Renovated drywall cottage “kažeta”

In October 2023, as part of the POSEIDONE project, we have renovated old Istrian cottage, called kažeta in the local dialect. Like in the past, it was built with drywall technique which means there is no concrete between stones. Cottages like this are typical for Istrian countryside, farmers used them to store their farming tools and crops while shepherds used them for shelters against storms or summer heat. Most of such constructions are deserted today, due to abandonment of farming and emigration of people from countryside. With renovation of cottage we wanted to contribute to preservation of cultural and natural heritage of Slovenian Istria. Beside its cultural meaning, such stone cottages together with other drywall constructions contribute to an increase of biodiversity of the countryside. They represent important habitat for many animal and plant species. That is why such drywall elements can be considered as important green infrastructure in agricultural landscape.

Renovated cottage is located on the path from Belveder to Bele skale. It was probably used as late as 1950s and well maintained. By September 2023, when the renovation started, all there was left was walls, overgrown with vegetation. Under guidance of Institute Suhi zid, the cottage got its original appearance back virtually overnight. Renovation, which included removing of vegetation and weathered stones, delivery of new materials and a lot of hard work, took a little more than a month. Just as the original, the renovated cottage was made of sandstone, which is bountiful in Slovenian Istria region, hence most of drywall buildings are made from this stone. In the process of renovation, cottage got new windows and doors, and the roof is, like before, made out of brick tiles. Process of renovation can be seen in the pictures bellow. You can also see the cottage for yourselves.

Cordially welcome!

Renovation of kažeta was co-financed by European Union through POSEIDONE project, which is part of program Interreg Italia-Slovenija. Project goals are implementation of joint measures by project partners for mitigation of climate changes in the protected areas, improvement and establishment of biotic diversity, green and blue infrastructure and raising awareness for better waste management. You can read more about the project on the following website:

https://www.ita-slo.eu/en/poseidone

State of kažeta before renovation

Works in the process of renovation

Renovation was done in less than a month