Insert to manage landscape

Occupational integration

This professional integration program was part of the "Integration Workshop" initiative, accredited by the French government. It enabled individuals far removed from the job market to engage in a structured learning process by acquiring knowledge and skills on construction sites. These sites offered participants the opportunity to develop all aspects of their socio-professional integration: skills, self-reflection, teamwork, presentation, hygiene, health, interpersonal skills, the development of a social and/or professional integration plan, and respect for hierarchy. Serving the beneficiaries, this approach addressed integration objectives , such as returning to employment or entering training programs, which are sometimes difficult to achieve due to diverse situations and backgrounds.

The Grand Site brigade

The initiative enabled the completion of numerous restoration projects that traditional masonry companies could not undertake due to specialized techniques and high costs. The Grand Site Brigade operated exclusively on public land and was supervised by a site manager . This manager, in a move towards professional development, obtained Level II of the Professional Qualification Certificate for " Dry Stone Builder ," recognizing a skill that had virtually disappeared from the region.

The reintegration of dry stone masonry , through the Brigade, quickly sparked the interest of municipalities owning deteriorating built heritage , and of local winegrowers concerned about the image associated with their renowned wines , particularly Saint-Véran and Pouilly-Fuissé. While the Roche de Solutré is the primary emblem, dry stone construction is part of the very essence of these wines. It represents the history of the generations who cultivate them today, the history of their ancestors who shaped the landscape with their own hands.

Starting in 2011, the Grand Site has relied on the expertise of its Brigade to conduct public awareness and training activities . Now, every year, two introductory dry stone construction workshops are open to everyone, particularly winegrowers. Since 2020, these workshops have been supplemented by two advanced training sessions to ensure that private stakeholders acquire the necessary technical skills to contribute to the preservation of this distinctive heritage. The brigade's team leader trains municipal employees from the Grand Site's towns and villages, as well as students from the Davayé wine-growing high school. He also provides expert advice and guidance to private landowners upon request.

In addition, since the majority of dry stone walls are located on private land, often belonging to winegrowers, local associations are working to preserve and restore the cadoles and other small dry stone structures. Their efforts are thus enabling the safeguarding of a large number of these shelters, which had been left abandoned and were at risk. The inventory identified 90 linear kilometers of walls and counted 80 cadoles.

Heritage restoration…but not only that!

The Brigade was mobilized for all the tasks of daily management of the Grand Site: maintenance and cleaning of trails, reception facilities, maintenance of pastures, minor works.
This integration system, as it was implemented between 2007 and 2023, fully corresponds to the values ​​of the sustainable development, promoted by the Grands Sites de France, based on economic and social development, environmental protection and conservation of natural resources. In 2016, he was awarded the “ ESF Initiative Trophies ”, in the “sustainable development” category.