After the weather had prevented us from realizing this workshop several times, our luck turned in September. The Praputnjak – Cultural Landscape Association, together with the leader and participants of the workshop “Ča’j zavičaj?” were our hosts during a two-day workshop in Praputnjak.

Although our main theme was drywall, that is, the technique of drywall construction, the aim was to get to know the customs, traditions, but also the present-day way of life in a suburban village.

Because of this, we decided to devote the entire first day of the workshop to getting to know the landscape. We went for a walk from Elementary school Praputnjak, across Dolčina (big valley), all the way to Takala or Bakar prezidi. Prezidi are a specific type of construction when the drywall is used to hold arable land specific to viticulture. The drywall in this case serves as a support and as an insulator for water retention. Takala are a place where the traditional construction of the walls has been preserved and restored. From Takala we headed back to Dolčina, the largest arable land where the Praputnjarians farmed their food. There, we found a place to rest, play and treated ourselves to local produce: Bakar’s baškoti (type of bread), whey cheese, škripavac cheese and homemade marmalades. In the end, we returned to the Praputnjak Elementary school where we took a tour of the school and around the school environment.

We spent the second day of the workshop with our mentor Zrinko Mičetić, the holder of the intangible cultural heritage of the drywall construction technique. Because the Praputnjak Elementary school celebrated its 155th anniversary, we have decided to clean up the environment of the school and build a počivalo, resting place. Počivalo is a form of a drywall adjacent to roads or paths and it’s used as a resting place. It has typical flat stones at the top to make it more comfortable to sit on. Divided in several groups, we cleaned up the garbage and weeds, pruned large trees and shrubs and built a počivalo using the material from the surroundings.

We were very pleased to make new friends and make this wonderful collaboration!