Between March and April 2025, the European partners had the opportunity to visit Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe islands and conduct field research, with the aim of collecting relevant data on local initiatives and projects in line with the project thematic axis, meeting with public institutions and start engaging local stakeholders which will benefit from the project results.
Despite abundant natural and cultural riches in both countries, their intangible cultural heritage and gastronomy remain undervalued and underutilized sustainably. As SIDS (Small Island Developing States), these nations face significant development challenges, exacerbated by climate change impacts.
CULTIVAR project pioneers an interdisciplinary higher education system, training professionals to tackle challenges and meet Sustainable Development Goals. Proposed activities include fortifying Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in critical areas like History/Cultural Heritage, Tourism, Agronomy, and Social Sciences.
From 10 to 14 March, the partners were in São Tomé to meet the colleagues of the University of São Tomé and Príncipe and for several encounters and activities, focused on cultural heritage, local food production and sustainable tourism in the archipelago.
Since São Tomé is one of the major cocoa and coffee producers in the world, visits were organised to the Bobo Forro Market and several plantations, such as the Roças Monte Forte and Diogo Vaz for cocoa and the Roça Monte Café for coffee. Technical visits took place to CECAB – Cooperative for the Production and Export of Organic Cocoa and to CIAT – Agronomic and Technological Research Center specialized in the analysis and control of plants and vegetables, produced in São Tomé or imported.
In terms of cultural heritage and tourism, the partners visited the Coffee Museum, the Sea and Artisanal Fishing Museum, the Almada Negreiros House Museum, the CACAU cultural space (House of Arts, Creation, Environment, and Utopias), the Historical Archive, the National Library and the National Museum. The latter is about to be renovated, with a room that could potentially be designed by CULTIVAR partners.
Institutional meetings were also organised with the Minister of Education, Culture, Science, and Higher Education, Dr. Isabel Abreu, the Directorate-General for Culture and the Directorate-General for Tourism and Hospitality.
