Adventures in Preservation Launches Intergenerational Project at Living History Museum in Slovenia
Boulder, Colorado and Vitanje, Slovenia (PRWEB) July 15, 2013 -- Adventures in Preservation (AiP) and Slovenian NGO Zavod Etno-Eko invite families to explore - and restore - the Beškovnikova Homestead in a new, intergenerational experiential travel program. Travelers will play an important role in restoring traditional architecture as they learn and share in the country’s agricultural traditions.
AiP has organized three successful architectural preservation projects in Slovenia to date. This is their first project specifically designed to involve family groups with members age 10 and up. The week-long trip offers families the opportunity to explore Slovenia, experience rural life and preserve Slovenia’s unique agricultural architecture.
“Slovenia is one of Europe’s most beautiful countries and also one of the most welcoming for families. We are pleased to offer families the opportunity to experience the culture and history of this remarkable country,” said Judith Broeker, AiP’s Program Director.
The Beškovnikova Homestead is a living museum, which includes a stone cottage, farm buildings and sawmill. As a group, they represent the manner in which residents of the region traditionally made their living. The Slovenian government recently determined the homestead to be of significant historical value and assigned it “high priority” for preservation, laying the groundwork for this new project.
Parents, grandparents and interested teens will learn carpentry and wood repair, as well as traditional painting techniques, and will then apply these skills to restore the cottage. Instructors are local craftsmen, who have been teaching and leading community members over the past four years as they’ve worked to save the homestead.
Tanja Gobec of Zavod Etno-eko will lead a program specially designed for youth ages 10-14. The program includes hands-on activities allowing them to explore and learn about the food, games, farm life and architecture of the 18th and 19th centuries. Older youth may choose to do preservation work with adults or join Tanja’s hands-on learning activities.
In addition to preservation work, a morning is set aside for families to work together on the farm, feeding animals and working with period tools. Additional activities include a behind-the-scenes tour of the homestead and visits to nearby historic sites, from castles to baroque churches.
AiP’s in-country partner, Zavod Etno-Eko, is a Slovenian NGO specializing in the conservation and interpretation of Slovenia’s cultural inheritance. Their emphasis is on education and outreach involving intergenerational groups.
Through programs held at historic sites and in public school classrooms, Etno-Eko involves communities in saving their country’s vanishing agricultural heritage, while helping to develop employment opportunities in fields such as heritage tourism. By saving the traditional farms and villages of the region, they play an important role in supporting the area’s sustainable economy.
Adventures in Preservation (AiP) is a non-profit organization connecting people and preservation through enriching experiential programs that safeguard cultural heritage and foster community sustainability. AiP travelers have the opportunity to travel, experience their destination, and learn hands-on skills from experts while assisting communities in saving their heritage. Learn more about AiP’s “Heritage travel with purpose” at http://www.adventuresinpreservation.org.
Judith Broeker, Adventures in Preservation, http://www.adventuresinpreservation.org, 303 444 0128, [email protected]
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