Applications for the 3rd edition of the Traditions Program took place in September 2018, from which 9 of the most genuine traditions of popular Portuguese culture were selected, making available around 250,000 euros for its development.
In this edition, the Traditions Programme was associated with the European Year of Cultural Heritage, in order to draw attention to the role of culture and heritage in social and economic development in Europe and its external relations, and to motivate European citizens.
This program aims to value local cultures/traditions by stimulating the self-esteem of communities, helping the creation of new audiences, ensuring that new generations value and integrate the arts and popular knowledge avoiding their extinction, and contributing to local development and dynamic by working as a means of fighting the rural exodus.
Carrejadas
Promoter: Baldios do Cabri Board of Directors
This project aimed to promote and value the basketry, resume the cultivation of the pond corrals, provide formations in arts, crafts and techniques related to agricultural works, how to make mallets, how to make meroucas and chapelas, how to work rye, how to colmar, how to make 'free stone' walls, how to work the fields with animals, promoting communitarian work in Vezeira, Carrejada and Sementeira.
The project managed, in its scope, to carry out the training actions planned for the recovery of these artisanal techniques, also resuming community work mainly through the youth. Along with these actions, local guides were formed in order to disseminate and enhance the natural, cultural and human heritage. New natural ecosystems were created for nesting the partridge and the wild rabbit, during the sowing of two corrals.
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Lunch and Dine With Us
Promoter: Associação do Turismo de Aldeia
The project consisted of an innovative experience, through a meal, made and served, by its inhabitants/hosts, who opened the doors of their house to the guests, who sat at the table, in convivial with their families, had the opportunity to meet their history a the life on the village, in a typical meal from local gastronomy with the guests' contribution.
Through the creation of a commercial circuit of tourist experiences, the revitalization of the gastronomy and stories of the villages allowed for different impacts, of economic and social capacities, such as: the increase of the personal valorization and the self-esteem of the inhabitants, the recognition of the value of traditions and endogenous resources of the village, hence, the recovery of the community identity, the reduction of the isolation, the increase of the resources of the families and of the community in general.
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Douro River - A People of Rower
Promoter: Arnelas Popular Recreation Center
Among the traditions that define the identity of the "People of the Douro River" is the playful tradition of conducting boat races. This project aimed to form new rowers, capable to paddle and navigate the traditional process in fishermen boats of the lower Douro, and develop the practice of the rowers already formed. Acquire four fishing boats and sixteen oars, providing the necessary means for the maintenance of traditional races and the sport of traditional navigation on the Douro River. Provide opportunity to build and maintain boats helping to preserve this traditional artisanal activity.
The construction of the four boats was taken care of with a builder. They were built and painted in the traditional shipyard, and are waiting to be freed in the river to carry out the paddle and traditional navigation practice sessions.
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Esparteiro - Intertwining Arts
Promoter: Municipality of Abrantes
The project set out to survey the history of artisan activity connected to the production techniques in esparto, both of the presses and machines used in traditional olive oil mills as well as other products that have began to be produced (carpets) in the meantime. This record was produced in written support, in the form of a book presented to the community and in video support, through a documentary.
There have been several training actions mainly with the youth, for the construction of traditional instruments in esparto and for the manufacture of bushings/helmets. This training of the new generations, some of them with special needs, will ensure the safeguarding and continuity of this traditional art.
Exhibitions of the objects produced were scheduled and the dissemination was achieved at various times in regional parties, and tradition and knowledge fairs, with the community. As such, this traditional practice became an icon of the popular culture of the county of Abrantes.
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To (re) discovery of COFO and its Art
Promoter: Grupo Recreativo Vilaverdense
The project aimed to maintain the art of working the cofo and revive the tradition of its cultural identity, through the creation of workshops and training actions with younger generations. Also to foster public discussion through the holding of a workshop with specialists of salgado, recreation of the crossing of Mondego in the salt batel and cortejo to the center of the village, with animation and tastings of fish from the river.
Reed picking sessions were organized in three different locations, and subsequently several products using this raw material were created, in the four learning workshops built for this purpose. The sale and disclosure of the cofo was made in several points of local trade, tourist office and Museological Center of Sal.
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Promotion and artisanal construction of Bombos, Boxes and Pífaros
Promoter:Pinus Verde
The project worked on the preservation and protection of the specificities of Bombos Groups, and knowledge associated with the construction of bombos, boxes and pífaros, executed by some artisans in the county. This, through actions that allow the effective transmission of this singular know-how, such as: Training sessions of the craft construction of bombos, boxes and pífaros, in order to effect the transmission of this know-how; the creation of a workshop dedicated to the construction of these instruments; the incentive to transmitting multi-generational construction and playing of instruments, promoting the preservation of the tradition.
Several training actions and sessions of school visits to "Casa do Bombo" were carried out, with demonstration and learning of the construction of the instruments. As for the dissemination of this art, an exhibition was held and a catalog with the drawn pieces was released, being also displayed live at the Chocalhos Festival - Caminhos da Transumância.
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Of the Traditional Arts and Crafts of Penafiel
Promoter: Municipality of Penafiel
At an early stage, the project went through the registration (documentary, photography and video) of artisans still in the active - their memories, techniques, products and workspaces - with treatment of the information collected, for dissemination in an online portal.
Intergenerational training and workshops were carried out, enhancing the growth of learning of traditional technologies, simultaneously with the stimulation of creativity, so that the old techniques can give rise to new products, and thus contribute to a sustained continuity of these traditional arts. In two of the actions with secondary and higher education students, a total of 54 pieces were produced by the graduates.
In the activities, a temporary exhibition of the works carried out by students and artisans was planned, which took place at the Municipal Museum of Penafiel and received a total of 2839 visitors. A digital online platform has also been built, where the collected information is loaded.
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The contradanças and quadrilhas as intangible cultural heritage in the duriense region
Promoter: Nefup - Center for Ethnography and Folklore of the University of Porto
Objective of preservation of contradanças and duriense quadrilhas as unique heritage in the country, and its application to the national inventory of intangible cultural heritage. Given the difficulty in dancing contradanças in baile situations, the result of the shortage of mandadores and/or dancers who still know how to obey the mandos. The project aimed to contact other existing groups to identify, record and compare choreographies, mandos and musical pieces, create channels of communication and moments of sharing among all interested parties, and provide experiences of contact and formation of new dancers and mandadores.
Several events were planned in order to revive the practice of the baile mandado from the north to the south of the country, however, due to the restrictions, it was only possible to hold a presentation. They opted for new ways to promote this practice, so, those playful episodes were issued in the program "Pause to Dance" on a national radio, and the podcasts of "D'Agora e D'Otrora" were also created, to achieve in this way an exchange between the communities.
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Dizeres
Promoter: Municipality of Sines
There is a talk in Sines, proper to the local communities, which the many citizens are unaware of and which, at the moment, is at risk of oblivion. This talk reflects the experiences of the communities established here before the 1970s, whose links to specific activities - such as fishing, agriculture, the cork industry - are in regression, and alongside them, speakers who hold this linguistic memory are disappearing.
To safeguard this intangible heritage, actions were made to collect expressions in archives, bibliographic documents and interviews with members of local communities. Later, three workshops were held for the teaching of specific expressions and their meaning between different generations. There was also the elaboration of a glossary in digital support, with publication on the page dedicated to the project.
