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Montemor-o-Novo --- Sao Cristovao --- Alcácer do Sal--- Setúbal --- Lisboa
July 16th-19th 2015
Degrowth goes on tour on its own rhythm. 4 days to enjoy the trip between Montemor-o-Novo and Lisbon, walking in the company of donkeys, biking, travelling by train and boat, passing through villages and small towns, until arriving to the final destination.
This tour happens right after the Degrowth Course which will occur in Montemor-o-Novo between July 7 and 12, and the caravan is to celebrate the end of the first cycle of GROWL courses that have been happening between February 2014 and July 2015 throughout Europe.
This Degrowth Caravan is open to everybody, and it is expected to involve researchers and activists of different parts of the world that are working within degrowth premises, or people that are simply interested in knowing more and debating on these topics, so that ideas and practices can be exchanged. Additionally, there will also be strong interactions with the local populations that are going to be visited during the tour, to understand the challenges that they are facing, and debate how degrowth approach can be an interesting tool to address them.
The final event of this caravan is taking place at the Belém tower, a symbolic place from where the Portuguese expansionary and colonization processes started, being referential to the biggest contribution that the State of Portugal gave to growth-based society in the West. There will be speeches by degrowth thinkers, critics of colonial and neo-colonial structures, and a concert.
Objectives:
Promote meeting between activists and researchers of different parts of World and share experiences;
Understand the challenges of different localities in Portugal, and reflect about common aspects within other countries;
Give visibility to GROWL activities and approaches;
Question the contributions of Portugal state’s history to “growth-economic structures”, namely colonization;
Participation: Anyone can join this self-managed caravan, at his/hers own expenses/organization. However, there are some items that can be provided by the organization and that are optional (but require registering).
- Place for camping in Torre da Gadanha (July 16), São Cristóvão (July 17) and Alcácer do Sal (July 18). There are limited places available, so those interested, please write to us, registering for camping.
- For the bycicle trip (from São Cristóvao to Alcacer do Sal, July 17), bycicles can be rented for 25 euros. The reservation for this has to come until July 8.
Those interested in registering in any of those items, please email us through growl-caravan@co-munity.net.
Additionally, there will be (vegetarian) lunch and dinners arranged (paid on spot)
What to bring:
The participants are to bring a tent (if they want to camp), sleeping bag and a mattress, comfortable shoes, sun screen, hat, and other normal items to make the travel more pleasant.
Itinerary
Thursday, July 16, 2015
17:00 Meeting point at the abandoned railway station of Montemor-o-Novo, beginning of Ecopista. Short introduction to the tour.
17:30 Departure from Montemor-o-Novo, walking through the ecopista, with the donkeys. Distance: 12,8 km
21:00 Arrival in Torre da Gadanha and dinner.
Friday, July 17, 2015
07:30 Departure from Torre da gadanha, walking through trails in the fields with the donkeys. Distance: 12 km
10:30 Arrival at São Cristóvão.
12:00 Lunch at São Cristóvão
16:00 - 19:00 Tour in the village (discovering Viveracor and other project) and round table
20:00 onwards, Village Party (first day of this local festival)
Saturday, July 18, 2015
08:30 Departure from São Cristovão by bicycle. Distance: 12,1 Km
12:00 Arrival, Swim and Lunch in Barragem of Pego do Altar, in Santa Susana
17:00 Departure from Santa Susana by bicycle. Distance: 15,7 Km
20:00 Arrival in Alcácer do Sal and Mesa Posta (dinner in Public Space, where citizens are invited to bring food from their homes), with local musicians and artists.
Sunday, July 19
10:00 - 12:30 - Departure by boat from Alcacer to Setubal touching issues regarding Troia, Estuario do Sado, Serra da Arrábida, among others.
12:30 - Lunch in Setubal
14:40 - 15:18 - Train from Setubal to Barreiro.
15:55 - Departure by boat from Barreiro to Lisbon. Arrival in Terreiro do Paço.
17:00 Arrival in Terreiro do Passo.
17:00 - 20:00 Walk through city, to different associations that work in different fields within degrowth premises (Gaia, Habita, RDA, Casa da Achada).
20:30 - Dinner at RDA
How to arrive to the starting point:
Montemor-o-Novo is a town 90 km away from Lisbon, with direct bus connection almost every hour. The ride takes 1 hour 15 minutes, and costs 12 euros. The schedules can be found in Rede Expressos website.
From the bus station to the abandoned railway station, please follow this link.