The Querença Project will receive support from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, as part of its Environment Program.
The University of Algarve, one of the promoters of this project, emphasizes, on its Facebook page, that «this support is an honor and a privilege and we thank you for the trust placed in this initiative of ours».
The Manuel Viegas Guerreiro Foundation, in partnership with the University of Algarve, launched the «Querença Project» to give a new economic dynamic to the interior of the municipality of Loulé, with a special focus on the parish that gives its name to the initiative.
At the same time, it promoted the settlement of the nine young graduates who are linked to the project in the village, a condition for their hiring.
The « Querença Project » intends, from the outset, to counteract the trend of abandoning the rural space, which in recent decades has left the interior with less and less population.
“There are a number of territories there that are desertified, but that have resources. On the other hand, we have a university in the region that produces many graduates every year, who do not really know what to do with their qualifications», illustrated project coordinator João Ministro.
And it is also on qualification that this project is based. The « Querença Project » is run by a multidisciplinary team composed of graduates in areas ranging from Agronomy and Food Engineering to marketing and management, passing through landscape architecture. As for its coordinator, it is enough to remember that he was the main responsible for the first phase of the Via Algarviana project, promoted by the Almargem association.
“The idea is simple. We created a mission team, because this is a mission, and we placed it in a territory, the parish of Querença. For nine months, these young people will have to develop projects that are viable from an economic point of view, at the end of the process», explained João Ministro.
"Even if some of them do not settle here, or if some projects are not yet at the point of moving towards a company, there is already a base to work on," he added.
The « Querença Project » team is also supporting existing companies. «A Farrobinha», producer of liqueurs and jams, among other traditional products, is a good example. In addition to supporting modernization and management, the Manuel Viegas Guerreiro Foundation's initiative will allow the company to create a new image and for its products to have a renewed, original and more appealing design.
Recently, the Foundation also signed a protocol with CCDRA, in order to become responsible for the TASA Project (Technologias Ancestralis Soluções Atual), to promote the establishment of a company with the participation of Algarve artisans and designers linked to this project.
On Sunday, December 18, the village will host the 3rd edition of the Mercado de Querença. Going to the vegetable garden to pick up the freshest cabbage, to accompany the cod in the Christmas Eve soup or to learn a thousand and one ways to cook this cabbage are two of the proposals for visitors to the Market, which also includes a concert and a cultural tour.
In addition to the two main partners, the «Querença Project» has the support of the Loulé Council, the Local Parish Council and the Employment Institute.
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