Beyond the vineyard: the dry stone heritage

CODE: CAT0225

Work:

“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.
Subirats is a rural area with little towns and villages, so the impact is quite big. Participants will meet local people and will collaborate in the conservation of the historical and cultural heritage of the area.
The working hours will be in the mornings from 8 to 13h approx. with a break in the middle of the morning. Work will always be outdoors, but it will be changed in case of extreme climate conditions and volunteers will always work in safe conditions.

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 rest of the time will be for leisure, swimming pool and other activities, and weekends will be organized for visits and others.

Accomodation and food

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 bunk beds.
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 hat to protect from the sun. Volunteers will go to the pool by the school.
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 allergy options.

Location and leisure

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 leveling 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 museums 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 45 km from the accommodation area.
- You will participate in the rehearsals of a group of “castellers”, learning how catalan human towers are made.

Project hosted by

The organization in charge of the work camp is "Fundació Catalana de l'Esplai" well-known in the volunteering field of Catalonia as it has been educating children and youth, strengthening leisure organizations and the third sector, improving the environment and promoting social inclusion and citizenship, with a desire for change since over 30 years ago. The organization organizes a wide range of leisure time and education activities, such as school camps, training camps or training for trainers, in 2018 Fundesplai projects reached 258.656 people and every year more than 600 took part in work camps.

Directions to meeting point

The meeting point will be in Ordal on July 19th, in front of the local school "El Montcau d’Ordal" (Del Pi street, 1, 08759, Ordal).
The meeting time is at 17:00h, but the camp leaders will be there waiting for the volunteers since 12:00h.

By public transportation:
. From Barcelona’s Airport, you have to go to the train station in Barcelona called "Estació de Sants": you can go by train (go to Terminal 2 and take the RENFE train R2) or by metro (from terminal 1 or 2 take metro L9 to Collblanc, and there tranbord to L5 and stop in "Estació de Sants").
. From Barcelona-Sants train station, take the train line R4, destination Sant Vicenç de Calders, and stop at Lavern-Subirats.
For information and schedules check: https://rodalies.gencat.cat/web/.content/02_Horaris/horaris/R4.pdf
. From Lavern-Subirats, take the bus up to Ordal. For information and schedules check here: https://subirats.cat/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/HorarisAutobusos2016_3.pdf

Volunteers will receive an email with detailed information before the camp.

By car: From Barcelona take A2 route to Lleida and take the way off at 559 to Vallirana. Then take B-24/N-340 up to Ordal.

LAST DAY OF THE CAMP:
Volunteers can leave any time after breakfast and for the ones leaving in the afternoon, lunch will be provided.

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