# Rural heritage · Tierra y Tradición

URL: https://tierraytradicion.org/en/heritage/

# Rural _heritage_

We identify, preserve, restore and share the traditional buildings of our landscape.

 ![MAPA performing in the shadow of the dry-stone cuco](/_astro/mapa-la-felipa-10.B00FFPZ__1AdA55.webp)

Photo: DABO Comunicación

In brief

Tierra y Tradición works for the rural heritage of La Felipa and its region: dry-stone buildings such as cucos, vernacular architecture and the elements of the cultural landscape. It documents, restores —it is rebuilding a cuco summer by summer— and shares this legacy.

## Dry stone

Building without mortar is one of the oldest construction techniques in the Mediterranean. In La Mancha it produced cucos, chozos and stone piles, raised with the stones cleared from ploughed fields.

## What we do

-   **Inventory**: locate and document the cucos of the region.
-   **Restore**: recover endangered structures using the traditional technique.
-   **Share**: walks, talks and gatherings so heritage is known and cared for.

## Understanding a cuco

1.  ( 01 )
    
    ### [Cuco](/en/glossary/#cuco)
    
    Dry-stone hut with a round or square plan and a corbelled dome, built in La Mancha as a shelter for shepherds and farmers.
    
2.  ( 02 )
    
    ### [Corbelled dome](/en/glossary/#falsa-cupula)
    
    Roof closed by stepping each course of stone slightly inward over the one below until they meet at the top.
    
3.  ( 03 )
    
    ### [Dry stone](/en/glossary/#piedra-seca)
    
    Building technique that fits stones together without mortar, recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage.
    

[Follow the cuco rebuild](/en/heritage/the-cuco-of-la-felipa/)

## Frequently asked questions

What is a cuco?

A dry-stone shelter with a round or square plan and a corbelled dome, built without mortar by shepherds and farmers of La Mancha using stones cleared from the fields.