The Council of Mallorca parliament has approved a modification of the Ruta de Pedra en Sec project, in the backbone of the Serra de Tramuntana.

The objective is to make this mountain area more accessible to the public, in addition to responding to the requests of several town villages to connect them with the Dry Stone Route, and to improve the quality of the route to increase hiker’s safety and its landscape and heritage interest.

The Sóller Botanical Garden Foundation is organising a workshop on the "Observation and drawing of life in dry stone walls: the flora and fauna of dry stone".

This workshop will take place on November 26 morning in Sóller, led by Miss Aina Bonner, local illustrator and scientific disseminator, who will introduce participants to the world of observation and drawing while discovering the flora and fauna of the dry stone retaining walls of Serra de Tramuntana mountain range.

Ruta de Pedra en Sec (Dry Stone Route) in Mallorca

Consell de Mallorca has inaugurated the Galatzó refuge with the assistance of several local authorities. This refuge is located in the Galatzó public estate, in the southern part of the Serra de Tramuntana, on the itinerary between Es Capdellà and Estellencs town villages.

Partners met at the Balearic Islands office in Brussels for a face to face meeting for the first time since before Covid  This was a welcome opportunity for Board members to get together and plan for the future. 

A Series of UK recognised qualifications in dry stone walling 

The Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain Craftsman Certification Scheme, run in conjunction with Lantra Awards, offers a series of nationally recognised qualifications in dry stone walling at Levels 1 (Initial), 2 (Intermediate) and 3 (Advanced).  Full details of the scheme are available in the Craftsman Certification Scheme booklet available on the DSWA website: www.dswa.org.uk

The Professional Qualification of Dry Stone Builder was officially approved in Spain last 24 November 2020. This qualification regulates the skills required for professional builders that they can acquire either by attending training courses or through work experience. This approval has been possible thanks to the task carried out by a Qualification Working Group at the state level, which included technicians and dry stone builders of Consell de Mallorca, who succeeded to define the Competence Units and the associated Training Modules.

Needless to say, last year has been a challenge. We are happy and thankful that with all the obstacles, with some minor program adjustments, we managed to have a rich dry stone season. The association performed most of its activities thanks to the long-term volunteering of its members. Public activism in preserving cultural heritage is growing steadily and our outdoor activities additionally attracted their interest.

The Fleet Valley volunteers have also been busy maintaining the footpath to the Knockbrexhill viewpoint withits attractive dry stone structure.