The ensemble of seasonal houses in Falcău, Brodina village, Suceava county
The existence of the houses is explained by the way of exploiting the hayfields in the village of Ciumârnar. Some agricultural land owners, originally from neighboring villages, lived temporarily (summer and autumn) in simple wooden houses, locally called "bordeie". They raised animals and utilized the grass grown after the first mowing by grazing. The houses are simple, small, built of hand-hewn wooden beams, dovetail-jointed, on a river stone foundation. The houses consist of a hall (tent) and
Local
Romania
Falcău, Brodina village, Suceava county
Mainly rural
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
Yes
NGEU: NextGenerationEU 2022
No
Yes
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): "Acasa in Bucovina" ONG Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Liviu Last name of representative: Savin Gender: Male Nationality: Romania If relevant, please select your other nationality: Romania Function: Entrepreneur Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: sat Falcau ne 91, com Brodina, jud Suceava Town: Falcau, Brodina, Suceava Postal code: 727066 Country: Romania Direct Tel:+40 740 127 603 E-mail:liviusavin2002@yahoo.com Website:https://acasainbucovina.ro/
Rehabilitation and cultural capitalization of wooden traditional houses in Brodina, Romania
Acasa in Bucovina (Home in Bucovina) is a NGO based in North-East Romania. We proposed Brodina, a multiethnic village at the Romanian-Ukrainean border to be included in the Tourist and cultural route of the villages with have traditional architecture, financed through National Recovery and Resilience Plan (EU).
Our tourist and cultural capitalizing plan ensured the selection of the village. A partnership was signed with the local authorities, for the implementation of the project: 8 houses will be rehabilitated and transformed in tourist objectives. More than this, the project will underline the importance of cultural heritage for the community identity and sustainable development.
The old wooden houses are creating a living museum ready to be explored. The village will become a tourist gem for circular cultural tourism and educational activities: architecture, folklore, oral history, traditional products, local cuisine.
The local path of the wooden houses will become an attraction for students, young people but also for enthusiasts of rural architecture of any age. Thematic tours will be organized periodically and upon request. Craftsmen workshops, storytelling, traditional activities, small music shows, food events.
The project will promote and authentic village, quite isolated by nature (that helped). The key part of this project is to preserve the traditional lifestyle by inspiring the community to restore and promote other houses too.
Heritage
Cultural
Protect
Authentic
Turistic
Enhancing cultural tourism through the rehabilitation and capitalization of 8 traditional houses in an isolated village is challenging, yet it is mandatory. Without this intervention and the necessary discussion about the role of built heritage for local identity, the village will lose its charm and become a mix of architectural styles.
Sustainability becomes a key word when we talk about seasonal houses in Bucovina (North-East Romania) where families have lived for decades or hundreds of years. Since ancient times, these traditional wooden houses have always remained a refuge for people who wanted to retire and stay in the quiet of their home with their family. Today, when the contemporary man is no longer interested in preserving these cultural values, the wooden houses prove sustainability by their age, by their way of construction and by their presence with which they still manage to impose themselves in Bucovina.
A main objective in this area is using traditional techniques and materials for the rehabilitation of the houses, professional work and local craftsmen, authorized intervention by The Minister of Culture, due the fact that 4 of the houses are historical monuments.
Visitors will be surprised to admire old-fashioned restored houses, professional communication tools, quality cultural events: reenactments, authentic music, multiethnic folklore etc. In this sense, people will be able to realize the value that the Bucovina village has in the context of universal culture, they will appreciate the tradition and thus cultural values will be passed on. Having the initiative represents an extremely important step because this way we will be able to involve more people in cultural actions.
Bringing people together is getting more and more difficult these days. Still, creating cultural bridges and understanding others, or at least accepting them as they are can be so rewarding! This project offers everybody the chance to take part directly in the activities. In an area where several ethnicities live, interethnic tolerance is very important and thus inclusion will make it possible for Romanians to be present in the same cultural setting with certain ethnic minorities: Hutsuls, Ukrainians, Jews etc.
This project wants the cultural events it proposes to bring together all social types and offer access to numerous events (such as the sale of food or traditional objects specific to a certain ethnicity, communication evenings, volunteering, etc.). If the public-private partnership is possible and it's working at the edge of European Union, in Brodina, at the the Romania-Ukraine border, it is possible anywhere.
From a socio-economic point of view, this project will help in the development and rounding of the incomes of small entrepreneurs through the contribution of tourists who will be able to visit the renovated archaic area.
The main beneficiary of this project will be the citizens from the village that are eligible for implementing the project. After this will be implemented, the locals and visitors can participate on:
1. Development and delivery of the cultural offer (annual calendar of cultural events; marketing and promotion plan and campaign);
2. Staff training and cultural education activities;
3. At least three thematic tours per year (International Day of Monuments and Sites, School Otherwise + tourist season);
4. Cultural education activities (dance, music, handicraft workshops);
5.. Conservation and restoration school-workshops, for students and volunteers (at least one per year);
8. Brunches (at least two per year);
9. Fair of traditional products (at least one per year);
10. Economic activities that can contribute to the initiation of local entrepreneurial initiatives: the production and sale of souvenirs;
11. Scout camps (at least one per year).
Suceava County Culture Directorate was consulted for the exact identification of the Seasonal Housing Ensemble, and also Brodina Town Hall. Later, there were debates in the Local Council of Brodina Commune, regarding the need to protect and promote tourism of the housing complex. Also, during the meetings organized by the Association with local volunteers, as well as through communication on social media, the possibilities of promoting seasonal cottages in Brodina were discussed.
In the implementation of our initiative, several disciplines were involved, and the first of these is represented by tourism. Tourism knowledge, together with marketing knowledge, helped in our initiative. Together with specialists in the fields of tourism, we tried to offer value to our area that has not been exploited until now. Also, the discipline of ethno-folklore was helpful because we had to carefully analyze the folklore and cultural heritage of the area and to observe what is authentic and what has changed over time.
The innovative character of this initiative comes from the desire to process an area of interest that is not given the necessary importance today, because it is considered outdated. If we bring to people's attention the touristic and cultural importance of the area, this initiative becomes new, because in the area we are considering it would be a first-of-its-kind project that has never taken place before.
If our initiative is successful, we are sure that there will be other geographical areas in the country that will follow our example, and thus we can build an action at the national level through which we can preserve the cultural specificity of rural areas. We believe that the beneficiaries would be delighted to learn that the area where they live is attracting the attention of tourism and thus the place becomes known. Elements that could be part of the program and that I presented at a previous point could become a source of attraction for other social groups or other beneficiaries from the country or from abroad.
The methodology we use is based, in particular, on the questioning of the beneficiaries and on the creation of a specification that will analyze each of the opinions expressed by the beneficiaries. Depending on the answers we receive (through the online questionnaire, through the direct questioning of the beneficiaries) a list of actions will be formed that we will analyze together with the other specialists. By studying the ways of preserving isolated villages, we will be able to specify more precisely what the next step will be.
In a world where consumerism dominates all fields of activity, it is very difficult to preserve traditional houses that no longer show interest for the evolving modernity. By promoting the route of traditional wooden houses, we will be able to demonstrate that they can be the starting point of a cultural action that could welcome pupils, students, specialists, visitors from other geographical areas or simple people who want to spend time differently.
At the moment, the financial contract was signed, the 8 houses were chosen, the contractors estimated the rehabilitation cost and the association is preparing cultural activities for the warm season. The repairing works will be finished until June 2026, or maybe even earlier.
