05.FEB.2022 ︎︎︎ VISITING INSPIRING PROJECTS
A group of around ten cooperative members visited LaFábrika deTodaLaVida, a community-led cultural project based in the former grain silo of Los Santos de Maimona, Badajoz (Spain). The visit provided an opportunity to exchange experiences and explore innovative approaches to the regeneration of abandoned heritage through culture and community participation.
25.FEB.2022 ︎︎︎ PARTICIPATION AT THE SWING BAHAUS MEETING
Estação Cooperativa took part in the SWING Bauhaus meeting in Los Santos de Maimona. SWING is a network of organisations from the Iberian Southwest promoting the principles of the New European Bauhaus. During the meeting, Estação Cooperativa was invited to organise the first Terra Bauhaus gathering.
31.MAR.2022 ︎︎︎GENERAL ASSEMBLY
General assembly: eview and approve the 2021 management report and financial accounts.
MAY+JUN.2022 ︎︎︎ COMMUNITY WORK DAYS
Collectively addressing challenges has always been part of our way of working. During these early years, the cooperative has relied on voluntary effort, solidarity and mutual support to make things happen.
Throughout May and June, cooperative members, neighbours and volunteers gathered on several occasions to clean, repair and prepare the spaces for the activities planned throughout the year. Beyond the practical work, these days strengthened relationships and reinforced a shared sense of belonging.
20.MAY.2022 ︎︎︎ “TERRA BAUHAUS” GATHERING
20 May marked the moment when we truly felt that Estação Cooperativa had opened itself to the wider world. We expanded beyond our immediate local network, launched our social media presence and organised the Terra Bauhaus gathering, bringing together around forty participants representing organisations, projects and institutions from Alentejo, Central Portugal, Extremadura and the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. In an informal and welcoming atmosphere, participants discovered the village and the cooperative, exchanged experiences, established new relationships and laid the foundations for future collaborations.
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25.MAY.2022 ︎︎︎ TALK “MIETSHAUSER SYNDICAT”
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A public talk explored the collective housing model developed by Mietshäuser Syndikat, a German cooperative initiative founded in 1992 to acquire housing through non-profit investment and transfer it into collective ownership, ensuring long-term affordable housing. The session presented the Syndikat's governance model, financing mechanisms and guiding principles, while opening a discussion on how similar approaches could be adapted to the Portuguese context. The event was co-organised with Cooperativa Integral Minga and Oficinas do Convento.
03.JUN.2022 ︎︎︎ EXTENSION OF THE INTERNATIONAL PUPPET FESTIVAL OF MONTEMOR-O-NOVO
As part of the 14th Montemor-o-Novo International Puppet Festival, organised by Alma d'Arame, Casa Branca hosted an extension of the festival programme. The evening featured Painted Songs by Daniel V. Melim, followed by a concert by jazz musician Ana Casa Branca, presenting her debut EP. The event brought contemporary performing arts to the village while strengthening cultural connections across the municipality.
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03.JUN.2022 ︎︎︎ PRESENTATION “CASA BRANCA, THE VILLAGE AS A THEME“
Motivated by Espaço do Tempo and Oficinas do Convento, the Department of Architecture of the University of Évora invited Master's students in Architecture to spend the 2021–2022 academic year researching architectural interpretation, urban regeneration and architectural design in Casa Branca. The programme concluded with an exhibition presented in one of the former railway buildings, where students and professors shared the results of their work with invited academics and jurors.
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22>26.JUN.2022 ︎︎︎ PRÉ0CUPADA FESTIVAL
Organised by Oficinas do Convento, the Pré0cupada Festival transformed Casa Branca into a temporary stage for artistic creation and experimentation. Bringing together artists and partners from different disciplines, the festival offered workshops, exhibitions, performances, theatre, dance, music and collective moments of reflection, extending the cultural programme of Oficinas do Convento into the village.
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23.SEP.2022 > 31.JAN.2023 ︎︎︎ OPEN AIR EXHIBITION “CRIAR MEMÓRIAS EM TERRAS DE FERRO”
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Creating Memories in Iron Lands is an outdoor exhibition route comprising 24 interpretive panels installed in Largo 1.º de Maio, Casa Branca. Developed through documentary research, interviews with local residents and audiovisual recordings, the exhibition invites visitors to discover the distinctive historical, cultural and natural heritage of the parish of Santiago do Escoural. Interactive content encourages visitors to explore memory through their relationship with the landscape, the community and the places that shape this territory. The exhibition forms part of a project developed by Oficinas do Convento in partnership with MARCA ADL. Alongside the exhibition, the project also created a programme of guided visits and practical workshops. It was developed in partnership with Estação Cooperativa and the Parish Council of Santiago do Escoural, with co-funding from the Municipality of Montemor-o-Novo and the Alentejo 2020 / ERDF programme.
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30.SEP. > 02.OCT.2022 ︎︎︎ I INTEGRAL COOPERATIVES FORUM
The First Integral Cooperatives Forum emerged from the growing network of integral cooperatives in Portugal and the shared desire to strengthen collaboration while supporting new initiatives in other territories.
Over three days, participants explored topics including ethical and sustainable food systems, exchange networks between cooperatives, cooperative housing models, governance, legal structures and financing.
The forum was co-organised by: Estação Cooperativa, Cooperativa da Terra, Rizoma Coop, Regenerativa Cooperativa, Minga Montemor.
One of the forum's most significant outcomes was the creation of the Portuguese Network of Integral Cooperatives. Since then, the network has organised regular meetings to exchange knowledge, experiences and good practices, while inviting specialists and organisations to contribute to discussions on legal frameworks, governance, management and funding.
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Reportagem Jornal Mapa︎︎︎
3.OCT. > 18.DEC.2022 ︎︎︎ CONSTRUCTION SITE BASEhabitat
In partnership with BASEhabitat, the Department of Architecture at the University of Arts Linz (Austria), Estação Cooperativa hosted a three-month design-build studio for Master's students in Architecture. Nine students lived and worked in Casa Branca, guided by architects Tânia Teixeira (CRU Atelier), Joana Torres (Oficina Design) and Christian Daschek (BASEhabitat). Combining academic learning with hands-on construction, the programme focused on sustainable architecture, natural building materials and traditional construction techniques. Working alongside Portuguese craftspeople and specialists, the students took part in the rehabilitation of Building 6690, transforming it into the cooperative's first restored space and laying the foundations for future interventions across the former railway neighbourhood.
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15.OCT.2022 ︎︎︎ GATHERING AND COLLECTIVE DECISION ABOUT THE NEW OVEN LOCATION
The community gathered in the Railway Station Square to share progress on the rehabilitation works underway, discuss the future location of the community oven, and receive updates on the sub-concession agreement with IP Património. These informal meetings continue to play an important role in strengthening community participation and collective decision-making.
10.NOV.2022 ︎︎︎ PARTICIPATION AT “EUROACE BAHAUS VILLAGES”
Estação Cooperativa participated in the roundtable "EUROACE Bauhaus Villages", held during the Fourth Plenary Session of the EUROACE Cross-Border Working Community (Alentejo, Centro and Extremadura) in Proença-a-Nova.
The event brought together initiatives exploring how the principles of the New European Bauhaus can contribute to the regeneration of rural territories through culture, sustainability and community participation.
18.DEC.2022 ︎︎︎ COMMUNITY CELEBRATION
The cooperative celebrated the completion of the first phase of the rehabilitation of a former railway building, carried out through the BASEhabitat design-build studio.
The event showcased the construction techniques and sustainable materials explored during the workshop, thanked the students and volunteers who contributed to the project, and presented the cooperative's plans for 2023.
27.DEC.2022︎︎︎ PDR2020 FUNDING APPROVED
Estação Cooperativa secured funding through the PDR2020 – Village Renewal Programme for the conservation and adaptive reuse of a former railway building. The project, Terras de Ferro – Documentation, Interpretation and Research Centre of Casa Branca, would become the cooperative's first permanent public facility, opening in September 2024 as a space dedicated to memory, research, artistic creation and community engagement.
Comunidade de ativação criativa e experimental do antigo bairro ferroviário da aldeia de Casa Branca, concelho de Montemor-o-Novo....
Estação Cooperativa CRL
Largo 1º de Maio 4, Casa Branca
Montemor-o-Novo - Portugal
︎ info@estacaocooperativa.pt
︎ +351 933 210 285
Estação Cooperativa CRL
Largo 1º de Maio 4, Casa Branca
Montemor-o-Novo - Portugal
︎ info@estacaocooperativa.pt
︎ +351 933 210 285