Kogukondlikud ehitusprojektid. Lalsi Püha Nikolause õigeusu kiriku taastamine

Abstract

The article deals with the community building projects of the NGO Vanaajamaja (literally ‘old times house’). First, the organisation and its team are introduced along with the NGO’s construction works and the international role models that have influenced its activities. An overview of the community projects carried out since 2012 is given: the Järuska covered bridge on Rannapungerja River, the restoration of Saint Nicholas’ Orthodox Church in Puutli, the restoration of three post windmills in Vilsandi, the building of Saint Mary’s chapel in Abruka, and participation in the renovation of the Orthodox Church of John the Baptist in Miikse.

The second part of the article is dedicated to the NGO’s most signifi cant community project, restoration work at the Orthodox Church of Saint Nicholas in Lalsi, carried out between 2017 and 2021. An overview of the history of the church and the state of the building before the beginning of the restoration work is given. The different stages of the restoration of the church are presented along with technical descriptions of the processes, photographic material as well as documentation of the reinstatement of the iconostasis that followed the restoration of the building. Finally, the social and personal motives of participants in community construction projects like these along with possibilities for financing projects of this kind are described.

The building community is motivated to participate in renovation activities by the possibility of exchanging know-how and establishing professional and cross-specialty ties. Estonia’s small size does not allow narrow specialisation but requires knowledge of and skills in related specialties. Construction activities are a good way to gain experience from a master of another specialty. If, for example, a mason has a reliable specialist in tin or woodwork as a partner, this is a great asset in its own right. International participants, who constitute about a third of the total number, introduce their own construction techniques and add cultural diversity to the collaboration.

In the case of community projects, goodwill and professional interest are the motivators, although understandably such work also requires substantial financial resources. In our experience, eager initiative and purposeful contributions are also accompanied by the trust of donors. You can also do something about each project with quite little financial support or the help of local sponsors, although initiatives based on action helps us find bigger supporters. The projects described in the article have been supported by the State Forest Management Centre and several retailers of building materials, by construction companies with services and tools, and by private individuals who feel an emotional connection with the object to be restored. In the case of monuments, the National Heritage Board has been the main financial contributor.

Throughout the years the children of project participants have also been involved in the restoration work. In the course of this experience they have acquired respect for and interest in old buildings. It has certainly been a journey in which we have all improved.

Keywords: community building projects, building restoration