Traditional handicrafts of Szecklers - revitalization through digitization and promotion

Project Promoter: Covasna County Cultural Center
Project duration: 13 months, but no later than 30.04.2016
Grant amount: RON 301,792, i.e. EUR 68,511.23

General objective: contribution to regional development through the preservation of built cultural heritage and the promotion of knowledge and appreciation of the heritage among local community.

Specific objectives:

• salvation of some immaterial components of the cultural heritage of the community of Covasna County, using digitizing methods and creating a database which enables public access to all information related to these values;
• promoting traditional handicrafts characteristic for this region, through documentaries and through conceiving touristic offers that include schemes within which tourists may meet local craftsmen, and may admire and purchase folk art products.

The target group of the project are: 250 folk artists from Covasna County from 36 fields of traditional folk art, no matter which ethnic group they come from, 1.000 youth from high schools from Covasna County, who will be the direct beneficiaries of the project by being informed about their cultural inheritance through assisted projection of 10 documentaries.

Indicators of the project: 10 documentaries about folk crafts, 26 public projections for more than 1.000 viewers, one digitized database and virtual map of the folk art of the county, with 250 folk artists, 270 documented objects of folk crafts, 3 workshops, 3 packages of cultural-touristic offers, one recommendation for the marketing strategy, one marketing strategy.

IMPACT

Results:

10 documentaries about folk crafts

• Traditional trades
• Smithery
• Bread Baking
• Making Shingles
• Shepherding
• Beekeeping
• Traditional Honey-Cake Making
• Milling
• Wood carving
• Basket Weaving and Broom Binding in Belin Vale
• Plum Brandy Distilling

26 public projections for more than 1.000 viewers;

More than 1.000 students from Covasna County were informed about their cultural heritage through assisted projections of the 10 documentaries.

The database can be accessed at www.folktrades.ro.

• 270 documentations on objects and folk crafts;
• 3 workshops organized;

Folk Crafts Day, October 10th 2015

Smithery workshop

Wheelright workshop

Tapestry workshop