Algarve village spring project doubles as heat refuge

A €50,000 scheme to restore a natural spring in Ameixial, in Loulé municipality, has become an example of low-cost climate adaptation. Fonte da Seiceira, inaugurated in 2016 after a community participatory process, combines water, trees and shaded public space, keeping temperatures over 10°C cooler than the village centre on the hottest days. Originally meant to revive a valued water source and create a leisure area for the roughly 400 residents, it now draws visitors seeking relief from extreme heat and an inland alternative to the coast. Terracrua Design, involved from the start, is proposing similar small-scale interventions elsewhere in rural Portugal.