Networking

“Terra Maronesa” is a practical community that seeks, from a holistic and systemic approach, to value the habitat territory of the native “Maronesa” bovine breed and a vast food heritage in its different economic, cultural, social, environmental and tourist aspects. .

Terra Maronesa arises from the need to interconnect all these dimensions, in order to translate into value, appropriable by local communities, the economic activities of the “Maronês territory”, guaranteeing full respect for environmental, social and cultural values.

The project starts from the local community: farmers, tourist animators, restaurant owners, and school and IPSS managers. Its anchor agents are the Maronês cattle breeders, an autochthonous breed with a manor in Serra do Alvão/Marão, in the municipalities of Vila Real, Mondim de Basto, Ribeira de Pena and Vila Pouca de Aguiar. These breeders are developing an innovative, alternative, environment-friendly animal production system, based on maximizing animal welfare, unfortunately unknown to the general public.

The Maronês cattle production system reconciles an extensive model of mountain grazing with carbon sequestration in the form of organic matter in the soil, and a reduction in the consumption of production factors dependent on fossil fuels. This system is in line with the “Paris Agreement” (2015), which reaffirms the need for the European and world economy to move towards a new economic model based on low carbon emissions.

Terra Maronesa encompasses several programs and agents of the territory, individual and collective, public and private, such as: Association of Maronês Breeders, Maronesa Meat Producers Group, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB), University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), Associação Aguiarfloresta, ATCoop – Alto Tâmega Cooperative.