Local NGO gives new homes to old trades in the Village of Crafts

The Paper Mill Association, a local NGO, has been building a magical “village” in Comana, Giurgiu county, where old trades will receive the space and care they need to come back to life: the Village of Crafts. With construction works in full swing, the space will soon become open to visits from people wanting to learn about crafts from a long way back in time, before industrialization.

The “village” will include seven workshops (carpentry, blacksmith, pottery, plaiting of rushes, bakery, kitchen and weaving) and will be open for visits starting May 7, each Saturday and Sunday between 11 and 19:30. The space will have both a component of production and sales, but also an educational one. It will host demonstrations and craft workshops for children and adults.

The project is financed by Innovation Norway through the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014, within the scope of Green Industry Innovation funding – Romania, supporting projects with positive environmental impact. The NGO received through this funding EUR 198,000 and brought their own funds of EUR 20,000.

This allows for the costs of construction works and includes administrative and rent costs over five years for the seven workshops, which will each be its own SME, led by a “head- craftsman” and a helper.

The closing event of the Village of Crafts and the inauguration will take place on April 25, 2016.

People who are curious to discover the village before its opening for visits in May will have the chance to meet a small piece of it at the stand within the Fair of traditional products from the farm and rural households, organized by the Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences between April 28 and 30.

Natalia Martian