ECOPIERRE: Dry Stone and Resilience in the Greater Region

The ECOPIERRE project (2025–2027), officially entitled “Dry Stone and Resilience in the Greater Region. A Competence Center to Support an Innovative Sector for Sustainable and Circular Construction,” brings together partners from Wallonia, Luxembourg, and France under the Interreg 6-FEDER program. It addresses both the need to preserve traditional craftsmanship and the drive toward more environmentally friendly building methods.

• The Réseau belge de la pierre sèche (RBPS), established in 2023, leads the project in cooperation with other stakeholders to promote and structure the dry-stone sector in the Greater Region.

• Project activities focus on training and professionalizing masons and related professionals (landscapers, design offices, quarry operators, etc.), creating a competence center dedicated to dry-stone building, and conducting extensive communication and awareness-raising efforts across borders.

• Planned actions include technical and qualifying courses, demonstration worksites, introductory workshops, studies on the stability and durability of dry-stone walls, and a comprehensive program to promote the use of stone (both local and reclaimed).

• The central goal is to enhance the visibility and recognition of the dry-stone method, highlighting its environmental advantages (low-energy construction, managed ecological impact, local/recycled stone usage) and its role in landscape preservation.