The Associació Gremi dels Margers de Cataluny (AGMC) together with the Alt Pirineu Natural Park have organized a course to train dry stone professionals in Ginestarre, the Pallars Sobirà. In Catalonia this training is not recognized, but in France it is, and that is why French assessors will assess the knowledge of the students and deliver the CQP certificate (Certification Qualification Professionale) of French scope and valid throughout Europe.
Albert Gavaldà, maestro paredador of the AGMC, has explained that it is a trade that has "lost", but that is increasingly receiving more interest. According to Gavaldà in Catalonia there is a "lack of professionals" to work on dry stone.
The dry stone teacher who teaches the course has explained that the training they offer has two very specific types of students: those who want to acquire the minimum knowledge to make repairs to their property and people who want to dedicate themselves to it professionally.
Cudia is a student who is currently at Ginestarre and explains that she has signed up to receive this training in Catalonia because it is "a unique opportunity." Cudia works in construction and has explained that she has knowledge of working with calcium, earth or stone, but not enough with dry stone, which is why she was interested in the Ginestarre course.
The course has been carried out in collaboration with the Parc Natural de l'Alt Pirineu where dry stone and constructions made with this system are the object of conservation, detailed Marc Garriga, director of the Parc. For this reason, he defends that the best way of conserving and restoring these constructions is that people know how to do it.
Garriga has remarked that there are fewer and fewer people who know this technique and hence the need to train professional paredadores. This concern fully coincides with that of the Associació Gremi de Margers de Catalunya whose objective is to educate the trade for the general public and the correct transmission of the trade to future generations of the trade through courses.
Gavaldá explained that from the Association of Margers they are working to promote good training in this trade and in the constructive technique of dry stone in a regulated manner with professionals who have an approved professional certificate.
The AGMC works with the Artesans Bâtisseurs den Pierres Sèches (ABPS) association and that is why they can carry out this type of training aimed at being able to take a CQR exam, qualification certificate and approved by the French state. Professionalizing the trade is a key piece to end up dignifying it, concludes the teacher.
