Radio România Internațional

Category: Inside Romania

  • Bran as a food supplement

    Bran as a food supplement

     

    Used to its full potential, bran can help cure conditions such as obesity, diabetes, or cancer, thanks to the synergistic effect of fibres and of antioxidants, which are bioactive compounds. This is the topic of research conducted for her Ph.D. thesis by Lavinia Mureșan, a lecturer at the Department of Food Science and Technology with USAMV Cluj-Napoca.

     

    Lavinia Mureșan teaches food chemistry and special biotechnologies. She is a member of a research team of the Food Science and Technology Department with the Institute of Life Sciences (USAMV Cluj). The team is headed by Prof. Dan Vodnar, Ph. D., and received the “Gheorghe Ionescu-Șișești” award for biotechnology at the 2024 Romanian Research Gala, for the innovative nature of the research, at national and international level.

     

    Lavinia Mureșan: “My Ph.D. work concerns food biotechnologies, particularly thermal treatment and fermentation on solid substrate in order to increase the bioavailability of various phenolic compounds from grain by-products. This was basically the topic with which I started out as a Ph.D. student, and it proved to be quite versatile in terms of continuity, taking into account the research project that preceded this research topic and which is called “In situ fortification of grain products with vitamin B12 using fermentations on solid substrate”.

     

    But what does this mean for non-specialists—for us? What is wheat or oat bran?

     

    Lavinia Mureșan: “These grain by-products strictly mean wheat and oat bran. These were the ones we researched. They practically include the entire spectrum of vitamins and minerals found in the wheat grain, namely phenolic compounds. The inside of the wheat grain is basically used only as a source of starch. Other than that, the minerals, vitamins, phenolic compounds are found in this outer shell that is actually this rather thick, brittle layer, the bran. Of course this entails difficulties from a technological point of view. That is why it is removed when grains are processed into flour. But actually there is this entire spectrum of microelements and bioactive compounds there. Phenolic compounds, in addition to being recognized in the last 5 years as an important source of food for microorganisms, a source of prebiotics, have extraordinary antioxidant activity in the human body. The problem, and what we proved in the doctoral thesis, is their low availability. When we ingest this bran, we are unable to truly enjoy the antioxidant effect of these phenolic compounds. Why? Because they are biochemically bound in a complex matrix, in a complex fibre. And the solution that we found was to use various microorganisms that are safe for consumption, such as yeasts used in various industries, such as the baking industry or the brewing industry. These microorganisms are able to produce enzymes that can cut these bonds and release those phenolic compounds before this bran is ingested, so that when we eat they can go directly into the intestine, and into the bloodstream.”

    Although the research is successful, the product is not yet available on the market. Lavinia Mureșan explains:

     

    Lavinia Mureșan: “The focus, as far as bran is concerned, was on fibres. Bran is an extraordinary source of fibres. That is right. And the structure of grain, with the entire amount of fibre located in the bran, enables it to provide these effects in various pathologies, but it is a synergistic effect. It is not just about these antioxidant compounds, as much as it is about the synergy between antioxidant compounds and fibres. And all the studies on the effects on health, especially in the field of medicine, have proven these effects against cancer, against obesity, diabetes and many more that have been proven and we have written a review on this topic.”

     

    The next step is for this bran fermentation process to be taken up on an industrial scale, so that consumers may benefit from everything bran has to offer. And this could also be the beginning of its use as a food supplement. (AMP)

  • The Short Food Chain Association at ‘Green Week’ in Berlin

    The Short Food Chain Association at ‘Green Week’ in Berlin

    Authentic Romanian products from Alba, Bacău, Constanţa, Giurgiu, and Maramureş were presented at the stand of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) set up within the international exhibition ‘Green Week’ (‘Grune Woche’), in Germany, in Berlin, in the second half of January, by the Short Food Chain Association (SFCA). Marius Tudosiei, founder of the Short Food Chain Association, told us:

    “I was at the stand of the Minister of Agriculture. There, the stand was already set up. Unfortunately, we entered this topic very, very late. It was unlikely that we could organize anything better than that, but we discovered a surprising openness in the team that was dealing with it from within the ministry. You know there’s this legend, that it’s hard to work with people from the state, but here they were very open. We practically invited ourselves, because we only had a few days left until the fair started, and some of the association members were there. I won’t name any brands, but you should know that we sent the best cold-pressed oils, some fish products, zacusca and canned fish, which were very, very well received. Some good things really happened there and I think we should pull together and make preparations for Berlin 2026.”

    ‘Green Week’ (‘Grune Woche’), in Berlin, is an event dedicated to agri-food products, annually bringing together over 60 countries and hundreds of thousands of visitors. Marius Tudosiei explained the concept of the short food chain to us:

    “Years ago, the short food chain was considered the direct relationship between the producer and the consumer, unmediated, marked by a distance as short as possible between the two. Unfortunately, in 2025 we can no longer hope for all these details. However, in our vision there are a few parameters that, once changed, should be very well defined, namely that there should still be a relationship between the producer and the consumer, whether he is a natural person, so for home consumption, or whether we are talking about the hospitality industry, chef, restaurant, owners. I realized that the role of the Mittleman (intermediary) cannot be ignored. They are rather necessary. But our vision of this link in the distribution chain is that it should be a role that is as silent as possible, and in no case should it capture most of the deal that is proposed. What I mean by this is that the intervention of an intermediary, of whatever nature, should be as discreet as possible from a financial point of view, because, unfortunately, in current chains, the large chains, it is precisely the intermediaries who have the largest share of the value of the finished product, of what the consumer pays, and therefore, we are trying to bring the two tectonic plates closer together, namely producers and consumers, and they also have slightly different languages. Therefore, producers, most of the time, do not understand exactly what the needs are.”

    Our interlocutor gave examples to illustrate the occasional lack of understanding of consumer needs, so that there is a lack of diversification of the products offered, two erroneous packaging versions: too small for the hospitality industry, or too large for household consumers.

    We asked Marius Tudosiei what the average citizen should do.

    “I think the first step they should take would be an extremely important one: to think about exactly what they put on the table and what they eat, to think about the source of the ingredients they buy for the refrigerator. In the meantime, I have also started an educational project that addresses schools and kindergartens, and I must admit that it is the hardest, to work with young age groups, because the period in which you can capture their attention is very short, but a fabulous thing happened: when I showed them a piece of celeriac, they passed it from hand to hand, smelled it, and touched it, a perfect celery from the big stores, obviously imported, and they found nothing interesting about it. Apart from the fact that it rolls, being perfectly round. I brought some celery from the garden, which still had its leaves, and when I twisted the leaves and the room was filled with the smell, I probably had the best moment of attention, because suddenly all the children were all eyes and ears to what was happening there, because the stimulus was so strong. There is a notable difference between what we can buy that is imported, and what we can buy from the local farmer market, which is why the home consumer should think very seriously about what they buy. Local products, possibly certified organic, are not always more expensive than those that come from imports. We have to think about packaging options, about the carbon footprint. There are a lot of things, and I think we should become a little more aware of what we eat. At the same time, they should think about the fact that nature has organized things in such a way that seasonality becomes important, and it becomes important even in our menus, and that we should not have a certain ingredient 365 days a year.”

    Marius Tudosiei encouraged us to follow seasonal products and wished us “good food thoughts”!

  • Life as a Movie

    Life as a Movie

    “If you promised yourself that 2025 would be different, Mindflix is the place to start!” suggests Lavinia Popescu, a personal development counselor and non-violent communication facilitator, who invites us to a guided exploration of our own lives, lived according to a script written by our thoughts, in which emotions dictate our pace, and choices decide our outcome. The “Mindflix” program thus aims to be a personalized series of inner evolution, in 12 episodes.

    Lavinia Popescu, a personal development counselor and non-violent communication facilitator, told us:

    “I created Mindflix with great enthusiasm, out of the desire to help people to empower themselves, to have more self-confidence. I wanted Mindflix to be a collection of resources that would help in this regard. I created this one-on-one program because each person is unique, and has unique challenges or unique desires. Mindflix is an invitation to introspection and transformation, a process that helps you understand your life story, and consciously rewrite it. The good news is that it can be accessed from anywhere in the world.”

    Why does she propose this format to us? Lavinia Popescu:

    “Mindflix started from a simple observation: films have the power to make us reflect deeply on our own lives. Of course, a book can have the same effect, but film offers us a more accessible opportunity to leave with the feeling that we found ourselves in the story, or that it changed our perspective. Because filming techniques draw attention to different angles. And then I wanted to create a program that would offer the same experience of discovery, but applied directly to our own story, which we tell ourselves. Anyone who is curious to explore their own story. No previous training in personal development is required, just the desire to reflect, to discover the patterns of one’s own life, and to bring more clarity to one’s personal direction. It does not mean that we analyze films directly, but we can be inspired by their narrative mechanisms. For example, we can ask ourselves if my life were a film, am I the actor or the spectator? What are the main conflicts? What themes are repeated? These questions help us discover important aspects of our own story. We will use a central theme in each session. It can be about thinking patterns, relationships, how we see ourselves. I will use exercises inspired by storytelling, introspection and guided dialogue to look at our own story from a new perspective.”

    Starting from these realities, Lavinia Popescu aims to become the guide for those who turn to Mindflix, in clarifying the vision, in rewriting the script where it is no longer representative, and in bringing one’s own authenticity to the forefront.

    “I thought of this Mindflix program as a process of significant transformation. I want the protagonist, that is, the person being counseled, to benefit from the maximum that personal development can offer, and I thought of the structure in the form of 12 one-on-one counseling sessions in which we use, as I said, those cinematic techniques. As an example, in episode one, that is, the first session, we can do a panorama to see where you are now, to have an honest look at your reality. Another episode can be that of narrative obstacles, to see why you get stuck, and how we overcome difficult moments. We have the transformation of the hero, all kinds of frame changes, traveling, and other techniques, we start with clarity, of course, we see what are the scenes that define you, how to create memorable moments in your life. We have an open ending and a trailer for a new beginning. Mindflix is intended for all those who feel like they are living on autopilot, and want to find their direction, their authenticity, people who are looking for clarity, meaning, who feel like they are stuck in a role that no longer belongs to them. We are talking about people who want to understand themselves better, explore their emotions, or consciously rewrite their personal story. Specifically, maybe you want guidance on how to deal with emotions related to job uncertainty, or maybe you want to see how to make a business plan and you need clarity, maybe you are caught in some thoughts that are grinding you, that do not allow you to see further.”

    Our interlocutor also aims to create a membership in which to share resources for participants, to make a Mindflix podcast, and to create a database in which people, when they enter Mindflix, can find as many resources as possible to help them cope with daily challenges more easily.

  • Grandparents acting as museum guides

    Grandparents acting as museum guides

    The one-week “ski holiday”, as it is usually known, is scheduled in Romania in February. It is part of the secondary-school timetable. Also, its timeframe is subject to change, according to decisions taken by local municipalities.

    In Oradea, in the northwest, the Oradea Cris Rivers Museum – Museum Compound jointly with Bihor County Council and the Municipality of Oradea staged an activity themed “ With grandparents at the museum. Guides for one day “. During the February 18th and 23rd school holiday, grandparents and their grandchildren are invited to get acquainted with the history of the town. Accordingly, grandparents will have the opportunity to act as guides, for the grandchildren.

    Cristina Liana Pușcaș holds a Doctor’s degree in history. She is a museographer with the Oradea Town Museum, a section of the Oradea Cris Rivers Museum. Dr Puscas told us more about the project.

    “Practically, it is the 2nd edition of this program which we initially thought out in 2023. The following year, in 2024, we could not stage it since the museum underwent a thoroughgoing refurbishment process. We thought out the project to be implemented throughout the ski holiday, bearing in mind not all the children could afford going on such a trip, so quite a few of them stayed at home, in their hometowns, in Oradea, mostly, with their grandparents, who could afford going out for the day, in a bid to get acquainted with the history of the town, at once sharing their own life experience with their grandchildren.

    Last year, through this large-scale project of refurbishing the Town Museum section, we arranged a couple of museum areas, new exhibitions, quite a few of them dedicated to that specific period of communism, an era those grandparents used to live in, so their own life experience can be transposed into stories, in each of the dedicated rooms. “

    Dr Puscas told us more about the project.

    “They can, for instance, speak to the children about the significance of the fish placed on top of the TV set, about what those bottles of milk meant, how they were queuing up, the soda bottle, the petrol lamp reminding everyone of the fact that at that time, in the evening, they had power outages for a couple of hours, about the dial telephone.

    As part of the exhibition themed “Education in Oradea in the 20th century” we have a classroom of that time, with the school uniforms, with the pioneer’s uniform, we have the ink glass, the letter box, the abacuses, so much so that the stories and the life experience of those grandparents can be explained much easier. Another exhibition children may find extremely attractive is the one themed “The Discotheque of the 70s and the 80s”, since grandparents lived at that time, so they can spin the yarn of what life meant, at that time, for them, when they were young. “

    The museum staff also prepared additional info for the halls in the museum that were a little bit more difficult to explain by the grandparents turned guides, our interlocutor also said.

    “It goes without saying they cannot possible have such comprehensive notions, For instance, for World War One, we have prepared a brief piece of info on what the Romanian Army’s entering Oradea in 1919 actually meant, to be more specific, who Traian Mosoiu was, the hero who contributed to the liberation of the town. And speaking about the day-to-day life, in the communist times, we also have a flyer with info and images that can, in effect, trigger grandparents’ memories of what the communist times meant. “

    We asked Cristina Liana Pușcaș what the successful points were, of the 2023 edition of the project:

    “Taking a quick look at the photos of two years ago, I realized grandparents really came, with their grandchildren, and they were having a closer look at those objects. And from the photos, you could see them explaining how the telephone worked, for instance, with a dial, how a radio worked, how a turntable worked, for instance, what the vinyl was good for and from those photographs I even recalled grandparents truly got involved in the description of quite a few of those objects.

    As we speak, exhibitions are pretty well stocked with such objects, so grandparents will definitely have much more pieces of info at their fingertips, enabling them to give much more detailed explanations to their grandchildren. “

    The entrance fee for one ticket as part of this museum program is 10 lei per person, that is 2 Euros, for the master exhibitions of the Oradea Town Museum Section. The Oradea Museum Town Cultural Complex, based in the Oradea Fortress makes temporary and permanent exhibitions available for visitors.

    Here are some of the themes of the museum’s permanent exhibitions: ”Churches in the palace – archaeological research in the Princely Palace”. “The History of Bread” The History of Oradea Photography”, “The Convenience Store”, “Childhood in the Golden Age. The Resistance and repression in Bihor Memorial”. Then there is the “Moving Monuments Exhibition. Depersonalisation”, of fine artist Cătălin Bădărău. There are also The Oradea Greek-Catholic Bishopric Exhibition – Pages of History, the Exhibition of the Oradea Reformed Church and the Oradea Roman-Catholic Bishopric Exhibition.

  • The Road of Freedom, recognised by the Guinness World Records

    The Road of Freedom, recognised by the Guinness World Records

    On the 35th anniversary of the Revolution of December 1989 and the idea of ​​freedom, the violinist Diana Jipa and the pianist Ştefan Doniga embarked on a tour called “The Road of Freedom”. It was one of the largest and most important projects to promote Romanian culture worldwide and it earned Romania the first World Record for the FASTEST CONCERT TOUR ON ALL CONTINENTS, with the two recognised as the only musicians in the world who performed in fewer than 100 days on all 7 continents and the first to give a professional classical music concert in Antarctica. Stefan Doniga told us more:

    “Our tour started out of love for Romanian music. We want to show the wealth and diversity and all that is beautiful in Romanian music to as many and diverse people as possible and in the most distant corners of the world. And these things have grown little by little in the 7 years since I have been collaborating with Diana Jipa, in the sense that at the beginning these were local projects for the public in Romania and students in general, something which is still true today, because we are very close to the students every time we can. And based on the experience we have gathered step by step, we expanded our area of ​​expression in such a way that in 2023 we ended up being the first Romanian musicians to go around the planet in a single concert tour. And that experience told us that we could do it. It told us that we can withstand very long journeys, very complex logistics, that we know how to do it. So I came to this conclusion that making a world record, first and foremost a world record, Guinness, is, first of all, very good promotion, because everyone knows about the Book of Records. I’ve always been fascinated by people who do things for the first time in the world. So we thought that if we also went around the planet for the first time, on all continents, in fewer than 100 days, we might attract attention in a different way than by just being on stage.”

    Diana Jipa explained further:

    “We set out to mark in a memorable way 35 years since the Revolution. That’s why it was called the Road of Freedom, as we already had the experience of the tour we did a year ago, which took us around the world, in which we were the first musicians, at least the first from Romania, to do this. Let’s say that we were prepared for something bigger, more important, more demanding, like this tour in which we travelled to all  continents, the first six in about 21 days, and then Antarctica, in total 98 days and 22 hours, as the Guinness Book record says. Imagine all these years in which we worked very hard to be really be artists. Only in moments like these do we realise that we are leaving something behind, something to inspire others, especially young people, for them to realise that if you work hard and stay true to your dreams, they can come true.”

    And the audiences were fascinated everywhere they went, Diana Jipa told us:

    “We had exclusively Romanian music in the repertoire, in the program of all these recitals, of course we were sometimes nervous. Romanian music is very varied, and we included composers of different ethnic backgrounds to express the idea of freedom and the audience appreciated this. They were very fascinated by our endeavor,  which looked exotic to them, especially those on the more distant continents.”

    And since the first GUINNESS record in the music field was recorded by the members of the band Metallica, in 2013, for concerts on all continents, we asked Ştefan Doniga if this was a source of inspiration:

    “I am a great admirer of Metallica, I grew up with their music, I listen to both classical music and heavy metal, so it was impossible not to be influenced by what they did and I knew that they had performed in Antarctica. Since 2013 I have been very inspired by their courage. When Diana Jipa and I flew to Antarctica, we obviously took  the only Antarctic flight company that connects Puntarenas, the city where we were based, and the scientific stations in Antarctica. The flight’s crew included people who 11 and a half years ago had been on the same flight with Metallica. We even took pictures wearing Metallica T-shirts, and we want to send them to the band because they really inspired us, they inspired whole generations in various ways and directions.”

    Apart from the challenges of moving the piano and the violin around the world, finding the right moment for landing in Antarctica, the tour also brought exciting surprises, such as the welcome in Antarctica by those on the ground, dressed in blue, yellow, and red T-shirts, which are the colours of the Romanian flag. In the future, the two musicians wish to continue to promote Romanian music.

  • Creating a new brand just by continuing your activity

    Creating a new brand just by continuing your activity

    Very few people know there are professional ski apparels created and manufactured in Romania. Furthermore, the origin of such a brand can be found in Toplita, Harghita County. It all started off from a small personal workshop.

    Dan Cotfas is the manager of the company that created the brand. He span the yearn of it all. Everything started from the workshop of his parents, former workers in the field of tailoring.

    “We started the activity in 1992, when my parents, who also worked in the field, retired, yet they felt they still needed to stay active and wanted to do something more. I am a mechanical engineer, a different field of work, and I thought I could offer them a chance to continue, finding them an activity so they could stay in shape, also enabling them to have the satisfaction of still being useful.

    So I opened a Limited Liability Company in 1992, me and my parents and my brother, in our grandparents’ countryside house that was available. My parents had two sewing machines because they worked in the field. My father had a “Craftsman’s Record Book “, he had a workshop during Ceausescu’s regime where he manufactured men’s clothing, a bespoke tailoring workshop. We also bought several outdated machines and we started our activity with production for the domestic market, men’s trousers and some women’s dresses. We were astonished to see those products sold very well, being extremely sought-after on the Romanian market at that time. “
    And, since at that time our guest today still worked in a different field and the products’ supply and dispatch were more and more difficult, an expansion of the activity was needed.

    “We hired four more people so we had, like, six or seven people all told, until 1995. In 1995 we had the opportunity to have a lohn production for a company in Italy. We searched for other premises, we developed the business and, in the beginning, we had our first 15-strong work team and we worked products for a well-known brand in Italy. Shortly afterwards we enhanced our production capacity and began manufacturing technical articles.

    So all along, it was a challenge for us to manufacture things we had not been used to manufacturing, also doing things we were not used to doing and things which for Romania, at that time, were unbeknownst. So we started manufacturing ski costumes with thermo-glued seams. We soon began to make mountain jackets, three-layer fabrics, also thermo-glued and we were among Romania’s first workshops to have manufactured goose-down jackets, completely manufactured in Romania. “

    There were a couple of years more for them to work according to the lohn system. Meanwhile they accumulated enough experience and their products were quite sought-after, so they opted for the enhancement of their production capacity, also personalizing it. Dan Cotfas once again.

    “We thought that, given they experience we’ve gathered, we should create our own brand as well. And we began with our own brand. We began with a shop of our own in Toplita, then we set up a shop in Targu Mures. We also developed the sector of selling of our own brand in Romania, there even was a time when we had 29, 30 partners we worked with and for whom we had our production, and our products sold in Romania, countrywide. “

    All things considered, eventually they were a small step away from getting international recognition.

    “In 2011-2012, we started our work for commissions we received from the ski monitors in Italy. After that, we were able to get commissions, to present collections in Austria as well as in Germany, in Finland, Great Britain, so much so that we also made ourselves visible on the ski slopes in Italy, Austria, Finland and Germany.

    The volume of our commissions started increasing by the year, given the products were very good, all accessories and fabrics were premium, so they were professional fabrics, fabrics manufactured in Japan, with technical characteristics of the highest level. As we speak, we have more than 90 clubs we work with. Annually, we work commissions we receive from these clubs: winter sports gear, outfit for mountain rescuers, apparel for mountain climbers and, latterly, we have also developed the fashion side sector, mainly the goose down outfit.”

    These are very useful pieces of info, for all of us, at wintertime, whether or not we are into practicing professional winter sports!

  • At Pop Lazar’s, a charity shop AND a hub of good deeds

    At Pop Lazar’s, a charity shop AND a hub of good deeds

    We’re still early into 2025 and we’re bound to discover initiatives carried for the good of the communities, so we sat down and had a talk about a project highlighting the fact that each donation, each act of charity has contributed to putting a smile back on the faces of the downtrodden and to turning this world into a warmer place, into a place which is full of hope to a greater extent. Such a place has a name: At Pop Lazar’s Charity Shop.

    Inspired by the very popular profile of Bucharest in the late 19th and the early 20th century, Pop Lazar, a Jew who was into flea stuff trading, also drawing inspiration from the British concept of Charity Shop, a concept providing elegance to those frequenting its premises, the president of the Medical Association for Public Health, Elena Raluca Smuc Tănase, has initiated this project.

    At Pop Lazar’s is a charity shop and a project of the Medical Association for Public Health. The president of the Medical Association for Public Health and co-founder of the shop, Elena Raluca Smuc Tănase, told us all what it was all about.

    “It’s about Charity Shop a concept people abroad are all too familiar with. For instance, in England, the Red Cross has such a shop which is more than 100 years old and there also are big charity organizations initiating such projects in a bid to supplement their funds. As you know, streams of funding are provided by donations, fundraisers, abroad, or via shops of this kind.

    We thought of setting up such a shop in 2017, when we realized we received donations, objects we could not use at that time but which were in a very good condition and which, for us, could turn into a form of aid. People could donate brand new products, for us, or things in good condition, for instance clothes, household objects, books, China, jewels.

    They need to be in mint condition since we have not just as yet implemented a recycling system, for example, a tailor’s shop where we should repair things or recondition certain clothes and give then a new life. That is why, as we speak, we can only receive things in very good condition, clean, of course and without stains. “

    Although people want the project to be expanded, perhaps in a bid to set up a partnership with a drycleaners or a tailor’s, our guest today confessed that for the time being they did not have the capacity to set up yet another shop of the same kind, for instance.

    “It is a project requiring the continuous presence of the one who thought it out or who dreamed of it. It is a shop yet it is also a community hub, so there is a whole story behind this shop: it helps us raise the funding by means of which we can exist and carry our projects but it is a meeting place as well, a place where people have the opportunity to be generous, where people can…I don’t know…have a little conversation, it is a true community. And then, in a bid to maintain the spirit, for the time being we haven’t thought of setting up yet another shop with such a theme. “

    During holidays, At Pop Lazar’s reaches communities countrywide with aid, via the Children, Boots and Socks project. The president of the Medical Association for Public Health, Elena Raluca Smuc Tănase, gave us details on that:

    “It is a project I love and which has become one of our brands. It is a project we implemented in 2019 after a visit we paid to a community and which is strictly carried with the help of the charity shop’s friends. Meaning that people turn up as early as October and express their wish to support us in this project and they simply donate a pair of boots, a couple of pairs of socks as well as other beautiful things they put in a box they wrap nicely. For instance, we have succeeded to have more than 800 children countrywide.

    They are children from various regions, they are children coming from families or they are children from care centers or from village schools, we do not have a certain category in mind. We reach there where we have collaborators of where they call for help or there where we think we can get involved. It is a project I hold most dear!

    There are those months, those days when we meet again with friends of the shop, when we have a chat. For instance, you receive a child you help and that gift box becomes the reason why you meet his family or do some shopping together with the family or create a little cell at your workplace where several colleagues make a box or 10 boxes or 20 boxes. It is an extraordinary moment of human generosity and solidarity, generating a lot of confidence in us, whereby all that we do, we do it nicely and properly. “

    Another project provides donations of coloring pencils and coloring books, to be given away in hospitals. At Pop Lazar’s has grown into a space where people can find inspiration yet they can also feel they are part of a greater cause, a cause where the good has its well-established place.

  • Old Rite Holidays

    Old Rite Holidays

    In this country, over 1 million followers of the Orthodox Christian Church celebrate Christmas in the old rite, mainly Lipovean Russians, Ukrainians, Moldovans, and Serbs. In several areas of the country, Christmas and New Year are thus organized in the old style, on the dates of 7 and the night of 13 to 14 January, respectively.

    The traditions and customs observed in celebrating Christmas in the old rite have many similarities with those in December. Believers dress in traditional costumes and go caroling. The family gathers for the holy supper, an important moment of the holiday.

    Paul Condrat, a Lipovaan from Jurilovca, told us about the holidays, as they are organized by the Lipovan community, with some Russian words scattered throughout:

    “Lipovans are ethnically Russian, but confessionally Orthodox of the old rite. It is archaic, original Orthodoxy. The difference from the rest of Orthodoxy is not only in the calendar, namely Julian, Gregorian, new – old. There are also some differences in worship. Traditions are still respected to a fairly large extent.The holidays are a little different, namely these holidays, the Nativity of the Lord, the New Year, are celebrated rather in the family, in small, limited parties. The evening of Christmas Eve is a quiet evening, without a party. On the evening of Christmas Eve, the older children, the young ones, sing carols. On New Year’s Day, the first day of the year, the caroling is done by the smallest children. There are many elements in common with the Plugusorul carol. It is a single carol, it begins with the words: “The Lord walked the Fields”, it is not a very appropriate translation, it is a word-for-word translation, but this is how the transition to the New Year is marked. A new year is wished new luck, a new chance!”

    We asked Paul Condrat if there are specific dishes meant to bring this new luck, contained in the wish:

    “Not particularly, but somehow words from the carol are also found on the table. I would recall a cake, a dessert, actually a kind of biscuit, with a shape close to “walnuts” (n.r. dessert made of a dough shell that imitates the shape of walnuts), but without any cream. A simple and good dough.”

    Beyond tradition, these old-style celebrations have become a good excuse for partygoers of other faiths to continue the fun. What are the temptations prepared for tourists, we asked Paul Condrat:

    “Traditional local fishing gastronomy and of course, on the occasion of the winter holidays, in the offer of local guesthouses, we also have traditional pork dishes: stuffed cabbage, pork in aspic, or, from among the traditional fish dishes, the fisherman’s borscht is the star, it cannot be missing from any meal, and then other dishes: fish snacks, smoked fish, caviar, various variations of marinated fish, fish meatballs.”

    In the Ukrainian community in northern Romania, for example, housewives prepare the 12 dishes of fasting for the Christmas Eve meal, using mushrooms, beans, flour, cornmeal, potatoes and sauerkraut. In order to have the 12 dishes, some are made with the same ingredient. A specific dish is white flour dumplings, filled with jam, nuts, or sauerkraut, to taste. Sauerkraut soup and stuffed leaves with pea are dishes that are also not missing from any household.

    For the Ukrainians from Maramureş, tradition requires that nine dishes be placed on the Christmas table, symbolizing the wealth of the year. The most important dish is “hrebleanca”, a dish made of mushrooms cooked with cabbage juice. Also, boiled wheat, a symbol of rich harvests, or fish, cannot be missing from the table. Another custom specific to the area is that the legs of the table are tied with a chain that remains like this until the Epiphany in the old style, there being a belief that this way the good omens will remain in the house. Among the traditional Ukrainian Christmas desserts, boiled wheat with walnuts or poppy seeds is distinguished, everything being sweetened with honey, but also donuts filled with jam.

    As for the Serbian community in Banat, they welcome Christmas with fish dishes, piglet on a spit and a pie called cesniţa, with lots of walnuts and honey, so that the coming year will be sweet and gentle. Before baking this pie, two coins are placed inside it, there is a belief that those who find them will have luck all year.

    Paul Condrat, from Jurilovca, concluded with a wish, said in Russian:

    “Our New Year’s Wish: () (translated: a new year and with new luck, a new chance)!”

    A new year and with new luck, a new chance!

    May it be so for all of us, whether we started the year now or earlier!

  • Brave Cut

    Brave Cut

    At a time of winter celebrations, when we are all thinking about how to become better, as the carol messages urge us, we have discovered a way of being better. A project through which those who have long hair can donate it to make wigs from natural hair for those who need them. “Brave cut” is the name of the project initiated by Renaşterea Foundation (Renaissance Foundation) and, to begin with, we spoke with a beneficiary of one of these wigs.

     

    Beatrice Gavrila has fought cancer and is a victorious survivor. She has told us that she considers herself lucky also because she met the Renaşterea Foundation team and that she wears a wig made as part of the project: “I am very happy that I managed to meet them. Not necessarily because I wanted to have a fantastic look, but mainly because it’s winter right now, and I needed something in line with the season and my personality. Moreover, wigs help a lot in terms of self-respect, they help you feel better, they are easy to maintain, they are very well made, and one cannot tell that you are wearing a wig. At least the people around me told me that the wig looked so natural that they couldn’t tell if it was my hair or a wig. It makes me feel more feminine. It is a tremendous helping hand for cancer patients, they become more hopeful. Since it’s made of natural hair, it protects your scalp and helps the skin breathe, it does not bring additional toxicity to the body. I am grateful for the opportunity that the Foundation gave me.”

     

    The President of Renaşterea Foundation, Mihaela Geoană, is at the microphone with details: “The project ‘Brave Cut, lives intertwined’, as we call it, started from the desire to help women, as well as the children undergoing chemotherapy. We all know that those undergoing chemotherapy lose their hair, and for women, this period of several months is very difficult, it affects them a lot. Their image is affected, they look sick and the same goes for the children. Some wigs are reimbursed in other countries, but natural hair wigs are very expensive. Natural hair wigs are the best because they don’t irritate, and don’t heat up the scalp in summer or winter. And then, in 2015, we launched the project “Brave Cut, lives intertwined”, which targeted women. We initially thought of donation of hair bunches that had to be at least 15 cm long, but ideally over 20 cm, to which we add the production cost of the wig, which is between 1,800 lei and 3,000 lei. To make a wig, five or six people need to donate hair, and it was a project that we started online, communicating only in Romanian. It was something between friends. The first to get a haircut live, on October 1, was Corina Caragea and then there were other stars who donated hair. I was absolutely impressed by the women’s willingness to help. To date we have received more than 27,000 hair donations, that is 27,000 hair bunches and many of them are accompanied by messages, they are beautifully packaged. We received hair from a mother and daughter. There are children who let their hair grow just for the purpose of donating it and once every 3-4 years they get a haircut and donate hair. There are women from 80 localities in Romania. The donated hair bunches are sent by post. We received many packages from Austria, Italy, Belgium, Great Britain, Slovakia, and those who donated hair are Romanians living outside the country, because we did the campaign only in Romanian and only online.”

     

    Our interlocutor told us that if, at the beginning, there were partner hair salons, where the people who wanted to donate hair got their hair cut, and the message was supported by online campaigns, over time, the women learned about hair donations  from each other and acquired this habit of letting their hair grow more, so that they could cut 20 cm of it at a time and send it to them.

     

    Irina Bescuca, a public speaking trainer at an acting school in Bucharest has recently cut her hair to contribute to the project and spoke to us about it: “I first heard about Brave Cut when one of the women I knew started the fight against cancer. At that time, I didn’t know much about how I could help, and it was then that the need to contribute, to do something that really mattered emerged, and I felt like passing on a piece of who I am, to turn something personal into a gift. So, I chose to cut my hair. I chose to do this not only to change my look, but also to send it to the Renaşterea Foundation where it was going to become a natural hair wig for women fighting cancer, extraordinary women who, as a result of the treatments, lost not only their hair, but perhaps also a part of their self-confidence. Thinking about them, their courage, the battles they fight, I felt I could do more than watch from a distance, and so I felt I could offer something concrete: a part of me, a ray of hope. When the scissors started to cut my hair I experienced a mix of emotions. For me it was a physical change, but for them I hope it will be a gift that will bring them a little light, a step towards finding themselves and seeing their smile again in the mirror.”

     

    The most beautiful thing about this project is that the wigs are made especially for each patient, taking into account the hair color and hairstyle she wants. (LS)

  • A look back at 2024

    A look back at 2024

    We start the new year by reviewing some of the unique initiatives that we presented to you in last year’s episodes. We visited the workshops of tradition keepers; we discovered civic actions, as well as cultural events with a civic and environmental impact; we talked to people who are not afraid to chase their dreams, and we showcased the famous Romanian creativity and spontaneity.

     

    In March, we discovered how the traditional March amulet, Mărțișor, is becoming a good pretext for tradition keepers. Included in the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, in 2017, following applications filed by Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia and the Republic of Moldova, the “Mărțișor” tradition remains more than a profitable business. This is what Teodor Adrian Negoiță, from Bârlogeni, Mehedinți, told us at a fair in Bucharest. He also described his designs for us:

     

    Teodor Adrian Negoiță: “I’m selling Mărţişoare in the shape of miniature spoons, decorated with Romanian traditional motifs and a word in Romanian; I think it’s nice to remember our native language no matter how many foreign languages we speak, and I thought it would be a good idea for a Mărţişor, so traditional motifs and a Romanian word. I also made miniature versions of hand-stitched leather shoes, also decorated with a Romanian word and which can be tied in different ways. They are all hand-made, without a model, and placed in a small envelope so they can be given as a gift. And then, the third type of Mărţişor I make are crosses with fortune letters explaining the name of the cross, basically an introduction into Romanian traditional art and village culture. It’s up to us to preserve the tradition, so each and every one of us has to do their best, go back to the roots. My Mărţişoare, for example, don’t have fasteners, that’s how they used to make them. I have older customers who tell me that’s how they remember their grandmothers making them. You could either sow them on coats or tie them around the wrist. That’s what traditional Mărţişoare were like.”

     

    In May we discovered details about the shapes of wine bottles, as the shape and colour of the bottles have a special meaning, according to George Ignat, known in the world of specialists as George Wine, a lecturer at the Romanian branch of the Higher School of Sommeliers, and a member of the Wine Lover Romania Association:

     

    George Ignat: “When we’re in a restaurant, or perhaps in the wine aisle at the market, we’re surrounded by a plethora of bottles that come in scores of shapes and colours and display various labels that are a genuine sight for the eyes. Colour-wise, bottles come in a diverse offer. The most common are transparent bottles, used in particular for white and rosé wines. Then there are brown bottles, which are usually used to bottle red and green wines, although they are also used by white wines. For advertising reasons, winemakers also sell wine in blue bottles or resort to other less conventional tones. In terms of size, things get even more interesting. A typical wine bottle has 750 milliliters. I will try to outline the main types of wine that are bottled in atypical bottles. There are many smaller-sized bottles, but the most frequently used has 375 millilitres, which is half the standard volume of standard sweet desert reds from Soter. Why this specific figure? Whereas the typical yield for these sweet wines is 65%, due to atypical production process, the yield is 12%, production is quite small, which is why this type of bottle was adopted. The standard 750-mililiter bottle actually has 770 millilitres of liquid inside, due to the cork and the oxygen in-between.”

     

    Having acknowledged that Romania ranks 13th in the world by wine consumption per capita, with just over 23 litres per year, 30 bottles per year, 2.5 per month, in a ranking led by a long way by Portugal, followed by France and Italy, we move on to another topic: making heritage accessible. With the intention of highlighting the cultural heritage in our country, an association called Designers, Thinkers, Makers created the “Culture and Cultures” programme, aimed at cultural renaissance, with an emphasis on promoting UNESCO sites. Alexandra Mihailciuc, an architect and the coordinator of the Association’s cultural programmes, gave us details:

     

    Alexandra Mihailciuc: “This programme, “Culture and Cultures”, we thought it out as some sort of cultural revitalising we have built in a bid to protect and capitalise on the values of Romania’s cultural heritage. It somehow speaks about culture, about the various ethnic cultures, but also about culture in its basic sense, connected to the ground, that is about the territories around the house, the manor house, the village. This means it’s equally about the care for our nearest, but also about the care for the farthest, since they are tied by an umbilical cord. And the ultimate purpose of such a program, actually, is to use as many means as possible for the creation of a good climate, good for culture, and, at long last, good for the quality of life. Besides, one of the key components of this program is the education for heritage. We realised it matters for all social layers and for all ages. From our point of view, it is one of Romanian society’s emergencies. We see, around us, how much is being destroyed, how little the communities take responsibility for the heritage, how little it is loved and understood and how little it is capitalized on. This programme has several cultural projects. The project we’ve carried this year, “Heritage Lab. Connecting the Dots”, is just one of the projects in this programme, which also has three streams: education, research and design.”

     

    Stay with us this year as well, for many more interesting stories from Romania! (AMP)

  • Are New Year’s traditions being reinvented?

    Are New Year’s traditions being reinvented?

    Winter traditions are some of the best-preserved holiday traditions today. As soon as December arrives, groups of carol singers start singing in the streets, their performances incorporating different archaic customs, which they follow more or less strictly. Thus, even in the big cities, carols like the Bear, the Goat, or the Ploughman, are performed around New Year’s Eve. We asked sociologist Bogdan Voicu if we still truly have winter traditions. To begin with, he offered us a looked back, to understand the origins of winter traditions in Romania and how they have changed and why:

    “Old societies were agrarian, the winter period was a time when less work was done and so people also had free time on their hands and more time to socialize with others. That’s how these traditions appeared, these ways of spending time with the others, in which we symbolically strengthen the connections with our community, the connection with those around us, we understand each other better and practically prepare ourselves to cooperate in the next agricultural year. Nowadays, we are no longer agrarian societies, and this winter story has less symbolic importance. Winter traditions have become more like a celebration, and thus like any kind of human event, it is subject to attempts by some groups to distort its original meaning. For example, already in Romania in the 1980s, maybe even earlier, there were lots of people who tried to reinvent traditions in a mercantile sense, by using the winter performances around New Year’s Eve, like Capra, Plugușorul and Sorcova to ask for money, sometimes even aggressively. This happened in many Romanian cities, especially in the south, with many local football teams that used these winter traditions as a means of financing their activities. Today, as far as contemporary traditions go, we are effectively only left with Santa Claus and the Christmas tree, and they are a little changed, too.”

    Bogdan Voicu notes that even in the countryside, where many people from the city go to spend traditional winter holidays, these customs are exploited for tourist purposes:

    “The authentic phenomenon is rather rare at the moment, in the Romanian countryside. We have few real data on which to base the assumption that these traditions may be reinvented. There is little care in Romanian society for traditions, unlike across Western Europe, where such traditions have been constantly strengthened and reinvented. Romania is not really concerned with such a thing, everything is mercantile here and focused on making money out of everything.”

    However, it must be noted that there are a number of initiatives to incorporate the tradition of carol singing, albeit of Western influence, into more and more social contexts, around the time of the winter holidays. Thus, more and more adult or children’s choirs have started to stage performances in shopping centers, churches, and homes for the elderly or for children.

    In addition, fairs selling traditional products have already become a tradition, especially in cities, along with the more recent tradition of Christmas Fairs, some of them already internationally renowned, such as those in Craiova, Sibiu, Brasov and Bucharest.

    We asked Bogdan Voicu if the Christmas Fairs can be considered a new holiday tradition:

    “In Romania, the fairs held around Christmas, Easter and other holidays were lost during communism. They were an important tradition in the interwar period in the Transylvanian part of the country, they were a German import that had existed for several centuries. We kind of lost them, now we are starting to bring them back to life, but we are doing so without integrating them with previous traditions. Here I would have expected the local authorities to be more active in this regard, to try to encourage the traditions related to the celebration of winter. They are still not the size of traditional fairs in Western Europe. But that doesn’t mean they’re bad, they’re a very good thing, they’re a good way to pass the time and can be a means of reinventing tradition.”

    In the villages of Bucovina, it was customary for masked carollers to walk in a group, each signifying a different character, such as the bear, the goat, the deer, the ugly, the beautiful, the devil or the doctor. The Bear Walk is found only in Moldova, on New Year’s. The bear is embodied by a boy wearing the fur of an animal on his head and shoulders, decorated near the ears with red tassels. To the beat of drums or to the melody of the whistle and assisted by a club, the mask mumbles and imitates the rocking and jerking steps of the bear, signifying the purification and fertilization of the soil in the new year. There is a hypothesis that at the origin of this custom there is a Gaeto-Thracian cult.

    On the first day of the new year, the most common traditions are Pluguşorul and Sorcova, customs that invoke prosperity and abundance for the household that welcomes the carolers. It is believed those who do not welcome carolers during the holidays will be plagued by troubles and poverty in the coming year.

  • A visit to Santa’s workshop 

    A visit to Santa’s workshop 

    Nothing is more beautiful during the winter holidays than decorating the Christmas tree.

     

     

    Few people know today that before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year round had a special meaning for people during winter. The history of Christmas trees, however, has many roots, from the use of evergreen fir trees in ancient Egypt and ancient Rome, to the German traditions of Christmas trees decorated with candles, from the 17th century, customs that reached America in the 1800s. The tradition of decorating the Christmas tree in Romania emerged after 1866, with the arrival of the Hohenzollern dynasty, when the first tree to be decorated was mentioned at the court of King Carol I.

     

    With the emergence of this custom, tree ornaments also diversified, with hand-made ones becoming rarities. This is also the case with the glass Christmas tree balls, manufactured in Curtea de Argeș, in the so-called “Santa s Factory”. Sandu Nichita, the manager of a company in Curtea de Argeș, also called “Fabrica lui Moș Crăciun”, “Santa’s Factory” in English translation, told us where this idea came from: “It is more of a figure of speech, a metaphor. This metaphor is the idea of the company in Curtea de Argeș, a producer of glass Christmas tree balls. This activity was established in 1989, at the initiative of an American wholesaler. It has developed with investments from both sides. In the 2000s the business expanded from the US to Japan, the production level of the factory standing at about 1,000,000 units per year. During this period our products have also diversified, from some simple and easy to make objects to very complex ones, which stood out on the European and American market, this trend continuing until 2005. From 2006 – 2007 we started the activity known as “Santa’s Workshop”, which gave tourists the opportunity to see how glass Christmas globes are produced. They participate in the entire technological flow, from shaping them by blowing them with their mouths, then decorating and other activities, to putting these ornaments in boxes and then adorning with them the Christmas tree.”

     

    We asked Sandu Nichita who these workshops are held for: “It is an interesting and attractive activity for children and young people, especially since it takes them out of that online zone and brings them into real life. I saw that during this period no one uses their mobile phones except to photograph different work stages needed in the production of glass ornaments for the Christmas tree.”

     

    Given that, over time, the models made here have become more diversified, we asked Sandu Nichita to give us more details: “We have at least 2000 unique models, different in terms of painting, shape and other elements. Moreover, this year we have done a retrospective of the models from 1989 until now, in an exhibition that contains 5,600 copies of such ornaments. The exhibition can be visited and is a working element for traders who choose a newer or older model. Most choose the retro models and say that these are the glass Christmas tree balls of our childhood. The market is invaded by all kinds of objects that we can generically call kitsch. We attach great importance to the artistic form of the objects. In fact, the famous American businesswoman and writer Martha Stewart, has ordered blown glass Christmas tree balls from us for years in a row and also wrote a beautiful story about the winter holidays and how Romanian children are involved in the winter holidays. It was a source of pride for us and for The Santa Claus Workshop in Curtea de Argeș. Our glass balls globes also adorned the Christmas tree at the White House in Washington, and the one of the Emperor of Japan.”

     

    Sandu Nichita also told us that this year, the ornaments produced at the The Santa Claus Workshop in Curtea de Argeș are also adorning the Christmas tree at the Bazaar of the Romanian Representation in Brussels, where they have been on display for seven years now.

    These beautiful ornaments can also be purchased online.

     

  • The 100 Year Story of Cheia Soap

    The 100 Year Story of Cheia Soap

    The story of Cheia soap takes us back in time to March 3, 1886, when Lippa Brunstein registered his family’s factory with City Hall. Today, as then, Cheia is a family business. Today, as then, it is a brand that promotes itself by using natural ingredients, working, cutting and stamping by hand, with great care.

    The story of Cheia soap, like that of many Romanian brands that existed during the communist period, such as Dacia, Arctic, Borsec, Timişoreana, Dero, Braiconf, Antibiotice, Rom chocolate, Gerovital or Eugenia, is often associated with the sad memories of those who lived in the “golden age”. However, many of these products existed before nationalization, some not even being promoted during communism, and others only gaining a utilitarian dimension, such as Cheia soap.

    Thus, between 1950 and 1989, Cheia soap did exist on the market, only in the laundry soap version. It was a big surprise to discover that the brand is one of many elitist products, with a long history.

    How Cheia soap is maintained now, over 100 years later, we learned from Alin Laszlo, the “soap maker of today’s soap”, as he introduced himself:

    “Just like back then, in 1886, it’s still a family business, it’s still a business that respects those principles from back then, that is, the production of a natural soap, it’s the same elitist soap. So practical for the 21st century, let’s say the 7th generation of Cheia soap producers, we also consider the period 48-90 still covered by generations of Romanians who produced Cheia soap. The soap is an elitist one, which respects principles older than a century, and which proudly rewrites a history longer than a century in Romanian soap production.”

    We asked our interlocutor what is, in fact, the range of products that appear today under the “Cheia” brand, remembering the laundry soap from before 89. Here is Alin Laszlo: “What you have exemplified currently represents 7% of our current offer. Currently, we are rewriting a long history, with recipes specific to each period, because Cheia soap has known normality, it has known war, it has known epidemics, it has known forced industrialization during the communist era, with that change in the production paradigm in which need, and not pleasure, were covered. Neither from a moral nor a historical point of view, we cannot remove that period from our history, and again we only refer to it as a period defined in our offer, the “grey book of Cheia soap”. We offer that wide range of products described, but rewritten for the mind, needs and use of the contemporary consumer, in the sense that we still produce laundry soap and not necessarily that laundry soap from the time of Ceauşescu. That interwar laundry soap was something else, it was not a mass product, and we still produce it today, but we produce it for an extremely small area, and not for nostalgics. There are even still people who use solid laundry soap. To develop our business, we innovated and obtained powdered laundry soap, the equivalent of the habit of mothers of my generation, in the early 90s, of washing clothes with grated Cheia soap, liquid soap in its natural form, not chemical detergent.”

    Our interlocutor also tempted us with other Cheia products:

    “Number one is Cheia for hair. And not necessarily because we are going back to our grandmother’s ritual of washing our hair with soap, but still, because it is that primary shampoo that humanity used until the 50s, when the chemical one was invented. Here we have developed a complete range, starting with soap and ending with the equivalent of vinegar in our grandmother’s ritual, hair conditioners. As I said, in the laundry range, we have absolutely the entire range currently possible, from solid soap, powdered soap, paste soap and liquid soap. Likewise, we have returned to the same formula that we all learned in chemistry lesson in 10th grade of natural soap for the hand soap application, which is maybe the second best-selling product in our portfolio.”

    Proud to be part of a long tradition, Alin Laszlo added:

    “We believe in the value of tradition! I would be happy to know that we have also contributed with a small percentage to raising the specific consumption of soap per capita in this country, because you know very well that we are not doing exceptionally well.”

    Under the Cheia brand, there is now a vast offer of natural, organic, eco-friendly soaps, with a friendly attitude towards loved ones and nature, as well as a diverse range of surprising gifts. Maria luxurious body butter, which bears the face of Queen Maria on the packaging, shower oils with Christmas aromas, or Santa Claus-shaped children’s soap, lip balm, but also ‘cookie candy lip scrub’ with orange and cinnamon aroma, or Cheia-Dac, soap for a beautiful beard. These are just a few examples of today’s Cheia products, their number being much greater.

  • Băile Herculane Spa

    Băile Herculane Spa

    The two-millennium history of the Băile Herculane spas begins in 153 CE, when it was first mentioned in historical records. In the modern era, the Emperor of Austria described Băile Herculane as “the most beautiful resort on the continent”, while Empress Elizabeth mentioned the spa in her diary. Wishing to keep the history of the place alive, Iacob Sârbu, a collector from Băile Herculane, gathered dozens of objects that reconstruct the former glory of the region. He exhibited them at the Romanian Travel Fair, where we caught up with him and asked him to tell us his story:

    “I first started collecting when I was a small child, during my holidays spent at my mother’s grandfather in Reșita and who was a keen collector. I learned a lot from him. The Herculane collection, which is my present subject, has been my hobby for about 8 years, and started at a difficult time in my life. Putting together this collection helped me find my peace and channel my energies. While in the beginning I only showed the collection to only a few friends, things changed when I met two remarkable people, Ioan Traia, the president of the association of rural media journalists in Banat and Gheorghe Rancu Bodrog, a former teacher and owner of a museum in Şopotul Vechi, in the Almaju area, in Caraș-Severin county. The two them helped bring out the best in me and it is thanks to them that I started showing everyone what I have collected. It is also thanks to them that I agreed to take part in many cultural events in Banat and in the Serbian Banat, and in February this year, at the invitation of the County Council, I agreed to take part in this fair. I want to show parts of my collection, and these are in fact fragments of local history.”

    Like any passionate collector, Iacob Sârbu loves all of his objects in equal measure:

    “All the objects in my collection are important to me. It’s impossible to differentiate between them. An inexpensive postcard from the interwar or communist period is just as valuable to me as a rare postcard or a lithograph that costs several hundred euros. There is no difference. However, there is one object that is very dear to me, a replica of the statue of Empress Elizabeth from Herculane. The statue did exist once, but it no longer does, no one knows where it is, whether it broke or was thrown away. A friend recreated this replica based on old photos. I insisted that he made it as close to the old one as possible, so that I can present both the replica of Sissi’s statue from Caransebeș, which I got from Gheorghe Rancu, and this replica from Herculane. In time, ever since I started work on this collection, I have come to know a lot of people who can help me get hold of things like books, objects, photographs, postcards, and which I can find on eBay or Delcampe.”

    Some of the objects exhibited by our interlocutor come all the way from Argentina, in the form of postcards sent from Herculane and dating from the spa’s heyday. Iacob Sârbu described to us some of the more special postcards from his collection, starting with the oldest one, dated July 7, 1894:

    “This postcard is vertical. In the top part of the postcard there is an image of the Ghizel Park, as it was called back then, today the Central Park, flanked by the two hotels, which at that time during the imperial period, were called Franz Joseph and Rudolph. Each postcard has a story, each has something special. For example it is printed on silk and the silk is glued to cardboard. This postcard is from 1899, if you put a light source behind it, all the windows of the buildings appear lit up. The same type of postcards can be found for other places, such as Vatra Dornei, Lipova, Buziaș and Băile Felix. This one here makes fun of how busy the resort is and this one shows a man who comes with a lot of money to Herculane and goes home bankrupt.”

    Vertical panoramic postcards, 54 cm long, kept in a frame by those who received them, an advertisement page from the Curierul Banatului newspaper, dated 31st December 1934, chromolithographs with Băile Herculane from 1840, 1842 and 1860 are also part of the collection, which will soon also be available to see online.

  • Culture and Cultures

    Culture and Cultures

    The Designers, Thinkers, Makers Association has created a program labelled “Culture and Cultures”. Its eventual aim is to highlight Romania’s cultural heritage. The program also seeks to revitalize Romanian culture, with special emphasis on promoting UNESCO sites and the local values, more often than not less well-known to the public.

    Initial steps have already been taken, to that effect, with the completion of the audio tour of Biertan.

    Architect Alexandra Mihailiciuc is the Association’s cultural programs coordinator Here she is, telling us where they started from and what the stages of the programs were.

    “This program, “Culture and Cultures”, we thought it out as some sort of cultural revitalizatio we have built in a bid to protect and capitalize on the values of Romania’s cultural heritage. It somehow speaks about culture, about the various ethnic cultures, but also about culture in its basic accepting, connected to the ground, that is about the territories around the house, the manor house, the village.

    Which means it’s equally about the care for our nearest but also about the care for the farthest, since they are tied by an umbilical cord. And the ultimate purpose of such a program, actually, is to use as many means as possible for the creation of a good climate, good for culture, and, at long last, good for the quality of life. Besides, one of the key components of this program is the education for heritage. We realized it matters for al social layers and for all ages.

    And I won’ t be mincing my words, saying that from our point of view, it is one of Romanian society’s emergencies. We see, around us, how much is being destroyed, how little the communities take responsibility for the heritage, how little it is loved and understood and how little it is capitalized on.

    This program has several cultural projects. The project we’ve carried this year, “Heritage Lab. Connecting the Dots”, is just one of the projects of this programs, which also has three streams: education, research and design.

    Architect Alexandra Mihailiciuc, the Designers Thinkers Makers Association’s cultural programs coordinator also gave us details on their work:

    “This year we have sought to think out the program which special emphasis laid on the cultural heritage of Transylvania’s Hills, especially of the UNESCO village of Biertan and the village of Chirpar, in a bid to highlight this valuable cultural heritage of the region and get the lay public acquainted with all that is unknown yet valuable, so, in a way, with everything that somehow exists yet it is not capitalized on. And we thought it would be better to begin with a UNESCO site, since UNESCO sites are the spearhead of world heritage, humankind’s most cherished treasures. And yet, with us, in our country, they haven’t just as yet been appropriated by the collective mindset. “

    A summer school followed, themed “Heritage Lab”, a school with a theoretical component whereby students surveyed the UNESCO sites, wrote about them, made their drawings, created interpretation materials, yet the school had a practical component as well, that of working with their own hands, where they learned how the traditional historical plastering is made, with lime, with sand, how the correct brick-based masonry is being made, architecture students needing these labs, these construction sites, so they can be prepared for their professional future.

    Alexandra Mihailiciuc once again:

    “ We have created two audio tours for the Biertan site and the village of Chirpar, bi-lingual, Romanian and English, and here we are, we even succeeded to launch the digital tour of UNESCO Biertan’s fortified church, with a program which, I believe, is multifarious, including the presentation of the project, going through the stations for the area’s relevant projects, but also an organ concert.

    The space was flooded by Transylvanian music of various timeframes, belonging to the Romantic period, somehow in tune with the age of the organ in the fortified church. But the novelty of it all was the fact that that organ concert actually turned into a musical workshop or into a musical living room, just like that, revolving around the organ, where we’ve been explained the working system and where little sound incursions have been performed, into the multiple qualities of this instrument.

    Those who came could go through the rest of the stations scattered all around the village, since that’s exactly the underlying idea, for us to invite tourists to discover not only the fortified church, but also everything around it, considering Culture and Cultures.

    And that is how they can take the journey, visiting one station after the next, about UNESCO and the sister churches about the village apothecary, which seems to be the first such store in rural Transylvania, about customs and traditions, about the multiculturalism of the place, about decorations, about, why not, Via Transilvanica cutting through the centre of the village. “

    Then an exhibition follows, about the precious Chirpar ceramics, the Stork Culture Workshops in Bucharest, a string of exhibitions, of film screening evenings, of architecture and craftsmanship and of workshops, also related to cultural heritage.