The project focuses on the elderly, involving their families and friends, municipal and associative officials and the community (visitors (tourists), schools (children/young people) and other organized groups).
Fight isolation and loneliness of older people from 6 villages in Trás-os-Montes, promoting an exchange between children/young people who develop new ways of seeing the world and elderly people who gain a new use for their knowledge and a new purpose in their daily lives.
Create activities and dynamics that involve the elderly and their families and/or community, in person or using new technologies, and promote the participation of the elderly from the 6 villages in social, cultural and artistic activities.
Promote active and positive aging in the community, valuing the elderly and increasing their social participation, creating a sense of belonging and social cohesion and minimizing the symptoms of possible diseases.
The elderly in rural communities in the northeast of Trás-os-Montes (Portugal) live alone, isolated, feel lonely and useless. The isolation and inactivity of the elderly begins with lack of participation in the community activities, the lack of moments of conviviality and the relocation of some villages. A problem with consequences for the physical and mental health of the elderly. To make matters worse, the younger generations emigrated or moved to large urban centers, leaving the villages aged and “forgotten”. Rural elderly people have a rich cultural heritage, based on knowledge, arts and crafts, and have valuable experiences to pass on to other generations. The project promotes active aging in the community through intergenerational communication and the transmission of knowledge. It is necessary to invest in these villages, avoiding their forgetfulness and desertification in the medium-long term and contributing to the fight against the isolation and loneliness of the elderly who live there.
The direct beneficiaries of the initiative are 150 people of both sexes, over 65 years old, who live in their homes in 6 isolated and aged villages in the municipalities of Bragança and Vimioso, district of Bragança.
The promoter of the project is Azimute and has the support of the following institutions: Municipality of Bragança, Municipality of Vimioso, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Fidelidade and Fundación Cepsa.
Aldeias Pedagógicas focuses on a set of actions that promote active aging in the community, the strengthening of intergenerational relationships, the appreciation of the elderly and their physical and mental well-being and the revitalization of isolated villages. It values the knowledge and life experience of the elderly, making them the “Masters” of the villages: it is the elderly who best keep the knowledge of the past and they are also the ones who best know how to transmit it.
Children/young people (schools and other organized groups) and visitors (tourists) are invited to take a “journey” through the past, guided by the “Masters” of the villages who show arts, crafts, traditions and teach sustainable ways of life in a true open-air “museum”. Visitors walk through the streets of the Aldeias Pedagógicas, passing at defined points, listening, observing and experiencing the arts and crafts of the “Masters”.
The “Masters” teach how to make escrinhos, bread, jams, work with clay, traditional street games, visit the vegetable garden, the poultry and stables, take care of the animals (chickens, rabbits, donkeys and cows), guide a herd, collect herbs/teas and mushrooms.
The intervention is aimed at elderly people living in aged, depopulated and isolated villages in the district of Bragança. Aldeias Pedagógicas aims to recognize the capabilities of the rural elderly, valuing them and creating a sense of belonging. The elderly, when feeling useful and participative, in the community and in the family, see improvements in quality of life and health.
The project was studied for a year by researcher and specialist in active aging António Fonseca and by two students from the Catholic University of Porto, concluding that it contributes to active aging and improves the quality of life of the elderly.
Results: an increase in the social participation of the elderly, an increase in the number of elderly people who continue relationships in the community, recognition of the capabilities of the rural elderly.
The project is qualified as a success. It improves sociability conditions, contributes to the reduction of loneliness and social isolation of the elderly involved and mitigates/avoids situations of exclusion and social segregation, minimizing/delaying the symptoms of possible diseases. The elderly person is the protagonist of the project and has a strong feeling of connection to the community where they live, they feel valued, useful and integrated, which brings countless social and emotional benefits to the elderly and improvements in their quality of life and health.
Testimonies like these, [e.g., “If I wasn’t going to come and teach the children, I would lie down, stay in bed.” (Master Orlando Afonso, 71 years old)], [e.g., “Many thanks to the masters for the opportunity to learn such a beautiful art.” (Sara Pinto, 35 years old, participant in the writing workshop.)], fill us with pride and we want to continue reaching out to these people.
The learning experience, accumulated over 12 years, made it possible to create the most appropriate methodology for the implementation of the project.
Azimute understood that the co-design of the different categories of intervention is an essential requirement for the success of the initiatives: the ability to design initiatives together – project team and seniors – defining the roles and responsibilities of each one and ensuring the necessary flexibility to adapt the implementation of initiatives to the real conditions of the villages in which they take place.
The Aldeias Pedagógicas project was analyzed by the external evaluator, researcher and specialist in active aging, António Fonseca.
The critical aspect pointed out and discussed was the financial sustainability of the project. The solution that was found it involves charging tickets for visits to these villages, developing the tourist aspect of the project and creating new products – Master/designer co-creation, in order to reach a level of sustainability, generated by the income from the workshops and tickets to the Vilas Pedagógicas and from the sales of products that will contribute to the financial balance of the project’s permanent structure.
The project can be easily replicated or scaled in rural areas in any region of Portugal or any other country. Villages with different or similar activities to those of the project: grazing, lace, pottery, cheese, cutlery, tapestry, musical instruments, cobbler, toys, stonework, etc., will be able to adapt this model to their own reality.
Azimute already had contacts with public and private entities (municipalities, social incubators, rural development associations) in order to understand the implementation, methodology and articulation dynamics of the project.
The possibility of replication in other villages in Portugal or in another country is a sign of the project’s commitment and validity.
The elderly person is the protagonist of the project and, having a strong feeling of connection to the community where they live, the levels of motivation are high and the guarantee of success of the project is high, bringing numerous social and emotional benefits to the elderly.
The project aims to solve two problems in society: the villages that are “forgotten” and the rampant aging and isolation of these villages. It is necessary to invest in villages, avoiding desertification in the medium to long term and contribute to combating the isolation and loneliness of the elderly who live there.
Copyright © 2022 DIGI-Activeing
