New program offers professional certification to traditional craftspeople in Romania’s Făgăraș Mountains

18 August 2026 Traditional craftspeople from communities around Romania’s Făgăraș Mountains can obtain nationally recognized professional certification through a new program launched by the Conservation Carpathia Foundation and Sibiu’s ASTRA Museum. Applications for the MeșterEȘTI pentru comunitate program are open until October 31, 2026. The initiative targets people who have learned and practiced traditional trades through experience but do not hold formal qualifications. Eligible occupations include artisanal carpentry, making handcrafted wooden objects, and traditional construction using logs, adobe, or stone. The program is open to craftspeople from selected communities in Argeș, Brașov, and Sibiu counties. Applicants must have completed at least eight years of school, already practic