Our projects / activities
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ecology / sustainability
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community work / solidarity
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action / critical thinking
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culture / art
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(examples of)
Past projects
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Zines - Horticias and The Envelope
Hortícias - Notícias da Horta was a newsletter about some of the most relevant events and news from Casa da Horta. This project was started in 2010 by our partner Pedro Jorge Pereira aka PJP ☺ and always counted on collaboration and creativity of the countless volunteers who passed through our association. Envelope - fanzine was proposed by our dear volunteer Jagoda. The fanzine focused on social and critical sensitivity around alternative and resistance activities in the city of Porto. The Initiative was open to all interested parties, in an open call format. Premises: co-creation, collaboration, sharing and autonomy. It had two editions: Tourism / Gentrification and Waste. |
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Theatre group
Born from the desire to collaboratively create, communicate, raise awareness and inform. “An almost perfect wedding” was a play created and produced by the amateur theatre troupe at Casa da Horta. Presented in 2015 during the Common Festival (Collaborative Cultural Festival), the play presented in an accessible way the issues and implications of the Transatlantic Treaty (TTIP), as well as its social, environmental, political and economic impact. |
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Bringing life to an abandoned playground in Lapa
In spring/ summer 2015, Casa da Horta organised cleanings, activities and community events to bring back to life a closed and abandoned children's playground in Porto's neighbourhood of Lapa. |
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Less Waste Guide
A comprehensive guide of eco-friendly places in Porto, such as second-hand shops and flea markets, and also including very useful and easy less waste lifestyle recipes, DIY and other tips. The Less Waste Guide of Porto is the culmination of a cycle of workshops and the fantastic final result of Olga Juniczak’s one-year project in Porto as an EVS participant in Casa da Horta until early 2020. It was shared, in Olga’s words, to help everyone lead a more eco-friendly and conscious lifestyle. The PDF Less Waste Guide of Porto is available for downloading here. |
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PEASE (Participatory Art, Ecology, Activism, Sensitization, Environment)
The idea behind the project was to raise more awareness about environmental issues and its protection, to help reduce the garbage along the river and the beaches, to be creative and share ideas, and, last but not least, to have fun while doing it. The project was divided into 2 parts: a series of beach cleanings and creating art installations from collected trash. |
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Colectivo Agitadoras de Alquimias
This was a project that aimed to rehabilitate an old stone house using totally natural materials, like clay, straw, wood, etc and using old techniques of construction. A sustainable house and adding to the organic garden produce, the goal was to have an ecological and sustainable living. |
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Festival Comum
It was aimed to recover and update the community origin of the festivals, opening participation, whether in the organisation or in the activities of the festival, to anyone who was interested in participating.The festival was designed cooperatively by various associative structures and informal groups in Porto and the surrounding area, who share an understanding of the association's spaces as common spaces, at the service and disposal of the population. In accordance with this, the Festival took place in various spaces of the participating entities in a decentralised and disseminated manner. During ten days people could take part in various activities: workshops, concerts, theatre performances, discussions, and dinners, concerning themes such as sustainability, agro-ecology, local and proximity economics, global politics, free knowledge, Portuguese-Galician relations, self-organisation, and many others. |
GreenUrb Project - urban gardens
For a time we were a part of two urban gardening communities: Quinta Musas da Fontinha and Bananeira Hortas Comunitárias, where we did planning, planting, harvesting and community activities.
Reforestation actions with Associação Movimento Gaio.
Environmental awareness-raising actions with Associação Campo Aberto: reading club, meetings/discussions, various visits and hiking trips.
Education against waste (partnership with Porto Ambiente - Porto's public waste service): education against food waste, workshops, collection of waste for the production of fertiliser for free distribution.
Sports for all - sport activities organised for the local community, including capoeira, tai chi and chess.
Porto.com - a series of videos presenting local commercial businesses heavily influenced by gentrification. The project aims at spreading the knowledge about Porto's heritage, which is being lost at an alarming pace.
Language exchanges - meetings where volunteer 'teachers' met the ones interested in learning and practising languages (Portuguese and others, depending on the period) in an informal and fun way.
For a time we were a part of two urban gardening communities: Quinta Musas da Fontinha and Bananeira Hortas Comunitárias, where we did planning, planting, harvesting and community activities.
Reforestation actions with Associação Movimento Gaio.
Environmental awareness-raising actions with Associação Campo Aberto: reading club, meetings/discussions, various visits and hiking trips.
Education against waste (partnership with Porto Ambiente - Porto's public waste service): education against food waste, workshops, collection of waste for the production of fertiliser for free distribution.
Sports for all - sport activities organised for the local community, including capoeira, tai chi and chess.
Porto.com - a series of videos presenting local commercial businesses heavily influenced by gentrification. The project aims at spreading the knowledge about Porto's heritage, which is being lost at an alarming pace.
Language exchanges - meetings where volunteer 'teachers' met the ones interested in learning and practising languages (Portuguese and others, depending on the period) in an informal and fun way.
Music at Casa da Horta
Music has always been an important and vivid activity in the life of Casa da Horta. It started with jam sessions called Bafo de Esquilo (Squirrel's breath :)) and traditional music lessons with a nice lady in her 70s - Zezinha, who wanted to have a healthier lifestyle and started coming to Casa da Horta, becoming a friend and began giving music lessons.
At that time almost all the staff of Casa da Horta (Ana, Nezia, Pedro, Elina) were interested in music (we were more young and free) and it grew into a band with more friends (Filipe, João and Helena) - which performed on Casa da Horta’s 4th birthday party. |
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For some years Casa da Horta also had amateur fado vadio afternoons which gathered old folks from around town and who always wondered how patanisca (typical portuguese fry with codfish) can be vegan. Only some of them tried it. :)
There was also a close collaboration with the oldest folkloric group of Porto - Rancho Douro Litoral. Some people from Casa da Horta associates had free music classes, which led the Rancho's dance instructor, Rui, to play Pink Floyd’s ''Wish you were here" and today he is a master of all kinds of Portuguese guitar-like instruments like campanesa, braguesa, and cavaquinho.
Andy, who is now part of the permanent team, was also doing traditional music lessons which gathered quite a lot of people. But ending nights with all people singing together is not that rare in Casa da Horta, compared to most average places.
Also now part of our team is Nani, who makes instruments from wood - ukuleles, some types of cajons and other percussion (and even necklaces!).
There was also a close collaboration with the oldest folkloric group of Porto - Rancho Douro Litoral. Some people from Casa da Horta associates had free music classes, which led the Rancho's dance instructor, Rui, to play Pink Floyd’s ''Wish you were here" and today he is a master of all kinds of Portuguese guitar-like instruments like campanesa, braguesa, and cavaquinho.
Andy, who is now part of the permanent team, was also doing traditional music lessons which gathered quite a lot of people. But ending nights with all people singing together is not that rare in Casa da Horta, compared to most average places.
Also now part of our team is Nani, who makes instruments from wood - ukuleles, some types of cajons and other percussion (and even necklaces!).
There are two bands somehow related and born from Casa da Horta.
Tresmoças were formed in 2014 by Nezia, Elina and Rita. They sing mostly traditional Portuguese songs, but also Latvian and Galician, accompanied by adufe (square drum) and accordion.
Portakal, four musicians of four different nationalities explore the traditional rhythms and melodies of Slavic, Balkan and Middle Eastern countries. Two of them work at Casa da Horta.
Tresmoças were formed in 2014 by Nezia, Elina and Rita. They sing mostly traditional Portuguese songs, but also Latvian and Galician, accompanied by adufe (square drum) and accordion.
Portakal, four musicians of four different nationalities explore the traditional rhythms and melodies of Slavic, Balkan and Middle Eastern countries. Two of them work at Casa da Horta.
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