Portugal’s traditional cobblestone pavements, a distinctive feature of the streets of several cities, are under threat as young people spurn the old craft due to low salaries.
Crafted by using small black and white stones that are designed into geometric shapes, these sidewalks date back to the 15th century. Since then it has been exported to Portuguese colonies, from Rio de Janeiro to Macau.
Jorge Duarte, a teacher at the Escola dos Calceteiros, the only school dedicated to the craft in Lisbon, said in an interview to Reuters he is worried the tradition will fade out if salaries are not raised. “I love what I do, it’s a beautiful profession and people don’t know how hard it is,” Duarte said. “Those in power still have time to save it but, if they keep on ignoring it, it’s over.”
As it is a hard profession, attracting youth to the trade can be difficult, as young people prefer corporate jobs. Most pavers in Lisbon earn the minimum wage of 580 euros a month. In 300 hundred years, the amount of pavers went from 400 to just 10 left in Lisbon.
Meanwhile, as Lisbon becomes an increasingly popular tourist destination, its artistic cobblestones are a special feature.
Political action is demanded by historians and activists to solve this issue.
