TECHNICAL DATA Property: Proactivetur Texts: João Ministro, Bruno Rodrigues, Graça Palma and Estelle Herdeiro Photography: Bruno Rodrigues Design: Alexandra dos Santos
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i n d e x
04-05
Editorial
06-07
Proactivetur and Covid-19
08-09
Tour Operation
10-21
News
42-43
22-41
QRER Cooperative
Our Responsibility
48-63
TASA
64-65
Snippets
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editorial 2
020 will stay etched in everyone’s memory for all the worst reasons. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic affected millions of people across the globe causing (and it still is causing) thousands of deaths.
impact on tourism, to which we have not been immune. This was a year to forget, but not to ignore. COVID-19 came as a wake-up call about how we relate to nature. A warning with dramatic effects that should mobilise us towards far-reaching changes in our behaviour as a company operating within the territory.
Border controls, safety and health prevention lockdowns, as well as the huge fear of flying and travelling had a massive
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authenticity will be an increasingly desired mark of differentiation...
At Proactivetur we did not remain indif-
moving towards becoming more respons-
ferent. On our micro scale, we know that
ible. Being in contact with natural spaces
there will be adjustments to be made -
will gain fresh impetus, the demand for
particularly for tourists who want to visit
safe and healthy environments will grow
us, but also for those with whom we have
and authenticity will be an increasingly de-
enjoyed a partnership for many years.
sired mark of differentiation. These are the
Those who live in the Algarve’s hinterlands
aspects with which we have built our
and who need our support to keep on
activity since day one and which we will
working, and thus continue to preserve a
now step up. Because we believe in this
rural way of living that is essential to life in
path and because it is part of our mission.
those parts of the region. 2021 will be the start of the recovery. Fortunately, we know just how resilient
We will be here. With you, we hope!
tourism is and today, more than ever, it is
João Ministro
5 Photo: Petr Ganaj in Pexels
PROACTIVETUR AND COVID-19 The impact of COVID-19 on the tourism industry has been devastating. People working in this field are trying to adapt as best they can to ensure travellers’ safety and trust. Hygiene and sanitary prevention issues have never been more on the agenda and uncertainty about dealing with reservations is now, for the time being, a given. On the other hand, visitors' motivations are also under review, in the sure knowledge of providing them with quality tourism experiences and high levels of personal comfort. These concerns permeate our every action and so we have been working to provide the best conditions of safety and comfort for our customers. So, what have we done exactly?
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We have drawn up a
We have applied, both
We have reduced the number
Contingency Plan,
indoors and outdoors, all
of participants per activity
coordinated and validated by
rules of good conduct in
and suspended some
our partner responsible for
terms of hygiene and social
activities in order to minimise
Work Health and Safety, as
distancing, and we have
the risk of contagion;
per the guidelines of the
invested in better customer
Portuguese Health Authority;
communication with regard to the rules and care to adopt;
product range, avoiding
We have adopted the
indoor activities and focusing
Clean & Safe seal, and today our operations, both in our shop and in open air activities, are recognised by the Portuguese Tourist Board;
even more on outdoor We have made tourism
experiences, in nature, in
reservations as flexible as
places rarely visited by
possible, reducing as much
tourists;
as we can the time period for cancellations and reservation changes without any extra cost to the customer;
We have trained our team in
quality in the services to be provided;
And we have stepped up our commitment to responding attentively to all requests we
the Clean & Safe rules, in the certainty of instilling more
We have adjusted our
receive, from our customers We have raised awareness
and partners, in order to
and informed our local
provide high quality and
partners, whether involved in
totally safe services and
accommodation, catering or
products.
transport, about health hygiene and safety issues and the procedures to adopt in their premises;
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Tour operation
During this period, we have started
Vegan Nature Picnics
Aethnic
Abanico
Portugal
Associacion de Turismo Sostenible
Germany
Spain
We have started to work
Rita Malvar is an aficionado of healthy food. An experienced
For the first time we have
chef, above all else she is an ex-
entered into a partnership with a
pert in the art of concocting and
Spanish organisation and of
making vegan (and other) meals
course with one of the most in-
that enchant diners with their
teresting ones operating in the
appearance, diversity and quality
area of sustainable tourism.
of flavours. We have started an
Aethnic works in structuring re-
exclusive programme of in
sponsible and social tourism
natura cooking experiences with
programmes and sells them with
Rita, right in the countryside,
its partner operators. With us
where we combine short walks
they have launched a family pro-
and outdoor activities, with
gramme in the Lower Guadiana,
charming picnics honouring
focusing on the cultural and tra-
local products and seasonal in-
ditional values of the region.
gredients. These are authentic sensory experiences, providing a
aethnic.org
gastronomic grounding, with a connection to our roots, to what the earth gives us and to the impact that each mouthful has on our planet.
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together with this German operator, specialising in individual hiking trips. These are programmes for enjoying nature and close contact with the culture and communities of the region, including small gastronomic experiences, visits to craft workshops, among other local specialities.
abanico-reisen.de
collaborating with new tour operators and have prepared new experiences.
“PortugalFazbem” Tourist Itinerary Portugal In a partnership developed with the “DesignAdvisor” architecture and design collective, we have created a tourist itinerary visiting the traditional arts and crafts of the Algarve. A journey introducing people to and teaching them about our rich intangible cultural heritage and those involved in it.
designadvisor.pt
Photo: Rita Malvar
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News
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Invited by São Marcos da Serra parish council, we have helped in defining and implementing a small network of hiking routes around the village, which complement the existing routes in the area.
DA
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News
The parish of São Marcos da Serra has a number of important assets to explore, particularly when hiking. Its geography, the diversity of landscapes (e.g. mountains and dams), the traditional farming practices still present, the tangible and intangible culture, including the rich gastronomy, the nature, namely the botanical component, and the existence of many trails, are reasons enough for a project promoting hiking to prove successful.
The success achieved with the most recent hiking route implemented in São Marcos da Serra, the Percurso das Fontes (Route of the Springs), is an excellent example of the importance that hiking can have as an attraction in a region. The works undertaken have resulted in 4 route options, with distances of between 4 and 15 km, starting in the Jardim do Largo da Igreja, between the church and the parish council headquarters.
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Trail Network in São Marcos da Serra
The routes will be circular, with varying degrees of difficulty that afford everyone visiting the parish close contact with the natural and cultural heritage of this region, in which highlights include the beautiful Odelouca River and its dense riparian galleries and the Cork Oak and Holm Oak groves.
During the first months of 2021, signposting will be put up to enable those who wish to explore this territory to find their way around. Watch out for our social network posts in which we will communicate when the public presentation walk will take place and the online location where all the information about the routes will be available. .
The parish of São Marcos da Serra has a number of important assets to explore, particularly when hiking.
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News
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REVITALISING MONCHIQUE In 2020, Proactivetur was awarded the tender launched by Almargem with a view to setting up new hiking routes in Monchique following the 2018 fires.
Es�vemos vários meses no terreno a trabalhar com aquela associação e com os parceiros locais na definição de 5 novos i�nerários, de forma a fortalecer a atrac�vidade de Monchique ao nível do turismo de natureza. Deste levantamento resultou a definição de 50 kms de novos i�nerários a serem marcados em 5 percursos pedestres, nomeadamente:
dois percursos circulares em Alferce, um circular urbano/rural em Monchique e dois de ligação entre Monchique e Alferce. Durante os próximos meses deverão começar os trabalhos para colocação de sinalé�ca e serão dados a conhecer estes novos percursos. Acredite que há muito para descobrir ainda na serra de Monchique.
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News
BACK TO THE
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Photo: Nuno Loureiro
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News
Following the work carried out on the island of São Nicolau in 2019, Proactivetur has joined the consortium that was awarded the “Nature Tourism Programme: Marking Out of the Hiking Routes Network on Santiago Island, Cape Verde” tender. Photo: Nuno Loureiro
In this new project we will be involved in the cartographic, digital, photographic and physical signposting survey of hiking routes, integrating the identification of historical, ethnographic and natural heritage, existing community associations and choice of services.
Photo: Nuno Loureiro
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Back to the land of Morabeza!
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Photo: Nuno Loureiro
News
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Back to the land of Morabeza!
The physical signposting of a main hiking route on Santiago and also 27 complementary routes (totalling 300 km) is planned. In short, the aim is to create and implement the essential infrastructures – the hiking routes – for the development of Santiago as a region of excellence for hiking and nature tourism in general.
The consortium is led by Ecovisão, with partners BoG - Environmental Consulting, Lda. and Valle Flôr Consulting. This project is financed by the Tourism Fund.
saniclautrails.com
•News
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our responsib
We remain committed to contributing t development of the territory.
No. of hikers: 126
Support to regional environmental and local development organizations: 2000€
No. of meals: 2.268
It is part of our DNA and our way of working giving back to the territory, to the people who live in it, and helping to preserve the biodiversity values. This is something we will never stop doing. Here are some figures from 2020.
bility
to the sustainable
Kms: 11239 (~1.873.200 previous)
Craft products sold: about 870
Our responsibility
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Rota Vicentina Volunteer Work As Patrons of the Rota Vicentina, last June we carried out another volunteer activity to support the maintenance of this major route. Accompanied by several friends, we walked the circular route of Cordoama, on its 10 and 15 km variants, along which we improved the existing signposting. This is an activity that we try to do regularly, allowing us to stay in close contact with the place and leave our mark on the territory.
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Our responsibility
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Promoting the Percurso das Fontes, Silves After the implementation of the Percurso das Fontes (Springs Route), between Boião and Azilheira, Municipality of Silves, we have kept busy with its maintenance and promotion.
Last November we gave a presentation walk of the route and in December we put up more information signs.
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Our responsibility
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Promoting the Percurso das Fontes, Silves
The route has proved popular with hikers and the feedback we’ve received is very satisfying. 29
Our responsibility
It is a route full of natural interest to explore, where human presence is integrated in a traditional and balanced way. Make sure you give it a go!
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Promoting the Percurso das Fontes, Silves
We are 100% Responsible As part of the Portuguese Tourist Board’s Portuguese Trails, our activities have been integrated into the
100% Responsible programmes due to the fact that we comply with a series of environmental and social sustainability criteria, as well as health safety. Of the 11 criteria defined to achieve this recognition, our activity complies with 9 of them, including having adhered to the Clean & Safe seal programme, not using single-use plastic, promoting the use of local products, carrying out carbon offsetting activities every year, developing social responsibility projects, among others. This brand was developed with the aim of encouraging companies to promote cycling and walking activities that are more sustainable and safe, and to position the country as a destination that favours such behaviours.
portuguesetrails.com
Our responsibility
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Conservation of the Little Tern on Faro Island Since 2017 we have been keeping “an eye on” the colony of Little Terns (Sternula albifrons) that every year sets up camp at the eastern end of Faro Island.
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Photo: Georg Schreier
Our responsibility
This is a place often visited by people and dogs, which naturally disturbs the birds that are nesting there. In partnership with the Portuguese Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests, we have carried out monitoring and awareness-raising activities, as well as marking out the breeding area to prevent nests from being trampled and thus destroyed. In 2020 we kept up this operation and the results were quite interesting: more than 120 breeding pairs, the maximum recorded for that area and one of the most Photo: Georg Schreier
important colonies of the entire nature park.
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Conservation of the Little Tern on Faro Island
This is a place often visited by people and dogs.
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Photo: Georg Schreier
Our responsibility
Tomorrow’s Air Tomorrow’s Air is an international
movement started in 2019, set up by the Adventure Travel Trade Association in partnership with ClimeWorks, with the aim of uniting travellers and tourism professionals in a global effort to remove excess carbon from the atmosphere and store it permanently in the ground. In 2020 we signed this commitment and every month we contribute to carbon removal by donating to projects run by these organisations working towards this goal, namely the Orca Project.
tomorrowsair.com
adventuretravel.biz Climeworks.com
Our responsibility
We support new artisans and the revival of dying craft trades
Martinho - Photo: Annie Waterman
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In line with what we have been doing in recent years, we seek out every opportunity to support new artisans to make arts and crafts their choice of profession, in addition to reviving techniques and craft trades in decline or even dying.
Otherwise, it would have
troducing new techniques
been very hard, if not im-
or materials, and reviving
possible, for Martinho to
arts and crafts trades that
make his dream of becom-
have been dying out in re-
ing a craftsman of
cent years. With this project
intertwined plant fibres
we have revived a trade that
come true.
no longer existed in Ferreira
Thanks to this support, Martinho now adds himself to the few young people that inhabit this ageing village in the northeast of the Al-
do Alentejo – Alentejo furniture - and with it the dreams of a young man who wants to become an artisan again.
And when we don’t find op-
garve. He lives in the same
Vítor learnt and practiced
portunities, we create them.
street as his master António
this trade, but after the
That’s what we did in 2020.
Gomes, and it is there that
closure of the company
Without being able to ac-
he continues to weave reed
where he worked he had to
cess financing programmes
baskets – a craft that is in
work in another field.
or form partnerships, we
high danger of dying out in
awarded, out of our own,
the region.
The challenge of collaborating in the creation of
sole initiative, a grant to Martinho Jacinto, support-
We have also made the
innovative pieces using
ing him in his intention to
most of the opportunity
Alentejo furniture tech-
set up in Furnazinhas.
provided by the AAA project
niques brings new hope to
(see previous news) to con-
this young man, who holds
solidate our goals of
craftsmanship dear in his
integrating young artisans
heart.
into the TASA network, in-
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Our responsibility
Proactivetur’s work on the ground with the Monchique community has allowed the discovery of a former master craftsman of wickerwork, who, after retirement, has decided to return to his trade. This material and technique can now return to TASA and provide a future opportunity for a process of passing on knowhow.
The projects that Proactivetur has been undertaking, as the managing entity of the TASA brand, have allowed it to consolidate the idea that the sustainability of traditional arts involves keeping current and active the ancestral knowhow associated with handcrafts, the values of ecology, fair trade, innovation and affirmation of cultural diversity.
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We support new artisans and the revival of dying craft trades
•Our responsability
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QRER Cooperative
REED 42
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QRER Cooperative
November 06 – 13, 2020, saw the QRER Cooperative, of which we are founding partners, promote, in Alcoutim, the “MasterApprentice Transmission of Knowledge: Reed Workshop” initiative, as part of the
QRIAR –Incubadora Criativa do Algarve (Creative Incubator of the Algarve), which brought together 11 participants from various parts of the country.
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Reed Appreciation Project
The aim of the activity was to
this plant in the near future.
The project enlisted our
raise awareness among
To this end, the activity
voluntary help in its
participants and the
enjoyed the participation of
organisation and the results
community in general about
the Cooperativa Voltes, from
were very positive.
the potential of reed in
Barcelona, which specialises
contemporary uses,
in this area of work, with
particularly in sustainable
several years of experience in
architecture and, in particular,
the use of reed in architecture
to attract new entrepreneurs
projects, education and in the
to develop projects around
transmission of knowledge.
New activities are being prepared for 2021, following up on the goal of increasing the appreciation of reed in architecture.
voltes.coop
qriar.pt
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QRER Cooperative
WALKING FESTIVALS IN THE ALGARVE Invited by the Almargem
Some of the secrets that the
Association, we organised an
rocks tell us and that make us feel
activity during the 3rd edition of
closer to and in contact with
the Barão de São João Walking
nature were thus revealed.
Festival (Walk&Art Fest), which took place on the weekend of November 06-08.
The Barão de São João Walking Festival is organised by the Lagos Municipal Council and the
During a walk entitled “Telluric
Almargem Association, and is part
Secrets”, participants got to know
of the Algarve Walking Season
a little bit of the history of the
(AWS) event calendar, promoted
rocks they were walking on and,
by the QRER Cooperative, which
at the same time, they were
also includes the Ameixial
invited to interpret the landscape
Walking Festival and the Alcoutim
around them.
Walking Festival.
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Festival de caminhadas Barão S. João Photo: Pedro Barros
•Qrer Cooperative
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TASA
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A MASCOT MADE BY ARTISANS Last year, SPEA challenged us to give form to the mascot of the “LIFE Barrier Islands” project.
The intention was to materialise the “Chilreta Barreta” (Barreta Island Little Tern) through the hands of artisans, using natural materials, so that it could accompany the environmental education activities.
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This was the first time that we have ever made a mascot but we thought that it was really worth associating TASA with this project so important for the conservation of the Ilhas Barreira (Barrier Islands, Algarve) and the protection of species and priority habitats. The Da Torre craftswomen produced the various versions of the mascot, bringing to this project their vast experience in the world of wooden toys.
TECHNICAL DATA Design: Projecto TASA / Hugo da Silva Craftswomen (wood): Da Torre Partners: ICNF / Animaris / RIAS / MARE – UCoimbra / CCMAR – UAlgarve / CIMA – UAlgarve #LIFEIlhasBarreira
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“STORY CONTAINERS” the new collection with the TASA seal
In December 2020 we presented to the public the new TASA collection (produced as part of a CCDR project), which will be launched on the market in 2021.
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Tasa
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“Story Containers” - the new collection with the TASA seal
“Story Containers” results from a collaborative
Proactivetur, through the TASA team, put the
work between three new artisans and three
project into practice and over several months
masters from the Algarve, Alentejo and
got in touch with artisans, traditional
Andalusia, through the refreshing thought of
techniques and the history of this territory,
design. The collection developed by TASA
conducting a creative process centred on
includes pieces that combine sustainable
artisan-designer collaboration.
materials, creating new solutions for traditional arts and enhancing local identities.
The result is a collection of containers in
The pieces made with palm, reed, wicker,
which each piece tells stories: of the resilience
wood and leather, recall the primordial
of artisans, the timeliness of arts and crafts
character of containers as timeless tools,
knowledge and the identities of places.
while assuming and rehabilitating both the uniqueness of natural materials and the fine quality of the craft techniques used.
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Tasa
The collection is part of the “0339_GIT_EURO_AAA_2020 - Gabinete de Iniciativas Transfronteiriças AlentejoAlgarve-Andaluzia (Cross-border Initiatives Bureau)” project promoted by CCDR Algarve and financed by the Programa de Cooperacion Interreg V España - Portugal (POCTEP) (Spain-Portugal Interregional Cooperation Programme) 2014-2020. The aim is to promote the spirit of the AlgarveAlentejo-Andalusia Euroregion through arts and crafts, affirming and promoting it as a profession of the future.
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“Story Containers” - the new collection with the TASA seal
TECHNICAL DATA Promoter: CCDR Algarve Development and execution: Proactivetur – Projecto TASA Product designer and creative direction: Hugo da Silva Communication designer: Joana Prudêncio Coordination and texts: Graça Palma Photography: Bruno Rodrigues Research support: Susana Calado Martins Artisans: ALGARVE - José Rosa, Martinho Jacinto and Vanessa Flórido. ALENTEJO - Vítor Caço. ANDALUSIA - Antonio Nuñez and Rogelio Moreno.
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Tasa
The first Red Book of arts and crafts activities in Portugal
Proactivetur has been awarded the tender to produce, in a pioneering move within Portugal, a “Red Book List of the Algarve’s arts and crafts activities".
The book, which will be published later this year, is the culmination of research and inventory work as part of the 0752_MAGALLANES_ICC_5_E, Magellan Centre for Cultural and Creative Industries Enterprise project, and is part of one of the activities of the CCDR Algarve as a partner body. The aim is to register the traditional arts in the Algarve and catalogue them according to their degree of risk or viability, in order
to build four lists of ICH (Intangible Cultural Heritage), within the field of Traditional Techniques and Crafts, namely the List of the Algarve’s Lost Intangible Cultural Heritage, the List of the Algarve’s Intangible Cultural Heritage that May Need Urgent Safeguarding, the List of the Algarve’s Intangible Cultural Heritage that May Need Safeguarding, the List of the Algarve’s Intangible Cultural Heritage that is Currently Viable.
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Conjunto de candeeiros desenhado e produzido exclusivamente para a Herdade da Malhadinha Nova.
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Tasa
Proactivetur has been managing TASA for seven years and considers this project to be fundamental in order to gain a deeper understanding of the reality of arts and crafts activities, so as to be able to lead the way towards the sustainability of traditional arts in the Algarve.
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The first Red Book of arts and crafts activities in Portugal
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Tribute Whenever an artisan passes, there is the risk that an entire heritage dies with them.
The Algarve’s one and only master basket weaver, recognised as such by his peers, left us in February, 2021.
He would dream up complex solutions to challenges he set himself and never gave up trying.
He took his expertise, dedication and talent with him, leaving behind a sense of loss, not only of the person, so cherished and admired at TASA, but also of an art, now in even more danger of disappearing.
The activity of passing on knowhow that Proactivetur organised in 2018, allowing Martinho Jacinto to continue the legacy left by his master, now takes on an even greater pertinence.
Mestre António Gomes dedicated an artist’s soul to reed basket weaving.
Senhor António Gomes will always be remembered by the Proactivetur and Tasa team, for his friendship, kindness and wisdom.
Patient, persistent, talented and creative, his baskets boasted perfect loops, precise bases and delicate detailing.
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•TASA
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Snippets Ornitourism for All Project
Seminars and Conferences
Invited by the Alentejo Tourism Board, we had the opportunity and the pleasure to participate in a fam trip to promote ornithological tourism in that region, an initiative within the “Orniturismo para Todos” (Ornitourism for All) project. The activity took place in the most iconic places of the Alentejo, including the pseudo-steppes of Castro Verde, the Sado Estuary or Herdade da Contenda, and also natural areas of Andalusia, such as Serra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche. We will soon be announcing new bird watching programmes in these areas.
As in previous years, we have been participating as speakers at various events of knowledge sharing and exchange at the invitation of the respective organisations. In 2020 highlights included: > T-Forum Conference tforum2020.org
> TIMES Project times.ces.uc.pt
> 23rd National Meeting of Nature Wardens apgvn.blogspot.com
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Partnership with the University of the Algarve
The University of the Algarve and the Escola Superior de Rio Maior have successfully started the first Master’s Degree course in the area of tourism and sport, of which we are partners. The course is called Master’s in Recreational Sport and in the coming months we will welcome some of the course’s students as part of its practical components related to hiking. More information: esec.ualg.pt/curso/1909
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BIRD WATCHING
Are you familiar with our commercial brand of tourism activities? Hiking, Bird Watching, Creative Tourism or Gastronomic Experiences are some of the options we offer! In addition to these, you can also experience special attention to our local partners and get an understanding of our regional footprint in terms of positive impact! Come and meet us on one of the activities we organise!
More information:
CREATIVE TOURISM
In2South.pt
CUSTOM PROGRAMMES
reservas@in2south.pt +35166289 416 198 Portugal > Algarve
ADVENTURE TRIPS
PEOPLE CRAFT AND FOOD
HIKING PROGRAMMES
VOLUNTEERING
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License no. 160/2011 of May 24 > Travel Agency with registration no. 6213 PROACTIVETUR
The Algarve, st
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till so much to discover. Angular unconformity at Praia do Telheiro beach
Tourism Activities Company with registration no.: 160/2011 (May 24) Travel Agency License no. 6213
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PROACTIVETUR Rua de Portugal nº 35, 8100-554 Loulé mail@proactivetur.pt T: (+351) 289 416 198 in2south.pt
Member
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Tlm: (+351) 924 308 060