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Over 30 years ago Inge wrote her master thesis based on fieldwork in the Mondego Valley in Portugal. In the end of the 1970’s the Portuguese government designed a project for the Mondego Valley, to get hydro energy and to regulate the water for controlled irrigation.

The agricultural reforms were an important driver for the Mondego project, but also the construction of large hydro-infrastructural works for the energy-generation.

The project aim of controlling the flooding of the area and ensuring a new source of electricity succeeded much earlier than the land reform. Two mayor hydro-powerplants were built in the Mondego valley: the Aguieira hydro power plant, located in Aguieira, started operating in 1981. Its average annual production is 193 GWh. The Raiva hydroelectric power plant (1982) generates a yearly average of 44 GWh.  All together almost 1% of the Portuguese energy consumption.

The agricultural reforms were made to be able to control to the irrigation and drainage of the area, to protect the area from the floods. Originally only rice could be grown. A controlled irrigation would make it possible to grow crops with a higher yield. This could make cultivating what agricultural soil Portugal has, more effective. Inge came in in the late ‘80s and started interviewing the farmers in Montemor-o-Velho. In 1989, the project had been delayed, which coincided with local resistance from the small farmers, and even sabotage of the works. The bigger and more entrepreneurial farmers from the association of farmers were enthusiastic about the project.

What happened in the 30 years in between the master thesis and 2020?  

First, we went to see how the valley developed since then. The train from Figueira da Foz to Montemor-o-Velho took us through familiar looking small-scale villages and some abandoned farms. But further inland, we saw the image of the land reform unfold.

For a long time, the number of land owners stayed the same. In 2008 the number of parcels they owned had halved (so the parcels on average became twice as big). Rice (60%) and corn continue to dominate, with potatoes and other vegetables. It appears that this has been a key to success: The project adapted to small sized parcels and conciliated to predominant existing crops (rice, corn). 

For the Mondego valley itself it seems to have been a success story even though it has cost lots of time and money. Estimates from 2008 on the total investment costs for about 5.500 ha (roughly 2/3 of the original project): almost 43 million Euros. And we see that the works on the adjacent rivers have suffered severe delays, much to the dismay of farmers in those regions.

Challenges

Rice growing is water consuming. The University of Coimbra and the research institute MARE carry out research on how to minimize the environmental impact of this crop while keeping the yield high. During the field work in ’89 we were welcomed with words we will never forget: You come all the way from the Netherlands to study our situation while we never ever saw those professors from Coimbra, only 30 kilometers from here”. So, this is a positive change. 

On our 45 minutes’ walk from the train station to Montemor-o-Velho we walked along the endless corn fields. We then saw another potential challenge: How to grow crops without relying on large biochemical companies.

New developments

In recent years several groups in Portugal have protested against new mini-hydropower plants on the Mondego and other rivers. Environmental groups and other civil society organizations were able to stop two projects. In early 2016 the government decided that only four of the original seven dams will be built: the Girabolhos project on Mondego river was cancelled. Main reason for this was the incompatibility of the fish ladders built, and the broader changes they would bring, which included the expropriation of people’s houses. The construction of a fish pass in the Açude-Ponte dam in Coimbra represented the first step of the restoration process for the fish in Mondego river. It motivated further interventions in five of the smaller existing obstacles to promote successful fish passage. This is good news for sea lamprey and shad. These are gastronomic delicacies in this region and could help promoting the development of fishery, and generate incomes for local population and regional tourism activities.

In general, the organizations defend that no more dams should be built in Portugal and the cancellation of public subsidies for hydroelectric dam projects. Municipal leaders in municipalities near the dams, on the other hand, protested against the decision to reduce the number of dams, claiming that it will result in the loss of potential profits and benefits for local businesses. Also, the flooding of the valley could be controlled better by the dams, which in the light of climate change could be an important function of the dams as well. 

Conclusion

Writing this blog, we realized that large-scale interventions bring benefits but often have adverse effects in other fields. The large dams hold the water and yield energy. But this leads to expropriation and potentially causes malnutrition for the underlying lands, hence the need for using fertilizers. Maintaining the system of irrigation and drainage is a complex task for a rural community. The large dams hinder the passage of fish, which makes other infrastructural projects necessary. 

The approach chosen for reducing the environmental impact of rice growing looks hopeful: stay close to what happens on the land, use local knowledge and try to improve the situation together gradually.

Sources:

• https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2020EGUGA..2211924D/abstract
• http://www.rhpdm.uevora.pt/rivermondego.html
• https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Agricultural-development-in-the-Mondego-valley%2C-Dias-Jose/e7f25d6a4bb169102c72507773db3df636fd23c6
• http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/reu/europe/documents/LANDNET/2008/Ambar.pdf
  

Van de Gruiter sponsors Fossil Free Around the World

Van de Gruiter , the specialist on rigging and sailing gear for the watersport, is sponsoring the Fossil Free Around the World project. Van de Gruiter already sponsored the Sustainable Yacht project before, with the complete running rig.
Did you know that the running rig, the halyards and sheets and block and tackles on the Ya, already last for over 37.000 miles these last 6 years? This is quality, this is the sustainability that Van de Gruiter brings in.

On her trip through England, Ya landed in Calstock, just before the huge 19^thcentury bridge over the river Tamar, some 12 miles upstream from Plymouth.

The first basic necessities for sailors are available: WIFI, fresh water, electricity and… friendly people.

Because the supermarkets had disappeared from this town, volunteers during COVID set up the Local Community Shop, to provide for the basic necessities for the villagers. It opens three times a week in the former townhall. They sell the products for reasonable prices or even for free, but you can leave a donation. The restaurants, pastie shop and therapy hub are open with measures for social distancing.

The management of Calstock Boatyard opened up the wharf for local artists and small entrepreneurs. One of them is Kim, who makes sustainable soaps, with pure oils and ingredients like walnutshells and salt. These artisanal soaps leave your hands cleaner and softer than antibacterial products.

Visiting Calstock made us think of how vitality and sustainability are shaped in our hometown Burdaard, Ya’s first home harbor.

Some years ago, we were afraid of seeing the local supermarket disappear, but now Burdaard has two fine small supermarkets selling the best products from the region. And many other great small shops. The township and other parties organized initiatives in the field of sustainability like energy-checks for houses. Thanks to the new multifunctional centre Burdaard even has an indoor swimming pool. There is an internationally known museum of naïve painter Ruurd Wiersma.

Local entrepreneurs recently developed ‘Burdaarder Blond’. This special beer is brewed in a village nearby and its profits go back to the community. The beer even has its own website.

Burdaard and Calstock, both in their own way, manage to keep the village vital. With a keen eye for what is necessary, with pride and with local products and initiatives.

PredictWind sponsors Fossil Free Around the World.

The coming days will cross the Bay of Biscay, and then to Portugal. Click here to see where we are now

Philip Merricks is a sailor and a proud farmer who happens to know just about everyone meaning anything in the nature preservation in England. And in the Netherlands as well. Philip showed us around in Rye and shared his vision and contacts with us. He even found an aluminium welder for a small but necessary repair on the staysail’s boom. This remarkable farmer is also passionate about sailing. A strange combination? Philip does not think so. 

Ya‘s philosophy

When he first saw Ya he exclaimed right away: ‘What a remarkable boat!’ And he kept coming back to discover more details of the design and ultimately also on the philosophy behind the design.

Elmley‘s philosophy

We found out this is where the philosophies of farming, nature preservation and sailing meet: Think carefully of what you need and then take care for what you use. Philip and his team want an economically sound company. And for continuity they want to preserve the breeding waders and wildlife in their part of Sussex and Kent. They manage their farm in a sustainable way and add hospitality to it, opening it up for camping and events. This way they introduce sustainability as a way of life to their guests as well. And they love it. All winners.

Sailing, farming and nature

What Philip and Peter have in common is; use what you need. You must now your objectives (in this case: a combination of sailing, farming and substainability),and then you take some radical decisions and make it work. 

We invited Philip to sail the English Channel with us and had a great time, enjoying good food and traditional English treats like fruitcake and flapjacks. And perhaps because they sensed lots of love for the environment on the Ya, several smaller groups of dolphins accompanied the Ya for miles and miles and played around her.  Thank Ya!

We were in the Medemblik marina , where the Ya always gets a warm welcome. We take showers there. Everybody takes a shower there. All together some 50 to 100 showers each morning. Although the Dutch heat efficiently on gas, an average Dutch shower brings approximately 1,5 kilogram CO2 into the air. When you use coal to heat, like in the USA or China, this can be triple! We shower a lot, so here is something to reduce. Use a checklist to reduce CO2 in your showers: the Shower Check.

The Shower Check applied

Peter made a checklist on what you can do to save CO2, and money. He applied it on the showers in the marina of Medemblik. Here you see the checklist and the results.

Medemblik Marina Showers
CO2/energy/money savers	Outcome
Throughput (flow) of the spray head	4,4 ltr/min
Temperature	41 degrees at outlet
Heating efficiency	90% (on paper)
On/off button	yes
Automatic stop on e.g. 2 minutes	yes
Short hot water lines	yes
Heat recovery unit(s)	no
Sunboilers	no

Peter put a bucket under the shower and let it run for exactly 1 minute. The Medemblik Marina showers are well adjusted. They managed to lower the flow to the minimum of 4,4 liter per minute. And still you have a nice shower. The temperature only could perhaps be lower; this saves CO2 as well. Directly after our feedback, the harbourmaster lowered it.

If you push the ON button, you shower runs for 2 minutes. Push again, and it starts again for two minutes. Luckily there is also an OFF button, when you want to stop. Many harbour showers have coin systems and then the shower simply continues, also when you are done. It runs only for the bureaucratic reason that you paid for a certain amount of time. It is a waste. Not in Medemblik. You get exactly the shower you need. This saves money and the showers are free (the coin system would only make it more expensive).

What the marina does not have is a heat recovery unit. This installation reuses the heat from your wastewater to heat to your fresh shower water. This saves a lot, but it should be built in when they rebuild the showers. This, together with some sun boilers on the roof, would easily make the showers fossil free, and cheaper on the long run. The harbour master explained that the steep roofs  do not allow to get enough sun there. The roofs must be rebuilt then

Generally, the fossil fuels used, are reduced to the minimum. It is the main prayer of the Fossil Free Around the World project: “Three things: (1)Use only what you really need, (2) use only what you really need, and (3)use only what you really need.”
The whole installation is as ecological optimized as one can with the conventional equipment. If Medemblik marina wants to save more, structural decisions have to be made.

How you save CO2- money- and energy

You can use the Shower Check to reduce your own CO2 en money emissions.

First, you can minimize the flow. In stead of a big, wide spray head creating a rain shower of about 10 or 15 liter per minute, you simply buy a so called ‘sport spray head’. These do not cost much and give a pleasant flow of about 5 liter per minute.

Second, you can reduce the time of your shower. The average shower is 9 minutes. This is not necessary (and it is also not healthy for your skin, you might give that some thought).

Heating water means combusting gas, oil or coal. Medemblik Marina uses a gas combustion heater, with an efficiency of about 85%. But there are heaters that do over 90%.

If you have the money, install one or two sun boilers on your roof. Better put your money there than on a bank. And you shower fossil free!

We are very glad that Brunton’s Propellers contributes to  the fossilfree world tour. Two of their Autoprops are under the ‘Ya’. These propellers are the solution, first to get the most efficient generation to the dynamos. Secondly, they are very efficient when we use them for propulsion, far better than most props. And third, when we don’t use them, they automatically go in the feathering position and  give the least resistance.

The Autoprops are extremely efficient, in propulson and generation. They make the hydrogenation work on our 34 feet sailing yacht. In light winds the Ya simply sails to slow to make any prop work, even the Autoprops. The Parasailor is big, steady an reliable sail that will solve this problem. With its special wing it is an innovation. Laurens Morel is invited to make pictures of the Ya sailing the Parasailor. We will keep you posted.