Report

To find out more about the ‘Transition Movement’ in Beja, ECO123 interviewed the facilitator Pedro Franco. An agricultural engineer by profession, he does consultancy work in agricultural projects and permaculture design at the ‘Centre of Excellence for the Enhancement of Mediterranean Resources’(1). The movement in Beja is at an embryonic stage: it has 29 members and aims to make transition happen by adopting a “slowly but surely” approach. ECO123: What is the ‘Transition Movement’? Pedro Franco: Above all, it’s a civic, civil and apolitical movement. It is a group of people who are aware of a situation in the near …

Herdade de Carvalhoso There are ever more cases of business success for firms linked to the organic food sector but Herdade de Carvalhoso clearly represents a unique case within the Portuguese context. Located in Ciborro, just outside Montemor-O-Novo, in the Alentejo, a region historically considered the grain basket of Portugal, Herdade de Carvalhoso, founded in the 1970s, started out dedicated only to the production of cereals, primarily maize and rice. In the 1980s, particularly following Portuguese membership of the then European Economic Community, funds became available for investing in agriculture. This fact, associated with a high level of cereal production …

Once upon a time, there were two royal children who were brought up by two Bonelli’s eagles. On 15th and 18th March 2013, they slipped out of their two eggs that had been laid, carefully hidden away in a safe nest made of twigs and leaves high up in a pine tree deep in the forest. The queen had sat on the eggs for 42 days until they hatched. Meanwhile, the king of all the birds flew in circles, slowly using the good thermals to work his way upwards with his 175 cm wide wings to lofty heights to get …

Already on the Alfa Pendular service. With a CO2 emission of but four kilograms, the journalist leaves the Portuguese south behind to speed north at 220 km and recalls his immediate past. A few days ago, he’d taken to his wardrobe in order to dig out his old, best suit to check that it would stand up to the needs of this mission. He needed a suit in tip-top condition and that also fitted him well as he was due to play the role of a wealthy investor. A test but the means by which he hoped to open the …

Hiking signifies a return to our roots, to our innate speed, and to an original form of life. It will repeatedly remind us that it is only for a short time that we are guests on this planet, which we have subdued. Wouldn’t we do better to see ourselves just as part of the whole: with nature, the forests, the animals, with all our earth’s resources? We also go walking to see with our own eyes how the countryside develops from year to year. When we go walking, our thoughts become sharper. All our senses are awake and feel, see, …

At present, there is a population of 6,045 living in an area of 396 square kilometres, surrounded by hills and forests. 76% of these are eucalyptus plantations. During the most recent forest fires in 2003, 317 square kilometres of forest burned in ten days, i.e. 80% of the municipality. A trauma that still lives on today because the fire brigade were barely able to put the fires out. Twelve years before, in 1991, fires raged in Monchique for a week. Again and again, the upland forests catch fire and destroy the small-scale farming livelihoods of the inhabitants even more. And …

From people to people In the 1960s, New York had Andy Warhol’s Factory, of which John Cale said “every day something new”. This description applies perfectly to the LX Factory in Lisbon, which is similar in every way to a living organism. In the 43,000m² of this “Creative Island”, there are more than 200 companies where some 1,500 people work. One of the places that best represents the spirit of the LX Factory is CoWork, a working space shared by independent professionals. But it is practically impossible not to visit every corner of the place, driven in equal measure by …

Organic agriculture is not a recent phenomenon and proof of this is that Agrobio, the Portuguese Organic Agriculture Association, has been running for 28 years. According to its president, Jaime Ferreira, the number of people involved in this field has increased, but the total is small. More and more consumers are interested but they have difficulty finding the products easily. The Algarve has some 3,000 hectares of land certificated for organic farming, with vegetables, fruit and some vineyards close to the coast accounting for quite a small share as compared with pasture and olive groves in the uplands of the …

 People. Planet. Profit. New bankers are what the country needs. We approach the topic of MONEY from the air. As we sit in the climate killer, well aware that each of us is burdening the atmosphere with a further 1.2 tonnes of CO₂ for this edition, the Airbus 320 from Lisbon prepares to land in Berlin. In its luggage, the magazine ECO123 has an invitation to the annual meeting of the GABV – the Global Alliance for Banking on Values. We want to find out how sustainable bankers aim to change the global economy for the better. Of course, two …

A holistic view of economics, which puts it in its rightful place, in the service of people with skilful hands, who are guarantors of expertise and quality, working in partnership with nature in order to offer people unique experiences, appears to be a successful way of boosting regional production. As AMO – Produto Local can attest. Regional products in lotion containers? Passers-by cannot fail to notice the black packaging with its modern design bearing the brand-name AMO, where no detail is left to chance. Even if these do not go unnoticed and remind one of lotion pots, what they contain …