João Rodrigues, founder Projecto Matéria
"The greatest wealth of any people or culture is people
The pleasure in working with aromatic herbs was brought to Grândola from Hanover (Germany), in 2015. A year later, Rita Pacheco opened the company A Cerquinha, to continue this production, in addition to organic vegetables, to add colour to the baskets sold in the municipality and surroundings.
Our focus are the producers that are passionately committed with what they do. They are the keepers of the land, well fare and knowledge. They are the ones who will make all of this endure through time.
Why the prickly pear cactus? The choice is based on climate change. "We are striving towards a desert. If there are plants that survive in more adverse conditions, especially in periods of water shortage, are the cactus,"
“When I arrived [at Herdade do Portocarro] everything was very old”. Full-time farmer and artisan by choice, José Mota Capitão produces rice for 31 years, on 70 hectares of land. He was a pioneer in good soil preservation practices and, in 2015, he started to dedicate himself to carolino rice, in the interests of the Portuguese culinary compendium.