Buinho Associação

description of organisation

Buinho is a cultural association established in the historic town of Messejana, in December 2015, although having already started in 2014 as an informal group of young people and researchers concerned with social innovation and youth empowerment through entrepreneurship and digital manufacturing.
Buinho is a unique digital fabrication laboratory (fablab) located in a rural context. It provides prototyping solutions for local communities as a trigger for regional development and individual empowerment. Buinho is based in Baixo Alentejo, a territory characterized by ageing and excluded population, low population density and with significant challenges regarding retaining young people and raising the attractiveness to newcomers. Acting mainly within in the municipalities of Aljustrel, Castro Verde, and Odemira, Buinho aims to reduce social exclusion, improve learning conditions and contribute to raising the territory attractiveness by the promotion of a creative economy. Buinho pursues: innovative approaches in the field of school education; environmental awareness; circular economy; capacity building of local populations; development of entrepreneurial soft skills next to the young people.

The aims and motivations of Buinho are:
- To contribute to decrease the gap of technological access and experimentation opportunities that exist between the children and young people living in urban and rural areas;
- To contribute to the enhancement of the economic and social environment of rural communities;
- Promote good practices within the field of circular economy and sustainability in a rural context.

Buinho is based in an economically and socially depressed territory, that struggles to retain and attract talent, and faces enormous challenges due to the excessive dependency regarding the mining industry. Messejana is a small town of 800 inhabitants that lost more than 50% of its population since the 1950’s. Its part of the municipality of Aljustrel, a mining territory and with a strong sense of identity, but undermined by a very aged population, lack of economic opportunities for young people and lack of qualified employment, which leads the young couples to migrate to urban areas and reduces the birth rate to alarming levels. The volatility of the mining activities obliges the policymakers and the general community to seek other solutions and diversify the economic activities. Also, intensive mining operations are producing high levels of pollution and toxic waste, thus reducing the quality of life of the local communities.

Buinho has been developing activities in the areas of educational technology, maker education, environmental protection, sustainability and circular economy. We seek to raise the awareness to these issues and empower the local communities to intervene in environmental issues that affect them. Some of our members are very active in developing activities within this field of action. Buinho has also been working with both children and youth, ages from 5 y.o. to 20 y.o. and have felt bigger concerns with the youngsters aged from 15 y.o. to 20y.o, where exists family pressures for school abandonment due to financial issues. Most of the municipalities Youth face economic and social constraints that prevent them to access opportunities within the European framework, notably the opportunity to engage in intercultural exchange and access to quality and international learning opportunities. A significant number of youngsters from Messejana, Aljustrel and other neighboring territories have left schools for working in the mining and construction sector or subject of seasonal labor migration to other countries. The strategy has been therefore to reach both to these young people and their family, privileging projects that are community-based and community driven. It will be equally valuable to contribute to the improvement of their school achievements, in particular in the development of digital competencies necessary for the improvement of the possibilities of a prosperous future academic and professional path.