Leveraging cultural heritage and traditional knowledge, fostering sustainable tourism and local food promotion in Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe islands by establishing an innovative teaching environment: this is the main goal of the CULTIVAR project.
This ERASMUS+ project – officially launched on January 1st, 2025 – is coordinated by the University of Evora and involves the University of Sassari, UNIMED, University of Cape Verde, Jean Piaget University of Cape Verde, ISCEE – Instituto Superior de Ciências Económicas e Empresariais and the University of São Tomé and Príncipe.
Between March and April, the European partners had the opportunity to visit Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe islands and conduct field research, with the aim of collecting relevant data on local initiatives and projects in line with the project thematic axis, meeting with public institutions and start engaging local stakeholders which will benefit from the project results.
Despite abundant natural and cultural riches in both countries, their intangible cultural heritage and gastronomy remain undervalued and underutilized sustainably. As SIDS (Small Island Developing States), these nations face significant development challenges, exacerbated by climate change impacts.
CULTIVAR project pioneers an interdisciplinary higher education system, training professionals to tackle challenges and meet Sustainable Development Goals. Proposed activities include fortifying Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in critical areas like History/Cultural Heritage, Tourism, Agronomy, and Social Sciences.
The field visits – São Tomé
From 10 to 14 March, the partners were in São Tomé to meet the colleagues of the University of São Tomé and Príncipe and for several encounters and activities, focused on cultural heritage, local food production and sustainable tourism in the archipelago. Since São Tomé is one of the major cocoa and coffee producers in the world, visits were organised to the Bobo Forro Market and several plantations, such as the Roças Monte Forte and Diogo Vaz for cocoa and the Roça Monte Café for coffee. Technical visits took place to CECAB – Cooperative for the Production and Export of Organic Cocoa and to CIAT – Agronomic and Technological Research Center specialized in the analysis and control of plants and vegetables, produced in São Tomé or imported. In terms of cultural heritage and tourism, the partners visited the Coffee Museum, the Sea and Artisanal Fishing Museum, the Almada Negreiros House Museum, the CACAU cultural space (House of Arts, Creation, Environment, and Utopias), the Historical Archive, the National Library and the National Museum. The latter is about to be renovated, with a room that could potentially be designed by CULTIVAR partners. Institutional meetings were also organised with the Minister of Education, Culture, Science, and Higher Education, Dr. Isabel Abreu, the Directorate-General for Culture and the Directorate-General for Tourism and Hospitality.
The field visits – Cape Verde
A couple of weeks after, from 31 March to 4 April, partners met in Cape Verde and visited both Santiago and São Vicente islands to conduct a territorial diagnosis focused on three strategic areas for the country: cultural heritage, local food products, and sustainable tourism. On the first day, a public event to present the project was organised at Jean Piaget University of Cabo Verde, with representatives from the 3 local universities (UniPiaget, ISCEE and the University of Cape Verde) and the EU Ambassador to the country, Ms. Carla Grijó. The day continued with visits to the 3 partner universities and to Praia cultural institutions such as the Ildo Lobo Palace of Culture and the Amílcar Cabral Foundation. In the following day, a tour of the Santiago island was organised, with stops to the National Botanical Garden and to the Serra Malagueta Natural Park. Before travelling to São Vicente island, partners had also the opportunity to visit historical sites such as the Tarrafal Concentration Camp Museum, the hydrobase of the Calheta de São Martinho, on the Aéropostale route between France and South America and Cidade Velha – the Historic Centre of Ribeira Grande de Santiago, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, including the São Filipe Fortress, where a meeting with the Municipality was organised to exchange on the involvement of local authorities to promote a sustainable development of the area. When in São Vicente island, partners exchanged with local stakeholders based in Mindelo, such as with Aventura travel agency organising hiking tours in Cape Verde and Mariventos company, a cultural and creative industry that initiated the well-known Kavala Fresk Festival. Additionally, they had the opportunity to meet with the representatives of the Mindelo Cultural Center and of the CNAD – National Center for Art, Crafts and Design and visit the atelier of Luís Batista, a musician and string instruments artisan. A tour in the historical center of Mindelo, with stops at the Sea Museum, the Municipal Market, and the Fish Market and visits to the local building of the partner universities was also organised.
The next steps
The two field visits were fundamental to have first-hand feedback and suggestions coming from local stakeholders and to develop a proper and comprehensive mapping of the cultural heritage, agri-food and tourism sectors in both countries. Based on this mapping, a report titled “Cultural heritage, traditional know-how and local food production: paths and good practices for sustainable development in Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe” will be soon issued, also to support the following activities foreseen in the CULTIVAR project, and notably the development of a plan for the implementation of a cultural project in each of the archipelagos.
