photo: © ATO
Ourondo: a fertile place for territorial, social and cultural harmony
Located between two watercourses - the Caia stream to the south and the Zêzere river to the north - the parish of Ourondo is one of the smallest in the municipality of Covilhã, despite its richness in natural resources and endogenous potential. From it you can see the peaks of the Serra da Estrela and Gardunha, the Serra da Cebola and, closer, the Serra da Maúnça.
There is speculation about the name Ourondo and its origins. The existence of gold mines on the Moita site is one of the most plausible reasons (not least because of its geographical proximity to the Couto Mineiro area).
Terra Divina and its relationship with Ourondo
Terra Divina is not an isolated project: its proximity to Ourondo is designed to make these two places benefit from each other through their own resources. In fact, Terra Divina and the village of Ourondo interpenetrate each other in a landscape continuity: through the local roads and paths, through the Grand Zêzere Route (GR33) that crosses both, through the Caia stream and the river beach that bathes their mutual borders.
But more than that, Terra Divina and the artistic and well-being projects we intend to implement have as their vision a revitalization of existing but little-used heritage resources in a locality condemned to slow desertification: in addition to the ATO Care Home House (current lodge for the artistic residencies and permaculture ), our work develops also in cooperation with the Rancho (folk) group, small local businesses and the beach of Alagoa, whose access is made possible crossing the Terra Divina.
Terra Divina
Ourondo
Zêzere river
Caia stream
Grand Zêzere Route GR33
(Care home (ATO
A new artistic and cultural reference in the heart of Portugal
The location of the village of Ourondo allows it to be a strategic point in the central axis of several cities close to each other but not so connected from a cultural point of view: Guarda, Coimbra, Castelo Branco, Covilhã. Ourondo intends to become a new point of affluence for the arts in the country, claiming eyes for this place of natural wealth in the Beiras.
The materialization of this network is not restricted to the isolated events organized by ATO in Terra Divina: our goal is to create a web of disciplinary intersections in an artistic show of national scale - the FESTIVAL DOURADO, FESTA D'OURONDO (Golden Festival, Ourondo fest), an ambitious project that will very soon know its Zero Edition. This festival will not only be a new stage for the showcase of performing arts at national level: it will also dialogue with local festivities (Our Lady of Carmo and Our Lady of Assunção), together with their people and neighboring territories.
photo: © ATO
With the dynamization of the village of Ourondo and the development of Terra Divina as a point of Sustainable Tourism, we want to contribute to a sustainable
GLOCAL CONSCIENCE
as an urgent and necessary strategy for a new balance between humanity and the planet. Artistic realization is a compatible and integral facet of this project, because for us human development is directly linked to the development of its surroundings - to its stage, to its inter-agents, and to the sources of well-being that are not only its own but universal.
photo: © ATO
The next steps:
ATO's work is therefore divided into two axes: artistic creation, which includes the realization of workshops and retreats, artistic residencies and creative projects, and the work on the ground in which we progressively erect the necessary structures so that Terra Divina can in the future host all the projects on the agenda, including the Golden Festival.
For this we rely on a team of professionals, friends and permanent or temporary volunteers who for one reason or another pass through Terra Divina. If you want to support our project, consider becoming a member of our association; alternatively you can also find out about the conditions and dates open for periods of residence in Ourondo on a free volunteer basis.
Together we are stronger and happier!