Date of label : 29/10/2024
A workshop or a crafting area, suggesting that the person might be involved in some form of artisanal or technical work.
Summary
Since 2023, the Municipality of Oeiras (PT) has been promoting food and environmental sustainability practices, to obtain changes in food production and consumption behaviour, and to boost the local economy and social inclusion. The project responds directly to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, by implementing local food sustainability policy, based on cohesion, equity and social responsibility. It empowers, trains and employs people with disabilities, with collaborative activities involving the local community.
The solutions offered by the Good Practice
The project is built around two local partnerships with Semear and OIKOS.
Semear:
- Employs a team of 47, including psychomotor rehabilitation technicians and social inclusion specialists.
- Semear Academy offers certified training and career coaching activities.
- Semear Organic Horticultural production operates on 7 hectares of fertile land in an urban context in Oeiras. Specialised employees, interns and trainees with disabilities work together, in a process of professional integration and practical learning, with priority given to seasonal products, to conserve ecosystems and reduce the carbon footprint.
- Semear Groceries, a social business, prepares, packages and sells gourmet artisanal products (jams, chutneys, biscuits), produced from fruits and vegetables at risk of waste, with the support of chefs and trainers, as part of a circular economy that reduces environmental impact.
OIKOS:
- Promotes and enhances Marketplace solutions, including fresh gift baskets and regional products from small producers (e.g. olive oil, wine, honey, cheeses, sausages), reflecting regional traditions and the Mediterranean diet.
- Encourages corporate volunteering, namely for events and markets.
Building on the sustainable and integrated urban approach
The project aligns with EU cohesion policy by fostering social inclusion, quality employment, education, skills development, and a Europe closer to citizens. It supports local development strategies and all the dimensions of sustainable urban development, through partnerships between local authorities and NGOs.
Social: Promotes healthy eating, family farming and the local economy; rebalancing the food system and valuing gastronomy as a cultural element and as a means for social inclusion. The project’s focus on lifelong learning develops skills and trains peole for the jobs available in the local economy.
Environmental: Improves air quality, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and protects biodiversity.
Economic: Promotes the circular economy, through the sale of local products entirely produced on the project's farm or the use of unsold products, contributing to increased employment.
Based on participatory approach
“One step forward from food towards sustainability” is a highly participatory project, in its development and execution, involving certified training, agricultural production, and the preparation of the products sold. It also boosts the marketplace of fresh baskets, offers different experiences, and promotes events and awareness-raising actions.
The project involves the local administration, the school community, partner organisations, and local businesses. The local administration coordinates the process based on the expressed needs of partners and schools, promotes events in municipal markets, raises awareness within the school community, and conducts campaigns to encourage healthier food habits in the entire community.
In 2023, 93 activities were documented, involving around 3 100 volunteers. Of these, 86% of participants had a positive change in perception regarding the social inclusion of people with disabilities.
What difference has it made?
In 2023, the project had a significant impact:
- 100 people trained, of which 65 were integrated into the labour market.
- 106 trainees at the Academy among the five areas of training.
- 19 tons of harvested organic agricultural products.
- 16 000 m2 of land sponsored by six companies for the maintenance of jobs for people with disabilities, through organic farming.
- 7 tons of products donated to more than 10 institutions and families in need.
- Recovery of 10 tons of processed products at risk of waste.
- 17 tons of products sold.
- 205 000 gourmet products sold.
- 48 partner companies for employability.
- 93 corporate volunteering actions.
- 100 volunteers involved.
The project creates jobs in agriculture and in the grocery store, generating economic value, emotional stability, dignity, and personal growth. With commitment and professionalism, the project team aim for the model to become public policy and for it to be scaled up in Portugal and across Europe.
Support from civil society is invited, through donations, tax contributions, and volunteering.
Why this Good Practice should be transferred to other cities
The project is relevant to cities across Europe facing similar challenges, and its activities contribute to common policy goals:
- Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG4 (Quality education), SDG 10 (Reduced inequalities), SDG 11 (Sustainable cities and communities), SDG 12 (Responsible consumption and production), SDG 15 (Life on land).
- The Urban Agenda for the EU, for example, in terms of employability of people with disabilities.
It promotes the creation of local markets with the aim of bringing local producers closer to consumers. Inherent to sustainable agricultural production and to the sale of organic products, is certification for organic agriculture, but this stems from a European standard, allowing it to be transferred without any difficulty.
The project has great potential for adaptation, depending on the local context. Its key steps are adaptation to local circumstances and organisations:
- Creating a participatory process involving local administration, schools, partner organisations, and local businesses.
- Enhanced food sustainability through organic agricultural production in urban spaces.
- Sale of organic products promoting the circular economy.
- Certified training, increasingly skilled workforce.
- Integration of the school community.
- Increased awareness of the general population to cultural change through sustainable food consumption.