Yesterday, Tuesday, November 7 at 8.00pm, the Formentera Council's Office of Agriculture hosted the opening of photographer Eva Parey's exhibition looks at the past twelve months of a local project to revive deserted plots of land. Present at the launch of Un any de Cens de Terres de Cultiu (Farmland Reserve: a year in photos) were CiF culture councillor Susana Labrador, rural affairs councillor Bartomeu Escandell, Formentera Farmers' Cooperative director Carlos Marí, the photographer herself, other officials and local residents.
Comprised of thirty-some photos, the collection documents the first year of an initiative called Cens de Terres de Cultiu. The project is backed by the Formentera Council and the Farmers' Cooperative, an organisation of farmers dedicated to reviving the local primary sector and conserving Formentera's natural landscapes.
With the arrival of tourism in the 1960s and 1970s, many fields in the Formentera countryside fell into disuse. Now, with the help of the initiative and thanks to the generosity of landowners who have handed over property to the reserve, many fields are once again being tilled. The initiative helps revive a vocation unique to Formentera, the work of the “pagès” (farmer), at the same time that it protects the area this work takes place, the countryside, with its stone walls, mowed fields and fig trees with their long, propped up branches. Another aim of the project is for local livestock, another keystone feature of the Formentera landscape, to once again have pastureland.
Farmland Reserve is now one year old. Eva Parey, a specialist in photo journalism, has documented the 12 moons that have come and gone in that time, the phases of a year spent farming, clearing shrubbery, tilling fields, sowing seeds, working the land and harvesting to begin sowing once again ... A selection of photos that reflects this laborious work, the process and its protagonists.
Screened during the premiere was a video capturing the work done over the last year. The event also included poetry from Marià Villangómez and music from UC and Aires Formenterencs.
Today marked the first day of World Travel Market, England's leading tourism trade show. Representing and promoting Formentera at the London event, which runs through Wednesday, November 9, 2016, are Formentera Council (CiF) president Jaume Ferrer, councillor of tourism Alejandra Ferrer and, director of Formentera's tourism advisory board, Carlos Bernús.
Today tourism councillor Alejandra Ferrer gave an appraisal of the Formentera Council's inspection unit since its launch this summer. In its first months the crew, an arm of the Office of Tourism and the Office of Land, carried out 700 educational visits and 400 inspections.
Today Formentera's committee on matters related to tourism, la Comissió Turística, held an extraordinary session to report on money collected through tourist-rental certifications. In the last two years, €833,168 has been collected as payments for 1,150 tourist rental permits on a total ultimately projected to reach €2,054,819. As payments are often made in instalments the total sum has yet to be received in full.
The Office of Transport of the Formentera Council has announced that starting today, Tuesday November 1, winter hours take effect for metered parking in la Savina. Parking is regulated Monday through Saturday from 9.00am to 2.00pm and Monday through Friday 4.00 till 8.00pm. Free parking is applied Sundays and bank holidays. The current scheme will be enforced until May 1.