MaisTerra

The MaisTerra appeared well with the mission to be the bridge between small producers and consumers, who can purchase local products of high quality.

How did this Project start and what are its goals?

Some members of our team noticed that, in the Portuguese region where they lived, Pinhal Interior Sul, a lot of people used to buy their food at large shops while a great amount of food was wasted every year.

The wasted food came from the subsistence agriculture practiced by small farmers that had some excedents and couldn’t sell them because people bought everything in the supermarket. Moreover, we also noticed that people didn’t tend to consume national products nor traditional handmade ones.

Therefore, we submitted a project to create a cooperative which goal was to recover traditional ways of producing some foods as well as being the bridge between producers and consumers, helping the first to commercialize their excedents and provide to the latter alternative local products of high quality. Afterwars, the idea grew into including also handicraft which is undervalued here. With all this combined, we seek to prompt the tourism to this region.

With this in mind, MaisTerra aims to create a brand that represents the best products that Pinhal Interior Sul region has to offer.

Past, present and future

This project was approved by the CoopJovem program in July of 2013 and we have been given a 6-month paid salary to develop the project which, by the end of December 2013, should result in the official establishment of the co-operative.

Up to this moment, we’ve gathered the support of this region’s city councils and we’ve also had an enormous positive feedback from the producers we’ve contacted with. Despite the fact that we haven’t had, till now, any technical, management or financial support, we’ve managed to keep the project running by contributing with part of our salary to support the costs.

Investment

By the end of December of 2013, it will be needed € 576,50 to officially constitute the co-operative and a minimum of € 2,500 to the social capital of the cooperative, in accordance with the cooperative code.

Why is your support so important for this project to continue?

Despite the contributions we’ve made from our salaries so that the project doesn’t stop, that’s not enough to support the initial costs we will have to constitute the cooperative. Therefore, we will invest about € 1.076,50 and we ask your help to finance the other €2.000 that are necessary. Thus, your support is critical to get started with the initial stage and thus contribute to help small producers and handicrafstmen and, secondly, to have the opportunity of acquiring high-quality products from the region Pinhal Interior Sul.

About the Rewards

Shipping costs are included in all the rewards (valid for Portugal mainland only).

Tea – medium-sized package with aprox. 15 g of tea wild herbs (ex. Lemon grass, Topped lavender, etc.)

Aromatic herb – small package with aprox. 7 g of aromatic herbs (ex.: Pennyroyal, Rosemary, Spearmint, etc.)

Jams – pack of small-sized jams with different flavours (ex. Pumpkin with walnuts, Cherry with Port wine, Orange with clove, and others);

Cheese – 2 small units of cured goat or cow and goat cheese.

Honey – gallipot with aprox. 330 mL of honey.

Handicraft – all craft items are handmade. For €25 and €50 levels, the main material used to create the items is fabric; for €80 and €125, the main material used to create the items is shale.

About the author

Who’s part of the MaisTerra Project?

The promoting team of the MaisTerra Project consists of 8 young entrepreneurs who aspire and strive to contribute to the development of the region Pinhal Interior Sul. Our team members are:

• Ana Marques, 23 years old, graduated in Tourism;
• Daniela Nunes, 24 years old, graduated in Biological and Food Engineering;
• Fábio Marçal, 25 years old, last-year student of Civil Engineering;
• Joana Vale, 24 years old, master in Food Biotechnology;
• Nadine Castro, 23 years old, graduated in Biochemistry and Biotechnology;
• Nuno Farinha, 27 years old, master in Biochemistry and Food Chemistry;
• Sofia Matias, 24 years old, graduated in Food Engineering;
• Sérgio Reis, 23 years old, graduated in Sociology.

 What does this project mean to us?

As this is a project which main goal is to help small farmers in the region to sell their products at the same time we strive to fight the huge food waste in our society, we aspire with this project to be the "change we want to see in the world ".

Budget and due dates

Images