The Consell de Mallorca has held a volunteer day at the public estate of Raixa, in Bunyola, giving 16 participants practical experience in the conservation of dry-stone heritage along the Ruta de Pedra en Sec.
Participants took part in maintenance work on the Raixa path, part of variant 5 of the Ruta de Pedra en Sec, helping to rebuild a dry-stone wall on the section between Raixa and Can Penasso. The activity was carried out with the Santa Maria association Més que Pedra.
Second Vice-President and Councillor for Environment, Rural Affairs and Sports Pedro Bestard visited Raixa during the event. He described the initiative as an opportunity to experience the techniques behind dry-stone construction, which has been included on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list since 2018.
In Mallorca, dry-stone construction has been used to create terraces, walls, paths and numerous structures connected with agricultural, livestock and forestry activities. Bestard said that the Serra de Tramuntana alone is estimated to contain more than 19,000 linear kilometres of terrace walls.
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Raixa volunteer day brings Mallorca’s dry-stone heritage closer to the public. European Dry Stone Heritage Week
The volunteer activity forms part of the European Dry Stone Heritage Week, organised by the Department of Environment and promoted by the international European Dry Stone Network (REPS).
Members of the network are holding activities in their respective regions during the week to raise awareness of the importance of dry-stone heritage and to promote the project to create a European cultural route focused on this heritage.
The Consell de Mallorca currently holds the presidency of the association and is organising a series of activities on the island as part of the programme.
Another event will be a botanical excursion along the Ruta de Pedra en Sec on Saturday, 10 October, around the Mirador de ses Barques, in the municipalities of Sóller and Fornalutx.
The excursion will include explanations by Magdalena Vicens Fornés, from the Sóller Botanical Garden, and will introduce participants to, among other things, the plants that grow on the marges and dry-stone walls along this section of the Serra de Tramuntana.
Dry-stone wall construction course marks its 20th edition
The event at Raixa also coincided with the completion of the introductory course in ‘marges’ construction, a training programme run by the Escola de Margers that is celebrating its 20th edition this year.
A total of 12 people took part in this edition. Pedro Bestard said the course is designed to provide basic knowledge of the technique and encourage good practices among the local population.
He also highlighted the programme’s two decades of activity in bringing dry-stone heritage closer to the public and raising awareness of the importance of its conservation.