Last week families and institutions in Albufeira received lots in the Community Garden of Alpouvar, where they will be able to start cultivating their own vegetables.
This measure will directly benefit around 130 people, in addition to those it will support through social institutions that also received plots.
«The vegetable garden has a total area of 2.450 square meters for cultivation, spread over 49 plots, of 50 square meters each», according to the City Council of Albufeira.
On December 7th, 40 plots were handed over to families, two plots to social entities and one plot to a private person referred to by the municipality's social services, with another six being “reserved for future projects of a social nature or people in need”.
The idea of the municipality when distributing these plots is to allow residents to "cultivate their own vegetables, vegetables, cereals, aromatic or medicinal herbs, among other vegetables", and thus provide "the consumption of healthy food, cultivated by themselves , which is also a way of supporting the family budget».
"The products are for their own consumption and the producers will be provided with water, a place to store the tools and a shared composter", he added.
The beneficiaries received from the hands of José Carlos Rolo, president of the Chamber, the keys to the access gate to the garden and to the storage of tools, as well as a bag containing a pair of gloves, a hat, a keyring ribbon, a copy regulation of the functioning of the gardens and information about the composting process, the planting of crops according to the time of year and how to make the intercropping of different plants.
"We are aware of the importance of creating agricultural land pockets in the municipality's urban area, not only because of the role they play in the family economy, especially in this period of difficulties caused by the pandemic, but also in terms of health and food quality – one of the requirements of the project is precisely the prohibition of using chemical fertilizers in the production of crops – but also as a recreational, recreational and therapeutic resource that enhances the spirit of community and sharing among the gardeners», stated José Carlos Rolo.
The mayor referred that community gardens are spaces that are part of the ecological structure of the council, "with relevant importance in terms of maintaining soil quality and preserving biodiversity."
"I believe [that the project] will be a success and that in the future it can be extended and replicated in other areas of the county", he concluded.
This municipal initiative also has a strong educational component, with information and awareness actions being planned for garden users, namely in the area of soil preparation and sowing, natural methods of controlling weeds and pests, rotation and intercropping, composting and organic farming.
«Users of the Community Garden at Quinta de Alpouvar will be constantly monitored by the technical team of the Municipality responsible for the project, and next Saturday they will be at the site to answer questions and help those who are taking the first steps in this adventure» , concluded the Council of Albufeira.
Photos: Albufeira Chamber
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