The story of finding the Origins
The Cultural Association Groove ON was founded in 2012 by a young community interested in nature, history and ethnography. Its mission is to research, preserve and promote the authentic Romanian traditions.
Traditional shelter from Tecsesti
We started in August 2014 the construction of a living museum in an old isolated village called Tecșești, in the Transylvanian Western Carpathians Apuseni Mountains. The village is near the Natural Reserve Piatra Cetii, at an altitude of 1,000 m. Thanks to its position the place is special for having a meadow with daffodils with an unique botanical, geological and paleonthological complexity and landscapes of an untold beauty.
Tecsesti, Alba County, Romania
The village is almost depopulated. About 14 elders still live here today given that in the 50’s almost 350 people lived in a self sufficient community specific to the mountain villages inhabited by shepherds.
Our mission is to transform the village into a living museum in order to preserve its authenticity, traditional architecture, customs and local crafts. To achieve this goal we'll dedicate the next years to research, to learn and to experiment how our ancestors lived in this environment, from the Neolithic to the present.
View over Tecsesti
The project we would like to bring to your attention consists into building a Neolithic settlement on the former pasture of the village. We want to build an ensemble of 5 hypothetical house reproductions from the Neolithic ages. The ensemble includes rectangular and circular houses made of wood, cob and straws, together with a pond for fishes and water plants.
According to archaeological researches, examples of this kind of constructions were used in this region during the Neolithic period. So far we managed to raise a clay oven and the wood structure for the kitchen house during the construction summer camps from 2014 and 2015.
Volunteers at Tecsesti - Construction Summer Camp 2014
We need your help and involvement because in June 2016 the construction camp will start again to finish the Neolithic sector. Together we can recreate our (hi)story from its origins to the present. Be one of our contributors and your name will be in the Living Museum Book.
Construction Plan for the Neolithic sector
To be able to start the construction activities in June 2016 and finish the Neolithic sector we need 6,000 EUR.
The construction camp is scheduled between 30 May – 29 June 2016 and is planned as following:
1. First of all we need to bring water to the camp from a spring placed at a 100 m distance. The source's altitude is higher with 16 m from the camp's level so the water will fall down naturally through a water supply system directly to the kitchen area, the pond and the trough for cattle. The pond will be placed in the swampy area near the camp and will become a natural ecosystem for fishes and water plants.
2. Three weeks are dedicated to build an ensemble of 5 cob houses. The ensemble is composed of two circular cob houses, two houses with a rectangular form and a granary. The houses have a hazel wood weave structure filled with a blend of clay, sand and straws and covered with a roof of straws.
At the end of the construction camp we'll organize a traditional festival called Nedeia (30 June – 3 July 2016) to celebrate the fulfillment of a beautiful dream. The event is a modern adaptation of the traditional local festive gatherings with music, fair, craft workshops and local food. We gladly invite everyone interested in folklore and world music to join us at Nedeia.
Nedeia, 3-5 July 2015, Tecsesti, Alba County
The money raised in this crowdfunding campaign is used for:
Tools and construction equipment: hand saws, rip saws, axes, pickaxes, machetes, spades, hoes, wheelbarrows, rope, 100 m pipe and protection equipment for the workers.
Food: daily meals for workers (30 volunteers)
Fuel (approx. 500 l of gasoline)
6,000 EUR is a small amount to raise but for us is essential to be able to fulfill our construction plan. If we raise more than we expect we’ll use the money to create a garden based on permaculture principles with vegetables, aromatic plants and mushrooms. If we can't raise the whole amount we calculated that it will take us 3 years to build the Neolithic sector using our personal contribution and renting tools and equipment.
Perks
For those who pledge starting with 15 EUR up to 99 EUR the perks offered are:
Special thanks for being part of this project on our site and in the Living Museum Book.
The digital version of the La Origini Audio Folklore Collection Season I Apuseni Mountains. Last winter we started an ethnographic research project. Between December 2014 - February 2015 we recorded carols, flute songs, folk songs “doine”, war songs, prayers, funeral lyrics, romance songs and other old Romanian songs. The songs were recorded at the people’s home involved in the research, from several isolated villages from the Apuseni Mountains. Most of them have never been recorded before.
Recordings during the first season of ethnographic research in the Apuseni Mountains, December 2014 - February 2015
The digital version of La Origini Audio Folklore Collection Season II will be delivered in March 2017 after processing the recordings scheduled for December 2016 - February 2017.
Access at Nedeia festival in Tecsesti, 30 June – 3 July 2016.
For those who pledge 100 EUR up to 499 EUR they are invited to spend some beautiful vacation days for two persons at Tecsesti, in July or August 2016. They will find accommodation and a guided tour to visit the spectacular surroundings: the Natural Reservation Piatra Cetii, the Cult Areas from the Dacian Fortress and Settlement of Piatra Craivii, Ramet Monastery and Ramet Gorges.
The accommodation will be in a traditional house from the village or in a cob house from the Neolithic sector, as you prefer. We can only offer breakfast so we suggest you to come with your food. You can also buy from the villagers: vegetables, milk, cheese, fish or fresh meat.
View from Tecsesti. Piatra Craivii in the background
For those who pledge 500 EUR up to 1,000 EUR they are invited to transform their vacation into a real adventure. They will find accommodation (see details above) for two persons at Tecsesti (in July or August 2016) and a guided tour to visit the most important and spectacular places from the Apuseni Mountains: Huda lui Papara Cave, Sloboda Forest, Detunatele, Rosia Montana, Pisoaia Fall, The Snail Hill, Scarisoara Cave and Apuseni Natural Park.
Spectacular places from the Apuseni Mountains
Botanical diversity in the Apuseni Mountains
On a long term basis this place will be used to organize thematic camps for learning traditional crafts and arts. The camps will be addressed to children, students, researchers and people passionate by organic architecture, ecological agriculture and permaculture, alternative energy and traditional crafts.
Local artisans will teach us how to obtain tools using wood, stone or iron, how to create pottery using clay or how to weave or sew traditional clothing. We will practice all these crafts among other activities dedicated to folklore and musical instruments. So many songs, legends, myths and beliefs old for centuries are waiting for us!
Seamstress teaching us how to spin a bundle of hemp during the ethnographic research
Every winter we'll keep on organizing the ethnographic research. It's important to raise the awareness that we'll soon lose the elders who still keep memories from the second world war. They are an authentic source of folklore inherited from the past centuries: old songs, legends and stories. They are living history and it depends on us how fast we reach them. We can prevent this cultural legacy to disappear by recording and publishing their stories, learn them and teach them to the youngsters.
The old priest from Tecsesti and his family plowing with oxen
We want to highlight the positive impact that our project has over the local community and environment. By approaching such type of ecotourism and ecological activities we can preserve intact this protected area, avoiding demolition and exploitation of the forest and natural resources.
Winter at Tecsesti
In order to preserve the village by transforming it into a living museum, our plan for the next years is to renovate the school, a 200 years old traditional house and other 3 shelters. This way people who come to visit or live here for a period will always find shelter, healthy food and wild nature. It will be a place were we can learn history by living it.
200 years old house from Tecsesti
We want to build a place where we can develop our activities, where we can create and recreate ourselves, our home, our mythological locus amoenus. We believe that the village with its food, water and forests, with its agricultural or pastoral occupation, still remains the classic community which is the most creative source of essentially pure and authentic culture.
Other Ways You Can Help
Either you are a contributor or you just like the project please share it with your friends on your blog, site, Facebook or another social media channel you use. We like to spread the word in the traditional oral way so please don't forget to talk about our project with your family, friends or acquaintances.
Thank you! We owe any success this project has to you!
Follow us on the journey to the origins!