‘Kalderimi X2’ consisted of a two-month apprenticeship in traditional stone masonry, aiming to foster a new generation of craftspeople from Greece and other Balkan countries, as well as a twelve-day workshop targeting a broader audience, including architects, engineers, conservators, and artists. One of the main goals of this program was to reintroduce the more or less forgotten building technique of ‘kalderimi’ (a particular type of cobbled pathway), whose ‘loss’ has already had a severe impact on the cultural landscape of the Balkan region.

Apprentices (9) from Greece, Serbia, Albania, and Bosnia worked for two months under the guidance of three highly experienced masons-tutors, on the rebuilding of the old pathway (around 400m long) that leads to the historical Bridge of Plaka; while twenty-two participants from the entire Balkan area joined forces with them during the twelve-day workshop. The initiative was also supported by 5 volunteers and 6 more local craftsmen. 

Moreover, Boulouki was honored to receive five carved stones as a present from the prominent sculptor Theodoros Papayiannis, professor emeritus in the Athens School of Fine Arts, to be embedded in the restored ‘kalderimi’.

“Kalderimi X2” was also framed by a series of lectures and presentations given by renowned academics and practitioners from various disciplines, as well as NGO’s from Greece and abroad who shared their approaches towards a participatory understanding of heritage. Moreover, the educational part of this program was enriched by additional ‘hands-on’ seminars and demonstrations on topics such as manual stone extraction, lime, and clay mortars. Finally, Boulouki organized a series of open events in which the local communities of Tzoumerka were highly involved, including a photographic exhibition from the archive of Spyros Mantas, a profound researcher of Balkan stone bridges, a film screening of “The Mountain Tears” (2018) followed by Q&A with director Stelios Charalampopoulos and a feast dedicated to the elder stone masons of Tzoumerka and Epirus.