Who Are We?
We are a group of local residents and landowners in the region of Benfeita in the Serra do Açor. We’re a diverse community of families and individuals, young and old, Portuguese and immigrants, but we’re all firmly focused on community and environmental regeneration.
We want to restore this beloved land to health in ways that benefit all life here for many generations to come.
The variety of our backgrounds gives us an extensive repertoire of skills, professions and experience. When we put these together with the traditional knowledge of the local population, we are a force to be reckoned with!
Above all, we want to eliminate the structural inflexibility plaguing rural economies where the population is shackled to environmental abuse for the sake of satisfying basic needs.
ArBOR
What Do We Do?
We want to help catalyse the shift from environmental degeneration to environmental regeneration.
This ecosystem in which all our lives here are embedded is damaged, degrading and desertifying. We want to stop the decline and transform it into a state of vitality, rich diversity and resilience. And with it our human communities, livelihoods and children’s futures.
The principle drivers of environmental degradation and destruction are common across the world: deforestation, industrial agricultural methods, pollution, urbanisation, over-extraction, exploitation and waste that’s choking our lands and seas.
All of this can be changed. We don’t have to live this way. And neither do we have to return to a past of poverty and backbreakingly hard work to live in tune with natural systems as part of them.
Branch out from Our Tree
One of the principle reasons we created ArBOR was to act as an umbrella organisation for all manner of regenerative initiatives in this area. Anyone can bring a project to us and branch out from our tree.
If you have connections to this area and a brilliant idea for developing a particular project for the benefit of the environment and communities here, this is your chance!
Active Projects
We have a number of environmental and community projects underway. See what we’re doing …
REFORESTATION OF LOCAL PRIVATE LANDS
An ArBOR project funded out of donations to the association.
This winter we are adding species and age diversity to slopes initially replanted with a limited range of broadleaved trees after the fires of 2017.
We plant in December. See our Facebook page or our Instagram channel for announcements and details. Come and join us! And keep up with our progress below.
LOCAL SEEDBANK & SEED SWAPS
An ArBOR project.
Local communities in these valleys have been saving and exchanging seeds for generations and those of us who have moved here do the same, often bringing new varieties and new food plant species with us.
We want to increase access and availability by holding regular seed swap events and creating a community seedbank of these locally-adapted varieties to safeguard our ability to grow our own food.
LOCAL VOLUNTEER FIRE FIRST RESPONSE
A project financed by the Benfeita Fire Fund and developed by ArBOR in consultation with the Junta de Freguesia of Benfeita.
While the disastrous fires of October 2017, which decimated this entire area, were exceptional, it was plain to those of us living here at the time how massively underresourced we were in this locality to mount any kind of response. This is our response to the situation.
Our Next Events
16
February 2025
09:30-13:30 Sunday
Pruning workshop
LUADAS
01
March 2025
10:00-14:00 Saturday
Seed Swap
BENFEITA