Luísa Pinto and Filipe Morato Gomes, UMinho alumni launch a portal to talk about the countryside in a positive way

The portal Rostos da Aldeia (Village Faces) was born on September 13, with inspiring stories of people from the interior of Portugal. The project of Luísa Pinto and Filipe Morato Gomes, graduates of the University of Minho, wants to promote the low density territories, rural tourism and the settlement of people in the villages.

Documentary films, interviews, reportages and practical guides will help to show examples of hospitality, gastronomy, crafts and popular culture. In fact, you can already discover Campo Benfeito (Castro Daire) and Ferraria S. João (Penela), in the Centre region, with the artistic director of Teatro do Montemuro and the four founders of the Capuchinhas cooperative. Next up is Arga, in Alto Minho, with the creator of the Arte na Leira project.

“We will document life in the inland territories, especially the inhabitants who are drivers of change or creators of difference. On the other hand, we show that the villages can be places of enjoyment, with quality of life and reasons of interest that make them unique,” explains Luísa Pinto. The ultimate goal is to motivate more people to visit those territories, extend their stay and, who knows, maybe even settle there. “Communication has the ability to generate regional dynamics, brought about by new residents and small investors”, she stresses. This former student of Social Communication has been a journalist for 20 years and founder of the Hotelandia portal, dedicated to good examples of national hospitality.

At www.rostosdaaldeia.pt, the texts are written by Luísa Pinto and the scripts by Filipe Morato Gomes, Computer Systems Engineering alumni of the UMinho Engineering School and author of the Alma de Viajante travel blog. There is also audiovisual content by award-winning videographer Tiago Cerveira and unpublished soundtracks by composer Luís Pedro Madeira, based on regional sounds and instruments. The platform also has an online shop, directing the visitor, free of charge and without commissions, to regional products or locally organised services, such as guided tours or wood-oven bread workshops. With this it is hoped to contribute to the vitality of local economic agents.

Rostos da Aldeia at Youtube, Instagram e Facebook