The infrastructure office of the Formentera Council reports that this week work will begin to restore and reshape la Mola's lighthouse as a cultural venue accessible to the public. The €796,549.64 initiative will been overseen by Tragsa.

The nine-month project will entail reforms of the lighthouse's ground floor and entrance, part of an effort to preserve the monument of local heritage and transform it into a vehicle for culture.

In addition to an interpretative centre that will cover island lighthouses such as la Mola's, the rebuilt ground floor will house a museographic collection on local maritime heritage and a multipurpose space for cultural events like exhibitions, concerts, conferences, recitals and stage productions.

The lighthouse will also feature a welcome area, toilets, storage spaces and, at its entrance, a patio for open-air events both cultural and educational in nature. Reforms are possible thanks to an easement agreement between the administration and the Balearic port authority.

The Formentera Council's Office of Social Welfare reports that the Formentera Day Centre will host Tramuntana VI, a course on care for dependent individuals in social institutions. Chosen by eight students, explained department head Vanessa Parellada, this course of study can ultimately lead to accreditation to enable its holder to work in the island's future residence”.

Students on this path learn how to care for dependent people within the institutions where they are employed, applying strategies to maintain and enhance personal autonomy and care-recipients' ability to relate to their surroundings.

The course ran from March and December. It will finish tomorrow. The training programme consisted of 370 hours of in-class learning and 1,422 hours of paid work practice, for which the students received a monthly stipend of roughly €1,000. Participants also paid into social security during training.

The project, valued at €134,295, was paid for with €128,580 and €11,120 in funding from the job service of the Balearic Islands (SOIB) and the Formentera Council. The interns were asked to work in the Day Centre and the island's home assistance initiative and received guidance from an individual who filled a joint charge as docent and course director.

Additional training
More instruction for carers of dependent individuals within social institutions is included in SOIB's programme for the unemployed. Nine islanders are taking part in the intensive course, which entails 370 hours of in-class learning and 80 hours of work practice and concludes in February or March. That SOIB-funded initiative is valued at €24,600. Students who successfully complete the programme will be accredited to provide care in the social sector. The only difference between the two courses is their length: one runs three months and the other, ten. Plus, students of the second course perform only the required hours of work practice, hence, there is no compensation.

All those interested in receiving training as a caregiver in the social sector should visit the Office of Social Welfare for details on future training programmes. In fact another course —Tramuntana VII— is already in the works and on track for a February or March start. Besides an age restriction —participation will be limited to students over 30— the characteristics of the course are the same. Ten paid spots will be offered. That programme's price tag is €120,510, paid for by SOIB (€115,319) and the Council (€5,191.20).