From the Field: A Reflection
BY Jake Barrow, Program Director
Working on a Cornerstones project often presents surprises. Sometimes these are of another category, like being astonished or awed. For me an occurrence during the late summer of 2011 at San Miguel Chapel put me into another dimension. Our focus was San Miguel adobe wall repair and plastering of the north and east side of the nave which was part of our continuing project to preserve the entire exterior of the Chapel started in 2010. A Save Americas Treasures Grant and other donations funded the project. In 2011 the National Park Service, Vanishing Treasures Program (VT) provided special funding for training Pueblo youth in adobe conservation skills as a “hands on” “learn by doing” project. At the time we had Pat Taylor on our team who is a recognized expert in stitching adobe and all things adobe. We launched this workshop training with five youth, mostly Okay Owingeh trainees. One Navajo youth participated. The Okay Owingeh center village rehabilitation project was just beginning to take off, so the coincidence of our training program was precipitous. In that project the Pueblo has embarked on a multi-year strategy to rehabilitate the historic center village back into use as a contemporary living place. The center village is built entirely of adobe. The youth being supported by VT funds were also some of the same youth employed on the pueblo project.
Cornerstones Receives Major Grant from the Getty Foundation, Partners with Getty Conservation Institute
With financial support from the Getty Foundation and Chamiza Foundation, Cornerstones Community Partnerships and the Getty Conservation Institute will provide scholarships to support speakers and participants from the 19 Native American pueblos and tribes in New Mexico, representatives from tribes and pueblos from other Southwestern states, and representatives from Northern Mexico to attend the Terra 2022 13th World Congress on Earthen Architectural Heritage.
The Congress will take place in Santa Fe in June, 2022, and will be an educational opportunity for those working with or studying earthen architecture. Hundreds of specialists from many fields will attend, including building and construction, site management, conservation, anthropology, architecture, and sustainable development. Workshops, presentations, posters, and digital media will illuminate contemporary research and teach best practices in conserving earthen heritage across the world: terra2022.org
The scholarship application portal is now open. Please visit cstones.org/terra-2022 to apply or learn more. The application deadline is January 16, 2022. Please spread the word by sharing our Terra page with anyone who may want to apply or may know people who might.
For more information, please contact:
Lucas Burdick, Special Projects Manager
lburdick@cstones.org
