It is a very young association, but it already has a lot of work to show and it has even left physical marks in the city of Faro.
A Faro 1540 – Association for the Defense and Promotion of the Environmental and Cultural Heritage of Faro It was born in 2009 and has been active since then, with the short film festival Farcume and the very recent contest «Estamos na Baixa!», to encourage entrepreneurship in the prime area of the city, as the main features of the curriculum.
One of the big bets of Faro 1540 has been the rehabilitation of the heritage of Faro and he gave the example of what he stands for. The association recovered the building that serves as its headquarters, an "almost centenary" house in downtown Faro, with an intervention very based on volunteering and respecting the building's identity.
In doing so, it not only gained a space to promote activities, it also managed to launch the “little bug” of rehabilitation in the vicinity of the headquarters, said association leaders Bruno Lage and Nuno Antunes.
The president and vice president of Faro 1540 were the guests of the radio program “Impressions”, hosted by the Sul Informação and by Rádio Universitária do Algarve Rua FM. The association's genesis, the activities it promotes and its objectives were in focus, in a conversation that is available on a podcast on the RUA FM website.
"Last year the opportunity arose to rent a house and try to set an example of what we understand by urban rehabilitation", explained Nuno Antunes. “We went around there arranging and painting. Of course, we hired masons to carry out the most complicated interventions, but we did the rest, the electrical installation» and other works, he said.
«The house, a dwelling, was in a very serious state of degradation. We rehabilitated, in our view, correctly. For example, we recovered the old tile, we didn't use the more modern one. We used sustainable materials, we used traditional lime in the street and inside we used environmentally friendly paints», described Bruno Lage.
In all, «about 30 volunteers» were involved. The space was officially opened last December, after several months of work. But in August 2012 it hosted its first big event, the «Manga and Comics Event of the Algarve», promoted by the Algarve Geeks Association.
The rehabilitative attitude of Faro 1540 provoked an unexpected reaction from neighbors. “The curious thing is that, because we took the house, the neighbors next door also had the sensitivity to rehabilitate their houses. I think this is an excellent example of how rehabilitation can work in a city», said Nuno Antunes.
“Neighbors soon gained pride in valuing their homes. The one on the side immediately ordered it to be whitewashed, it was all fixed up. Another one from the front did the same and one further up the street also immediately rehabilitated it», reinforced Bruno Lage.
Urban rehabilitation can be more than restoring buildings
Revitalizing the old towns is not just about restoring buildings. Equally or more important is that they have life and are used, for housing or for business.
This is the logic behind the contest «We are on the Low!», that Faro 1540 promoted in collaboration with the Chamber of Faro and the association of Baixa de Faro.
In the contest, five business ideas were chosen, three of which are already a reality. The commercial initiatives chosen benefited from friendly rents “which are up to 40 percent cheaper” than the original asking price, a crucial help in launching the business.
As Bruno Lage highlighted, despite the potential benefits of the initiative, it had “zero cost”, taking away “the time” invested in it by the association's members. "Perhaps, if it had been another entity to do it, it would have cost a few thousand euros," he said.
Of the 23 applications submitted, 10 ideas were selected, among which five were chosen, of which three have already opened: the stores «Peppy» (Children's articles), «Amor Meu» (exclusive handicraft items) and «Paper Sardine» (crafts, art and fair trade).
"There is a lack of a handcrafted jewelry store and another music store, the "Rock Music Shop", which will open in the coming weeks", revealed Bruno Lage.
Farcume reinforces the international component in the third edition
A Faro 1540 is also responsible for the Short Film Festival of Faro «Facume», an initiative that goes to the 2013rd edition in 3 and which is gaining increasing international prominence.
This year, at a time when the period for the acceptance of works is still open (ends in June), “more than 30 proposals” have already reached the hands of the association, coming from different parts of the world. «We are receiving works from Brazil, in force, Cape Verde, Angola and Spain», revealed Nuno Antunes.
«We are also having a very strong participation here in Portugal. We are trying to promote our city, Ria, all the potential that is talked about», he added. To participate, all you have to do is have ideas, execute them and send them to the Faro 1540, following the competition rules, available on the association's website.
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