Dear friends,

so far we have presented on our website mainly construction works and professional activities connected with the presentation of the Motešický mansion in Ladce. However, the MaHoLa project also has a strong social and educational dimension thanks to the cooperation with the Vocational Boarding School in Ladce (in Slovak "OUI"). The OUI, which is one of the three partners of the MaHoLa project, provides education and training in a number of trades that will find future employment on the manor house site, such as bricklayer, carpenter and construction locksmith. His role is precisely to provide his students, often from disadvantaged backgrounds, with practical experience in routine and sophisticated building and craft work.

We therefore welcomed OUI students to the Manor House at the end of January 2023 to showcase their progress in building work. Our craftsmen demonstrated to the students the application of selected technological techniques with emphasis on the masonry and surfaces of the national cultural monument. The opportunity to watch the craftsmen at work was an unconventional opportunity to enrich the educational process. In terms of the mansion's recent history, it is interesting to note that the mansion itself was formerly the headquarters of the OUI, so some of the staff returned, so to speak, to a place they knew very well.

The experience gained and the direct physical contact with historic structures will in time be able to be capitalised on by OUI students in the form of permanent jobs and - who knows - the most skilful ones may even set up specialist companies specifically focused on historic monuments. We are looking forward to cooperation!