Third Transnational Exchange

Otta - Norway

September 18th - 25th 2016

“The traditional house and

sustainable development”

This theme was selected after we came across some of theproblems in our region, which are:

Low agriculture profit.

The closure of a large number of textile factories.

The lack of investments that can help the economy grow.

The economic and financial crisis that our country is going

through.

The lack of jobs opportunities.

The population has migrated and villages are becoming deserted.

“Does the preservation of the traditional houses contributeto a sustainable development?”

We considered that maybe the traditional houses wouldcontribute to the improvement of our current situation, so wecame across a main question for our research:

We created several questions and possible solutionsconcerning the problem under study.

QuestionDoes the traditional house have

any touristic value?

Perhaps the traditional houses have a touristic value which can

contribute to the local sustainable development

Hypothesis

Methodology and characteristics of the sample

We designed a questionnaire

that was answered by a sample

of 20 owners of cottages65%

35%

Sex

Female

Male

Sample characteristics

10% 5%

45%

20% 20%

0%

19-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-80 81-90

Age

10%

5%

5%

15%

45%

20%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

PRIMARY SCHOOL

BASIC SCHOOL (2ND/3RD CYCLE)

PROFESSIONAL COURSES

SECONDARY SCHOOL

UNIVERSITY

MA AND PHD DEGREE

Qualifications

Results

Type of building:

5%

20%

45%

10%5% 0%

15%

less than50

between50 and 100

100-150 150-200 200-250 250-300 more than300

Total house area in square metes

50%

35%

10%

5%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

GRANITE, WOOD

GRANITE, WOOD, BRICK, CEMENT

SCHIST, WOOD, BRICK, CEMENT

SCHIST, WOOD

Building Material

30%

70%

Location of the construction

Isolated(farm)

Village

25%

45%

30%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

IN THE HOUSE

OTHER HOUSE, IN THESAME VILLAGE

IN ANOTHER VILLAGE

The owners live

10%

90%

Is the income provided by the touristichouses enough for their owners to live

only on it?

Yes

No

17%

83%

OTHER PROFESSIONAL PROJECTS ALREADY IN

COURSE

INSUFFICIENT INCOME BECAUSE OF BEING SAZONAL

If not, what is/are the reason/s

70%

85%

35%

60%

5%

35%

70%

70%

45%

60%

50%

MAINTENANCE WORK

RESTORATION WORK

SOLAR PANELS PLACEMENT

DOUBLE GLASS WINDOWS PLACEMENT

IMPROVEMENT OF THE RAINWATERS USAGE SYSTEM

PLACEMENT OF "ECO-FRIENDLY"/WATER SAVING TAPS

LED ILLUMINATION PLACEMENT

INTRODUCTION OF THERMAL INSULATION ON THE ROOF

INTRODUCTION OF THERMAL INSULATION ON THE WALLS

PLACEMENT OF WATER SAVIMG TOILETS

INTRODUCTION OF WASTE SEPARATION SYSTEM

What type of changes/repairs has the owner been doing in the house?

35%

65%

Is it easy for the owner to rent theirhouse?

Yes

No

75%

60%

30%

90%

35%

COMFORTABLE, OFFERS A GOOD ENVIRONMENT

WELL DECORATED HOUSES

COMPLIMENTS ON THE ARCHICTETURE

COMPLIMENTS ON THE SERVICE

GOOD LOCATION

What is the feedback given by the visitors?

25%

95%

70%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

RUSTIC AND NATURAL ENVIRON

ENGAGING AND MARVELLOUS

TRANSMITS CALM, VERY QUIET AND RELAXING

What is the visitors’ opinion on the surrounding?

15%

40%

30%

15%

0%

VERY GOOD

GOOD

SATISFACTORY

BAD

TERRIBLE

How would you rate the regioninfrastructures?

35%

15%

20%

40%

5%

15%

10%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

DEVELOPING TOURISM CREATING INTEREST POINTS (JEWISH MARKS, …

CREATING BETTER ACCESSES

URBANISTIC RECOVERY

MORE ADVERTISING ESPECIALLY FOR SUMMER ACTIVITIES

NOTHING

RESTAURANTS

CREATING MEANS TO ATTRACT THE POPULATION AND AVOID …

What do you think it is missing in the place that could increasetourism?

Would you say that havingtraditional houses is importantfor the different regions?

95%

5%

Yes

No

Why?

Conclusions

The houses were rehabilitated and there was a concern to make them more comfortable and

sustainable.

55% of the owners have no difficulty on renting the houses. However, there are problems that may be

related with the fact that the region is more attractive in the winter than in the other seasons.

Although not all owners depend entirely on the income of these houses, they´re an important

economic contribution. Even though some of the owners could make a living only with the renting

contribution, they don´t, because they enjoy their current job.

The guests appreciate the quality of service, the beauty of these houses and the landscape that

surrounds them.

The guests consider there is a lack of advertising for these houses and also, that there are not

enough points of interest, except in the winter.

The owners value the preservation of the villages and their typical houses, because it contributes to

tourism development.

This way, all these aspects allow us to conclude that thepreservation of the traditional houses of Serra da Estrela region isimportant to the sustainable development of the region, eventhough it seems there is still a long path to go.

The end