan culture and the vineyard tradition in the area. -Participants will visit cultural and historical areas and museum in Subirats, a wine and champagne factory and also Vilafranca del Penedès, the Catalan's wine capital. -They will also visit the city of Barcelona, which is only 45km from the accommodation area. -You will participate in the rehearsals of a groups of “castellers”, learnig how catalan human towers are made.