It was a class, but very different from the normal ones. About two dozen students from the D. Paio Peres Correia school, in Tavira, went up the mountain to visit the small town of Diogo Dias, near Martim Longo, in the Alcoutim municipality, talk to local producers and better understand what it is, after all, the Mediterranean Diet.
An outing to the countryside, as much of the time was spent running and playing in the olive grove of Valter Luz, the host farmer, and tasting some mountain delicacies, such as freshly baked bread - with or without chorizo - , tibornas with the house oil and back, a typical cake from the Algarve countryside. There were also honey and hives.
“Teaching makes no sense if it is not related to what actually exists. And there's a lot more outside the school than inside. At school, we can always show videos, have a class with some more interest, but it always ends up being tiring. This, when we are talking about something that is right next door», he told the Sul Informação José Filipe, professor of Natural Sciences at the Tavirense school.
Thus, and taking advantage of the new legislation on curriculum articulation and flexibility, this teacher launched the project “Tavira, Ecology and Cultures”, with the class that was in Diogo Dias and three others.
All so that «the science program was given with the local physical reality». In this way, the four classes of the Dom Paio Peres Correia school have already gone “for a walk in the Ria Formosa and Mata da Conceição, to see the intertidal fauna [between tides] and to take a pedestrian route in the Serra.
“This year, taking advantage of the Mediterranean Diet – and food being an important part of our program – we decided to do a cross. Last year we also made a vegetable garden. This is much more for them than books and notes», believes José Filipe.
During the visit to the small village in the parish of Martim Longo, the Tavirense teacher had the help of Associação In Loco, which made known what the Mediterranean Diet is, and three local producers, the host Valter Luz, the multifaceted Celso Teixeira and the beekeeper Joaquim Luís. The councilor of the Municipality of Alcoutim José Galrito was also present and spoke a little about the council.
"The work we have been developing in recent years is trying to reach various target audiences, namely children, to explain to them what this lifestyle called the Mediterranean Diet is," he explained to Sul Informação Arlete Rodrigues, from Associação In Loco.
And it soon becomes clear that this is an important task, as many children thought that this intangible heritage recognized by UNESCO was a method “to degrease”, in other words, to lose weight.
"It is important to have more and more this type of activities, in which children come to the countryside, to find out where the oil, olives, honey, bread and everything that was shown here comes from today," he added.
An opinion shared by Valter Luz, owner of Luzagro, a company that operates a vast olive grove for the production of table olives and oil.
«Luzagro proposed to the Dom Paio Peres school to let the kids know where the bread comes from, where the oil comes from, the honey and how it is obtained, what pollen is and to promote a social culture that is closer to all. You can see by the reaction of the kids, in the surprise of touching a rock rose and touching the earth, which they like», said Valter Luz.
«In a city, letting a child play alone in the street can be seen, nowadays, as an act of irresponsibility. Not here. They feel safe, with life and other dynamics and come home with an appetite and will to live», he believes.
On this trip, and as it was an outing in the scope of the natural sciences discipline, students from the school of Tavira got to know an exploration that used very modern techniques, to ensure that the flavors of its products are genuine.
Is that all the olive trees that were planted in the lands of Valter Luz – and there are thousands – were cloned from a centenary tree existing in Diogo Dias, whose mançanilha olive was locally recognized for its quality..
Today, in addition to selling olives, this businessman bet on the production of olive oil and has already created his own brand, “Esquisito”, with the ambition of exporting a large part of the production.
"We want to make this area known, its potential and that it is possible to believe that intelligent and profitable agriculture can be done here", he told the Sul Informação the young algarvian farmer.
“It takes a lot of resilience, because the terrain here is hard to work. But, on the other hand, the product is of excellent quality», he believes.
Maybe that's why Celso Teixeira is a producer who does “a little bit of everything (laughs)”, from agriculture to beekeeping, passing through the raising of sheep.
“I think it is increasingly important for children to understand where the products they find in the supermarket come from and how they are produced. It makes perfect sense for the children and for us, producers», he considered.
Joaquim Luís showed the children how to collect pollen in its pure state to sell. This product can be consumed directly or used as a sweetener and has associated «several advantages» in terms of health. "It's great for the immune system, kidneys and prostate problems."
Also healthy were the many runs through the hills where Valter Luz's olive trees are planted and the many games old-fashioned. And, although there was no lack of food to avoid weaknesses – on the contrary, the table was always plentiful and appealing – it is almost certain that at night, when they arrived home, these Tavirense children did not lack appetite.
Photos: Hugo Rodrigues|Sul Informação
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