João Rodrigues, founder Projecto Matéria
"The greatest wealth of any people or culture is people
During her childhood, Joana Macedo felt that Quinta do Poial was a kind of "favorite brother" of her mother, Maria José Macedo. She had, therefore, "a somewhat conflicted relationship" with the farm. Maria José had left a business career in Paris in the 80's to become a farmer in Azeitão, at a time when biological was just an expression of Nature Science books.
"Portuguese mainly eat green [asparagus]. About 70% do not even know white, but we're trying," says Peter Herman Raphael.
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.
"I was friends with the fishermen, I did the fish autopsies, and one day one of them introduced me to the wild oysters."
Biofrade has a before and an after. From 1991 to 1998, agriculture was divided between conventional and organic production. In 1998, the company was created and António, Vítor, Mileta and Henrique produce and market only products obtained from organic farming.