QRER – Cooperativa para o Desenvolvimento dos Territórios de Baixa Densidade
QRER is a service cooperative based in Loulé that promotes sustainable development, entrepreneurship and nature and cultural tourism across …
Fruta Feia runs food rescue as a cooperative, while Colmeia is a community-owned grocery in the Alentejo. Other collectives organise land and labour on the same principle.
The cooperative is an old Portuguese form (agricultural co-ops have run cellars and mills here for generations) and it is being picked up again for food, housing, energy and land. The appeal is structural: members own it, so it cannot be sold out from under them.
Fruta Feia buys produce rejected on appearance and sells it to members in weekly baskets. Colmeia runs a community-owned grocery in the Alentejo. Others organise land, labour or shared equipment on the same principle.
Joining usually means becoming a member rather than a customer. Project pages explain how membership works. Related focuses: community resilience, food sovereignty and ethical shopping platforms. Dated activities from these projects are listed in our events calendar.