Stone by Stone: State Certificate for Margers – a Victory with Unanswered Questions

Stone by Stone: State Certificate for Margers – a Victory with Unanswered Questions

Recognition after years of work: What the new professional certificate for dry-stone building can actually change

The news sounds like the satisfying click of a well-made joint: after years of pressure, training for Margers, Mallorca's dry-stone masons, has been established at the state level as a professional qualification. According to the Margers' guild, founded in 2016, nearly nine years of effort went into the project. The result: a 600-hour training profile that involved experts such as Guillem Palou and Pep Fuentes, and the support of guild president Lluc Mir.

Key question: Is this certificate enough for the profession to exist not only on paper but really attract young people again and be preserved?

Critical analysis: On paper, a state certificate brings visibility and comparability. But practical implementation will decide the outcome. Who pays for the courses? Where should classes be offered — at vocational schools, trade schools or as mobile workshops in the municipalities? And how will the long, hand-shaped experience of older Margers be recognized without devaluing it through rigid examination paths?

So far public debate has mostly ignored the issue of financing. On a sunny bay road, when goats climb the dry walls in the morning and tractors rattle off to the market, I've often heard: 'Who pays the apprentice's living costs if they choose training instead of a construction site job?' Training allowances, rural development grants and subsidies for materials are not just nice extras; they are crucial.

Another blind spot is labour market integration. The certificate apparently qualifies holders to design and build retaining walls, paths and channels. But public project tenders include requirements such as liability coverage, availability and insurance obligations. Small guild businesses need support to overcome formal hurdles.

Practical example: On the Camí de Sa Figuera near Alaró I often stop and watch the old walls. There a couple of Margers have worked for decades, whose hands know more than any curriculum. A realistic solution must incorporate this wealth of experience through recognition of prior learning, rather than forcing it into bureaucratic norms.

Concrete proposals: 1) Fund pilot courses — the island council and municipalities could initially support regional intensive courses. 2) Modular curriculum — short, stacked modules make re-entry and specialization easier (e.g. terraces, paths, restoration). 3) Recognition of practical experience — combine formal exams with portfolio procedures. 4) Partnerships with agricultural schools and environmental agencies so that dry walls are financially rewarded as a landscape management element. 5) Small business support — legal advice, insurance packages, tool subsidies.

The future viability should also be considered. Dry-stone walls are not only cultural heritage: they retain soil, slow erosion and contribute to resilience against heavy rainfall. Climate and landscape conservation funding could be targeted here — that would make the work more attractive to public agencies.

What is missing now: concrete start dates, training locations and binding commitments on funding. The guild has achieved a goal; the next task is to ensure that recognition reaches the island — on the finques, in the fields, with the young people seeking a secure perspective.

Conclusion: The state certificate is a door opener, but not yet a home. It is sensible to channel the enthusiasm of the streets — the smell of wet stone after winter rain, the clatter of stones in practiced hands — into stable structures. Otherwise it will remain nice words and the walls that hold our fields will again lose their builders.