Consell de Mallorca organised the fifth Interregional Learning and Exchange of Experience Event (ILEEE 5) in October 2021. The event took place in two locations of the island of Mallorca, Palma and Port de Sóller.
During 3 days, partners and their stakeholders learned in situ about different initiatives that contribute to the safeguarding and promotion of cultural heritage of fishing communities in Mallorca.
The attendees visited the two premises of the Maritime Museum of Mallorca in Palma and Sóller. There, they could appreciate the museum management according to a participatory process method that matches the museum with the expectations of the maritime community and Mallorcan society.
Representatives of the Federation of Fishermen’s Guilds of Balearic Islands, Palma and Sóller explained the situation of traditional fishing in Malllorca and the role of Mallorcan fishing communities in safeguarding tangible and intangible cultural heritage linked to the trade and their way of life.
Several good practices and actions on preservation of traditional wooden boats and lateen sailing were showed during the event. The strategy to preserve and promote lateen Sailing enhanced by Cala Gamba Yacht Club was assessed by CHERISH partners as a good practice during the visit to the club’s facilities. Since the 1990s, the club protects the artisanal fleet by promoting traditional wooden boats and lateen sailing through organising regattas. Nowadays, the club runs a maritime ecomuseum aimed at promoting the maritime and cultural heritage of the club and the surrounding area with the installation of informative signage, organising cultural events, a school of lateen sailing and traditional rowing, guided visits by land and sea, the creation of a specific mooring for these boats, etc. Here, the Association Alzinaires presented how citizenship engagement can preserve and promote a traditional wooden boat.
The Association Amics del Museu Marítim de Mallorca presented the good practice “La Nau Project”, a project for safeguarding traditional vessels in Mallorca due to the disappearance of vessels for professional fishing between 1990 and 2000. This disappearance was provoked by the cease of the professional activity and also due to grants which require to fishermen the complete scrapping of vessels to apply for a grant according to European regulations.
The association started the project in 2002 by saving five traditional vessels (Llaüts) from scrapping, all of them built by traditional shipbuilders from several areas of Mallorca. Until now, a total of 25 vessels donated by private owners have been saved. This has led to a collection of different types of existing traditional vessels in Mallorca. CHERISH attendees visited the collection at the caves located in Bellver Castle in Palma. The Association will give all wooden boats located at the Caves to Maritime Museum of Mallorca. The Museum will exhibit or use the boats once restored.
The visit to Consell de Mallorca’s traditional shipbuilders workshop provided an opportunity to learn about two good practices promoted by its Maritime Heritage Unit: Gàlibs project and Educational program Discover the Sea.
The project “Discover the Sea” was launched due to the lack of direct access to the understanding of the sea and its traditions by Mallorcan students despite living on an island. The main goal is to facilitate access to maritime traditions related to traditional boatbuilding by showing the trade of shipbuilder and vessels typologies. To achieve this, the workshop has been opened to visitors, especially students. During the tour, shipbuilders explain what a wooden boat is, the shipbuilder trade, the building process and tools needed, the different typologies that are currently building in Mallorca and its purpose.
The GÀLIBS project is focused on the conservation and protection of the trade of Mallorca shipbuilders through the compilation of templates (called “gàlibs” in the local language) from wooden boats designed by shipbuilders. The collection and recording of this information permits “to fight” against the progressive loss of the artisanal fleet since it guarantees the transfer of knowledge and design to future generations.
All participants enjoyed a guided tour on the maritime and fishing heritage of the Port of Sóller offered by the city council of Sóller. They talked with a retired fisherman, watched the landing of the day's catch, and listened to stories and traditions of the fishing neighbourhood...
At the end of the visit the responsible person for Tourism, Economic Promotion, Agriculture, Farming and Fisheries at the Municipality of Sollér, explained the actions to promote fishing cultural heritage assets in the port. They organise several events along the year to promote local fishing products and cultural heritage: gastronomic events, fairs, concerts, gathering traditional wooden boats, etc.
CHERISH partners at Cala Gamba Yacht Club and Ecomuseum
