It is a document of claim, which demands an Algarve linked to its typical products, its traditions and respectful of its territory. But the Manifest of the Three Delights it is, above all, «a challenge to reflection on the future of the Algarve, involving regional entities».
This manifesto was released last Saturday, during a forum around Sequeiro's Traditional Orchard, held in Tavira Castle. The initiative brought together "more than fifty people", including Algarve producers, which made it possible to understand "the difficulties and problems" faced by those involved in production.
"Right now, the manifest is now online, in the form of a petition, which turns out to be the easiest way to subscribe to it», he revealed to the Sul Informação landscape architect Gonçalo Duarte Gomes, who moderated Saturday's forum.
The name of the document refers to the typical Algarve sweet made with fig, carob and almonds, three of the most emblematic products in the region. And it is from this trio of delights that a demanding text comes out, which addresses many other issues, from territorial planning, to the regional economy, passing through clean energy and Algarve culture.
The authors of the manifesto claim to strive for «a whole, complete, solidary and happy Algarve, an Algarve rediscovered in contemporaneity and recognizable in its unique matrix of Mediterranean Atlanticism and a resilient, perennial Algarve, capable of facing the challenges that the future holds».
Bearing this in mind, they demand that regional entities mandated to defend the Algarve's cultural and environmental values "awake from the lethargy in which they find themselves" and take a "position in relation to the processes of landscape and cultural mischaracterization and the depletion of natural resources and values that have been taking place in the areas of urbanism, agriculture and tourism».
Other demands contained in this manifesto are the creation of landscape maps for the Algarve, territorial planning measures that encourage the repopulation of the interior, a «fairer regional economy», the protection of the Mediterranean diet, an energy model Verde and the promotion of the Algarve culture.
The manifesto – as its name indicates – also wants the dry land to be the “Algarvian matrix”, to the detriment of products such as avocados or raspberries produced in greenhouses throughout the region.
«If the sweet of the three delights exchanges fig, carob and almond for avocado, mango and raspberry, perhaps it will still be delicious. But it will no longer be the Algarve», reads the manifesto.
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