QRER – Cooperativa para o Desenvolvimento dos Territórios de Baixa Densidade

QRER, based in Loulé, is a cooperative dedicated to developing the low-density interior of the Algarve. Founded around shared value creation, it brings together cooperators from fields as varied as agronomy, psychology, tourism, design and cultural heritage to work on regional projects. The cooperative runs QRIAR, a creative incubator for the interior territories, and organises several recurring events. The Walking Festival Ameixial was the Algarve's first walking festival, held in the Ameixial parish to showcase the Algarve hills. Algarve Walking Season coordinates five walking festivals across the region into a single calendar, working with the Região de Turismo do Algarve. The Festival da Comida Esquecida celebrates traditional Algarve foods and recipes that have fallen out of everyday use, and the Handsome Festival forms part of the Algarve Food & Craft project, run with the Tertúlia Algarvia and the aspiring Algarvensis Geopark. QRER's cultural programme, Convite ao Interior, brings workshops, guided walks and creative sessions to interior parishes such as Querença, often delivered by its own cooperators. A guided walk at Fonte da Benémola has taken participants to observe pollinators and rural landscapes, with further field trips planned at Rocha da Pena and Nave do Barão. Open sessions like Biodanza classes invite residents and visitors to take part without prior experience. On LinkedIn, QRER counts 126 followers and describes its focus as sustainable development, entrepreneurship and nature and cultural tourism. Its work draws on European funding for several of its territorial projects, and it partners regularly with local municipalities, tourism boards and civic associations across the interior Algarve.