In mid September 2021, we had a local event in our region of Idanha-a-Nova, organized by I4F (Innovation for the future), that was meant for us to get together for 3 days, in different locations in order to get to know all our local initiatives. What they do, where they are etc. One of the presentations in the event was about SEEDS. It was presented by Daya and quite a few people were interested and a few joined and started their SEEDS journey there.
We formed several groups on social media and had a few meetings, zoom and presencial and we discussed options of what to do next. We each personally pushed to advance in the ecosystem and later formed a local vouching group on Telegram, where those who could already vouch, helped newer members to advance too.
A harder nucleus started to emerge and an idea to bring Seeds to our local farmers markets as a way to bring more awareness of Seeds and its many potentials, as a space where to onboard new members and also as a “real world” case study. The initiative seeked to burn a hole through the old world Fiat monopoly, a hole through which Seeds can be introduced as yet another tool in the toolbox for the transition that is already well underway and as a reminder that there were always, and always will be alternatives.
We started our SEEDS stand in the beautiful village of Alpedrinha where the association “Bioeco” runs a bi-weekly market. We printed T-shirts to get more visibility and each one of us offered home grown or homemade products that we traded among us using only Seeds.
Everything from different food products, fruits, nuts, fig liquor, honey, trees, and SEEDS T-shirts was traded and we created a lot of curiosity. Many came by to check out our stand and to ask about SEEDS. We onboarded a few that later took their findings to far away places. Those who joined were rewarded with some Seeds that they could immediately use to buy goods in our stand. Many were thrilled with the concept. While attending our stand and guests we had plenty of time to also discuss further our ideas for the future. We did not try to force a vision upon our experiment, rather we went with the flow. We had local people approach us with challenging questions that were later brought to Discord for deeper examination. Due to demand of our local community we have arranged for a meeting which took place in Olêdo to further explore possibilities and to supply more insights and information.
The permanent conversation with our local communities started bringing up many challenges and obstacles that were not foreseen. There was the issue of establishing prices for both products and services considering we seek to use a token that is totally detached from Fiat.
Another issue was the average age of the majority of our population and the technical inaccessibility (most older folk do not even own a smartphone), we by no means want to exclude anyone, so a need arises for alternative low-tech solutions.
Also, new ideas came to be like establishing a local directory that will list all local producers and service givers who are willing to get paid in Seeds, wholly or partially. This directory is in the making as we speak.
One thing led to another and we started being approached by community members with even much bigger ideas and projects. One of these ideas is to recover an old Olive oil press in Olêdo. The idea was born due to a combination of factors in this last harvest. The year saw a record yield of olives and that put a heavier load on existing presses, this year they also saw many technical problems and some were either shut down completely or partly, what caused yet more pressure to the presses and there is the fact that our region attracts many newcomers every year and the recovered area of old existing olive orchards means much more olives are picked each year.
This community project is now being developed and we are looking into possible ways to both get support from the SEEDS community for it and how to integrate Seeds into the future functioning of this press as a local community aspect.
Regardless of the failed economic referendum late last year that came as a drawback to the community of SEEDS as there is a need and an expectation to give Seeds real value, we continue to keep up the momentum here in Portugal, accompanying new members, onboarding, spreading the word further, creating a wider network, organizing more meetings and events, attending more markets and at the same time checking the ecosystem pulse on Discord, involving more local and international players, inspiring and being inspired.
Photo: Ema Magalhaes
