ABSTRACT
This chapter explores ways of preserving and presenting the lost cultural heritage values of the Vlach minority in the Upper Vjosa Valley, southeast Albania. The Vlachs are a cultural and ethnolinguistic group, historically distinguished by their ways of living, based primarily on long-distance seasonal transhumance. The Vjosa Valley was one of the annual transit routes of the Vlach nomadic movements from winter to summer pasture settlements. For many Vlachs, the nomadic way of life persisted until the end of the 1950s, when they settled permanently in the territory. The Vlach historical trajectory was hardly an easy one, but they managed to preserve distinct aspects of their culture, which unfortunately in more recent years are facing an imminent risk of extinction. This threat drew attention towards capturing the last surviving memories of those Vlachs who once conducted a transhumant way of life. By applying a ground-up approach, a Vlach authentic dwelling was constructed, aiding in the recreation, interpretation and communication of a symbolic aspect of the Vlach past. Equally, memories were used to record and map the nomadic routes, resulting in the preservation and visualization of the historic practice of transhumance.
