Challenges and opportunities in restoration work management in cultural heritage. The case of the churches of san manuel colohete and san sebastiÁn (Honduras)

Abstract

The restoration work management in cultural heritage presents lots of difficulties according to the context where it takes place. Some of them are the precarious communication network and civil infrastructures, the absence of specialised local labour or sensitized with cultural heritage whom work with or the need to import suitable materials to develop the project correctly. In the case that arises, the churches of San Manuel de Colohete and San Sebastian (Honduras) converge, among others, all of these difficulties involve the heritage management directly. Besides, the planned work budget is usually reduced and needs the implication of all the actors involved in the project. Therefore, the objective of this work is to identify the difficulties around the development of these restoration works and possible solutions that allow them to achieve the purpose planned. The methodology applied for this article is based on the practical experience and the comparative analysis of cases in similar situations. All of it, in a broad context of citizen participation, in international cooperation actions which takes place in remote and inhospitable geographical areas, where any action is complex. The results refer to the way to solve problems that arise and to the solutions, sometimes creative, which finally make possible the cultural heritage restoration.