João Rodrigues, founder Projecto Matéria
"The greatest wealth of any people or culture is people
The sea is everything for António Marques. His profession as a fisherman brought him knowledge about the generosity of the salt waters of the Atlantic, a wisdom that is currently applied at Mecomar Mariscos and shared with the brothers Sandra and Mário André Marques.
When talking about fish in Alqueva, it is mandatory to talk about Pedro Santos. This freshwater fisherman, with whom we met at Praia Fluvial de Monsaraz, started early in his work, with his grandfather, yet the dam was nothing more than a mirage, a paper project.
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.
In Madeira, around 10 thousand tons of sugar cane are produced annually.
He started almost 20 years ago, before he was a farmer. Today he wants nothing else, he feels at home in that space. He doesn't plant wheat, he doesn't need to — farmers in the region bring theirs to grind and when there's more, it's already turned into flour.