Sectors	Regional and territorial cooperation
EU Acquis Chapters	Other issues
EU funds	215 511 €
Implementation period	2011 - 2024
Categories	Civil society;  Climate action ;  Digital ;  Gender (Mouse hover to see significance)

Industry of stone processing and exploitation makes significant ratio in total economy in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Most of the businesses for exploitation and processing are concentrated in Herzegovina and Dalmatia as these geographic regions make joint geological area of similar geology characteristics rich with natural resources like stone and water. Regional Operational Programmes of all Dalmatian Counties and Municipal Strategic Development Plans in Herzegovina counties recognize opportunity for economy growth in strengthening sector of stone processing and exploitation. Tradition of building in stone has been decreasing, especially from 70-es of the last century onwards and decreased demand of the civil engineering for experienced stonemasons has resulted with less interest of youth for traditional high school education programmes like stonemasonry. Consequently, traditional stonemasonry high school programmes have been closed for the lack of interest of students. Instead, stone processing and exploitation through school programmes was focused on industrial processing and remained only as part of the curriculums of the civil engineering schools. Lately, stone is again used as more appreciated material in constructions of objects, restoration works, but also in building new objects in traditional way. Demand for skilled and educated stonemasons is very high also due to large investments in infrastructure, supporting stone walls, and expansion of urban hamlets built with more traditional details nowadays. The project “Stone” plans to contribute to development of the economy in the cross-border area of Herzegovina and Dalmatia through promotion and development of entrepreneurship in the sector of stone processing and exploitation. Through carefully designed activities, the project strives to popularize the stone processing and traditional stonemasonry as profitable economic activity; to strengthen networks of economic cooperation between entrepreneurs in target area, to improve their potentials for growth and competitiveness on the market; to enhance the capacities and accessibility of the education system in the targeted area as grounds for development of the labour force skills in stone processing able to respond to the market demand.

Through formalised partnership set on this project, detailed analysis in the sector was performed bringing recommendations for further actions. These recommendations included the models of cooperation for entrepreneurs; implementation of new high school curriculum to respond to the labour market demand; adjustments and improvement of the legislation for stone exploitation and review of the application of the preservation measures in abandoned and closed stone mines. The project initiated cross-border co-operation in creation of vocational education and high school curriculum for stonemasonry. A curriculum was developed for the school in Posusje and is used from the school year starting in September 2012, after it had been adopted by the relevant West-Herzegovina Cantonal Ministry. Additionally, high school from Jablanica, BiH benefited through the process of adjusting and advancing their existing curriculum based on exchanged experience with school staff from Pučišća in Croatia. Two stonemasonry schools were equipped adequately to be able to improve their practical work for students on new technologies (Pušišća) and to be able to initiate completely new curricula (Posušje school introducing new programme). The project achieved a high level of co-operation among the economic actors. It improved their understanding and responded to their recognized needs for business cooperation and clustering, including cross-border cluster. Human resources capacities in sector have been capacitated through series of targeted workshops and specialized education. Finally, Croatian and BiH companies were promoted at an International Fair which resulted in increased demand and recognition of need to extend the co-operation in order to reach competitiveness on domestic and international market.