The Royal palaces’ carpets- made in Bulgaria, Kostandovo

The ancient tradition of carpet weaving lives on in the old town of Kostandovo in the Rhodope Mountains. Here, the Parpulov family runs a weaving mill that preserves this craft in its purest form.

Using Europe’s largest loom, which can produce carpets with a surface area of up to 140 square metres, the skilled hands of around 30 women weave these masterpieces using only authentic materials and natural dyes. Every step, from dyeing the wool in more than a hundred colours to the intricate hand embroidery, captivates novices with its meticulousness.

Their expertise came to the fore when they took on a monumental task: making an 18-metre-long carpet for the British royal family’s Osborne House. Although it is larger than their loom, the weavers made it in three separate pieces, which they joined together seamlessly, earning them the admiration of the royals.

Their dedication attracted royal attention long ago when King Charles himself came to visit, leading to frequent commissions from the royal family. The Parpulovs have transformed the manufactory into a renowned family business, strengthening Bulgaria’s global reputation.

Why is it regenerative?

It is regenerative as they uphold an age-old tradition of carpet weaving, using authentic methods and materials, demonstrating meticulous craftsmanship and gaining recognition for the preservation of cultural heritage.

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The Enforce project partners met in the Slovenian city of Ljubljana on 30 and 31 May. Hosted by the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce (CCIS), the meeting was carefully organised and offered participants a mix of business talks and leisure activities.

Two regenerative experiences were at the centre of the meeting. These immersive sessions allowed partners to recharge their creative batteries and better connect with the city. You can find the two experiences on the map!

The next steps centred around the next steps of the project, which equipped the team and partners with the necessary tools to continue working on Enforce. The Enforce journey continues and the partners are determined to deliver results of the highest quality.

Project partners met in Aveiro on the 14th and 15th of September 2023. It was the perfect opportunity to visit the destination with regenerative glasses on, to understand its many assets but also some of the challenges the destination is facing. Face to face project meetings always provide the partners with the unique opportunity to learn about the work of the hosting partner and get valuable insights about the destination. In this case partners were hosted by the dedicated team of management and tourism professionals of the University of Aveiro who shared a wealth of insights about a city that was new to many of the participants.

The Enforce project is well on track when it comes to the project work plan, which means that after having completed the Best Practice collection of innovative examples about storytelling for regeneration and also the Storyteller’s Guide, partners used the meeting to discuss the development of the Enforce Training Programme.

For the next few months partners will be working on developing the content in line with guidelines provided by the University of Usak, our project partner from Turkey.
The course should be available for piloting in January/February 2024 and will also be available in the partner languages once all translations are finalised.

The ENFORCE team met in the beautiful city of Luxembourg for its kick-off meeting. It took place at the premises of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg (also known as CCIL), which opened its doors to warmly welcome all partners.

The team was aware of the importance of this first meeting and approached it with the same enthusiasm, as it plays an important role in building strong bonds that will contribute to the success of the entire cooperation. With the common goal of building a solid foundation, the participants discussed in depth the first steps required for the project ENFORCE.

During this visit, the project objectives were discussed in depth to ensure that each partner has a comprehensive understanding of the overarching goals. The outcome of the kick-off meeting was extremely satisfying for all partners and generated enthusiasm among the team. It was a success and left everyone inspired and energised.

The journey of ENFORCE has officially begun and with the collective expertise of the committed partners, there is no doubt that it will thrive and achieve remarkable results.

Enforce

“The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein”

Project N: 2022-1-LU01-KA220-VET-000089887

© 2024 Enforce Project
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