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!

 READ MORE

The region of Benfeita, where ArBOR promotes environmental regeneration strategies

 

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.

READ MORE

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!

FIND OUT HOW

Our Next Events

05

November 2023

15:00-18:00 Sunday

AGM and convívio for ArBOR members

LIGA DE MELHORAMENTOS, BENFEITA

05

November 2023

18:00-20:30 Sunday

Film: ‘The Last Seed’ – seed sovereignty and agroecological farming in Africa

LIGA DE MELHORAMENTOS, BENFEITA

Project Members

 

As well as the projects of the association, we have project members – projects in these valleys whose work is aligned with our regenerative objectives. See what they’re doing …

Quinta do Vale

Magic Valley

Quinta da Rosa

Vida em Transição

READ MORE

RENT OUR CUPS!

save cost! save waste!

reusing is better than recycling!

How much of our plastic or paper waste really gets recycled? And at what cost in terms of energy and resource use?

ArBOR has 400 reusable, durable, stylish, distinctive and robust plastic cups which you can rent for your local party or event. The cost is competitive with buying disposable plastic or paper cups. And you can promote your friendly local association at the same time!

Our cups are available to rent for 5€/100 (pro rata for smaller numbers). We charge 1€ for every cup not returned and/or damaged beyond reuse and a 5€ cleaning fee if they’re not returned clean. Come and collect them from us or we can negotiate delivery. That’s it!

Contact us with details of your event (date, time, place) and how many cups you’d like to rent and we’ll take it from there.

NEWS

News about our activities and projects and more general articles about inspiring regenerative initiatives in other places, commentaries and reports on forest or regional policy, etc.

 

 

RESOURCES

Over time, we’ve collected resources – videos, articles, etc – which have inspired us to do what we do in the area of environmental regeneration.

We share some of them here.

We hope you’re inspired by them too.

 

READ MORE

Join us

You don’t need to live in this region to join us. We welcome members – individual or collective – from anywhere who support our objectives and what we do. You can register online.

 

READ MORE

ArBOR INTERNSHIPS

ArBOR is accredited with the EU’s Erasmus+ and ESC schemes. Come and help us regenerate our communities and environment! Interns can work on the association’s projects and also with our project members.

 

READ MORE

Join our Mailing List!

 

HEADQUARTERS

Rua da Capela 36

3305-037 Pai das Donas

Coimbra, Portugal

 CONTACT 

info@arborbenfeita.org

 

 

 

Social