Visit to the Municipal Fire Station in Funchal

Dec 19, 2014 at 3:27 pm | Posted in Posts | Leave a comment
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The group went to visit the local Municipal Fire Station in Funchal to the North of Dolce Vita.

This was a very interesting visit. Chief Samuel, one of the shift leaders with many years of experience, showed us the station and the cars and gave us honest answers to a lot of prickly questions.

The highlights:

The team has 137 staff (it should have 140)

26 persons are always on call on 12 hour shifts.

The response time is very quick, especially if you do not call 112 (officially what you have to do) but directly to them (291 200930).

The city is divided into two parts:

West: Municipal Bombeiros,

East: Voluntary Bombeiros, but if there is a fire in the Zone Velha or around the Cathedral, both units always respond.

The staff have a gym, a canteen (most bring their own food) , a multi-purpose room with internet and sleeping quarters.

A regular fireman/woman earns around 600-700€ month, a Chief around 1100€ (they say, brut, less taxes…)

Nothing much may happen in a shift but they have to be alert. Tension is palpable in the building and the courtyard.

The equipment:

There is never enough money around to have the best equipment and maintenance but this is a complaint every Fire Station in the world voices. The FNC Volunteers have worse equipment, though.

A lot of equipment is bought from Germany. The base of the cars may be coming from Mercedes but the top is built by a Portuguese company, Jacinto. They are very good at custom building fire equipment and sell their fire engines all over Europe. (Land Rovers are not the favourite Fireman car, they are being replaced over time.)

There are smaller cars to check out a situation – the Fire Chief has always to be there first.

They have one car to free people trapped in cars – this is the worst job they have to do

Ladder cars:

We have the biggest ladder in Portugal (55m) this is the second biggest ladder in Europe. Think of hotels like Pestana Carlton…

There are regular Fire Trainings in the hotels for the firemen by the Fire Departments. These trainings serve also to check the pipes and hydrants. All hotels have to have an internal “first response” Fire Team.

Water tanks:

All cars have water tanks of various sizes, the biggest contains 32000 l water (all hydrant water is fresh water)

They also come with foam which is very effective but expensive. The Station has a tank of 1000 l foam.

The pipes are surprisingly slim; water pumps can be taken out by hand to be placed where they can be connected to external water supplies.

The Station also has a training tower to train for high-rise fires. The staff has lot of training sessions to keep them in shape and respond to new situations or regulation.

Ambulances:

They have ambulances just for emergencies; the Volunteers and other services (Red Cross) take care of non-urgent transports. In the time we were there, the ambulances moved out twice. – no fire alarms.

 

E., with his dire experience in Monte last year, spoke about the shortcomings during the situation (hydrants blocked, lagoon water not used, no help from the fire department) Chief Samuel acknowledged this.

Chief Samuel confirmed that there was an order to save the Monte Church – nowadays; such an order could not be imposed on the Firemen anymore.

On February 20, 2010, contrary to the rumours, only 42 persons died, and nobody drowned in the underground parking garages.

The Fire Department has its own water gauge in the mountains so that they know when a flood can be expected downtown.

In Dolce Vita, the order was to evacuate the parking, and people tried to take out their cars but the “guards” wouldn’t open the gates without payment so more cars were rendered unusable

We gave Chief Samuel our Fire Manual.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Dinner

Dec 7, 2014 at 11:50 am | Posted in Posts | Leave a comment
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Next week, we shall have our annual Madeira Consorcio Christmas Dinner, prepared by one of the best Austrian cooks on the island. Be envious, people!

Let’s see what 2015 brings us… we have three new members and the group is invigorated by their input.

See you in 2015!

 

66 Meeting Madeira Consorcio 13.11.2014

Nov 16, 2014 at 12:04 pm | Posted in Posts | Leave a comment
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66 Meeting Madeira Consorcio 13.11.2014

 

We had another inspiring meeting, and although we touch on some difficult thruths, I think we all came away with some good insights.

In regards to the Association for the promotion of Madeiran Culture and Nature, U. told the group about S.P., He is a retired owner of a shipping business . He created a socio-cultural foundation for Madeira in a renovated building  with an art gallery, housing his own permanent collection and offering the space to artists (this would be good for Ri`s photos and S`s paintings) The Uniao Budista da Madeira had a meditation workshop in there recently. Mr. P.give the space for free. He seems eager to fill the house with other social and cultural events. U. will set up a meeting with him, to introduce Ri, who could have an exposition of this wonderful photos – he showed us some –and maybe get his support for his planed book and movie. Mr. P. might also be interested to support such initiatives with funds.

The idea of the Association in itself is to promote such events which preserve the history and nature of the island. However, the group is not keen to undergo the process of creating an association – too bureaucratic – and keep it simple as an informal group.

U. said that the “Clube de Praticantes”, also a legal entity in Portuguese law, has a much easier set up but is only allowed for sports organizations. It would be filling a gap for small groups to establish an identity by opening this array to other non-sportive groups, something to be suggested to the Simplex initiative.

We talked about Kickstarter (www.kickstarter.com) to obtain funds for the film Ri. has in mind. Kickstarter is a platform to get funds from individuals for individual projects which don`t have to be repaid. Usually the applicants pledge to give their donors a small token of appreciation, e.g. a Pottery company may send them a coffee cup after the projects is up and running. It is important for this to have a good exposé on the website to explain the project with a few words and good photos and to get the donor community excited.

We spoke about the upcoming tax on plastic bags in the supermarkets. This may be to educate people to avoid using the bags, it may be to get money for green projects (probably not true). In U`s view, this might be an opportunity to boycott the state: by not buying the bags, this way the state would not obtain any extra income from it.

U. is looking for the point on which the Portuguese will really start a revolution; she sees much discontent and anger.

The (mostly illegally built) houses on several islands in front of Faro may turn into such a powder keg soon; there the poor people are supposed to have their illegal housing destroyed, and the well-off are going to keep theirs.

An.is of the opinion that the majority of people are content and that such a revolution will not come along, and that the population should not be compelled to think into this direction. The motivation isn’t there.

D. said that people who are annoyed with the situation in Portugal and the lack of social mobility, and can leave, leave the country. Only the poor and more or less ignorant stay behind, and they are easily manageable.

S. said that we live in a feudal society, like hundreds of years ago. E. knows of an important person in Valor Ambiente who successfully sabotages an OmegaEco (http://www.omegaeco.com/) Project for Funchal because he is afraid to lose his comfortable spot and salary.

We spoke of the EcoVillage idea. U. said that these villages have to have rules, An. is against it, he says such communities can work on a organic self-organized level. One example is Scoraig (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoraig and www.scoraig.com). An.visited the place and lived there for some weeks.

Such places are self-organized, technically they are anarchy but not a chaos (Wikipedia: “Anarchy refers to a society without a publicly enforced government”)

This is an interconnected and informal society where all members pitch in together, for instance to fund a boat ferry to the mainland, to pay the postman, the school teacher etc. All members are responsible for the whole community. A person’s good name is important, if a person doesn’t return a borrowed tool, the others will stop borrowing to him/her

Note from U: Daniel Quinn is the author of several philosophical books (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishmael_%28novel%29). He describes the life of the “Leavers” who do not interfere and abuse nature, such as in Scoraig (and in my view, also the Amish), and the lifestyle of the “Takers” who dominate our so-called “civilization”. She strongly recommends to click on the Wikipedia and read the excerpt: She thinks this summons up what Scoraig and the Amish communities are about.

E. has Daniel Quinn`s book “My Ishmael” at the moment; it may be freely borrowed by others in the group!

E. introduced M.the Potter, and showed his replicas of the “Römertopf” which can be used to bake bread. M.needs a 15 m2 space to work (the kiln is somewhere else); An. will see if he can give him a space in the Quinta.

 

 

65 Madeira Consorcio Meeting 16.10.2014

Oct 17, 2014 at 5:19 pm | Posted in Posts | Leave a comment
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A few of us had a very nice meeting last night. The weather was not favourable and we couldn`t visit V`s garden, so we went right into the discussion of just everything, including political parties and the current state of Portugal.

D said that there is a new party being created by Antonio Marinho Pinto, a man he says seems to be respectable and honest (ex-“Partido da Terra” member, ex boss of the Ordem dos Advogados). Here is a link to some info about the new party PDR: http://portocanal.sapo.pt/noticia/38771/

We also spoke about the TED talk about remittances which shows that foreign aid could be cut down if we allowed refugees to work in the country of choice. They are sending as much money as possible home to their families and support their community much more effectively. Here is the link:

http://www.ted.com/talks/dilip_ratha_the_hidden_force_in_global_economics_sending_money_home

Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who worked with Edward Snowdon, makes the case for privacy for individuals – to be protected – and openness of Government documents – to avoid shady dealings.:

http://www.ted.com/talks/glenn_greenwald_why_privacy_matters

Remember the “Marriage in Madeira” discussion – EU foreigners can easily marry in Madeira and this would be a good product for the island`s tour operators? A bridegroom found the Piece U wrote and will now arrange his nuptials with the German consulate in Funchal, a small success!

 

64 joint Meeting Madeira Consorcio with Andrew`s group

Sep 24, 2014 at 2:34 pm | Posted in Posts | Leave a comment
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64 joint Meeting Madeira Consorcio with Andrew`s group 18.9.2014

(no. 63 was the visit to the City Hall)

Hello Team,

This meeting could have been televised, that`s how good it was! We exchanged a great deal of experiences and I think we learned a lot.

I shall try to capture the essential points here.

First, A showed us a part of his Quinta in the middle of Funchal, with around 3.5 ha land. He planted several types of wine for Madeira wine; the harvest is going to B. , this company also takes care of the care and maintenance. The farm also grows herbs, vegetables and bananas.

A has a plan to create a Café and a shop for local products in one of the Quinta entrances. The street is a favorite walk down to town by tourists who take a toboggan ride to Livramento, and then walk down to Funchal. Around 180 people walk down there daily so there would be a good opportunity to have them come in for a coffee.

The visitors could also walk around the farm and visit the sheep (!). A has plans for an old storage facility: he wants to turn it into an art gallery and Ateliers. Important to him: the whole project must be holistic, made up of pieces of nature, art and culture which harmonize with each other. It has to have high quality and would set a good example for other projects.

In the Manor House, A installed Local Lodging for groups, five bedrooms are available. The guests have access to the beautiful garden, with pool, table tennis and tennis. There is not restaurant; the tourists do their own cooking. Ahad good bookings in July and August, with an interesting variety of visitors. With a visit to this one-of-a-kind Quinta, visitors who are sometimes unaware of what they are booking, receive a unique experience in a genuine Manor House with plenty of history and beauty.

Afterwards we sat down in a beautiful pavilion A has on the grounds and discussed our aims, ideas and disappointments with our various projects.

A`s group wants to create an association for the preservation of the natural treasures and culture of the island. Especially Ri, as photographer, has a large archive of photos and films that show how the island looked some decades ago and how it looks now. The degradation of the country side, due to man-made and natural causes and fires, is well visible. He said that that there is good documentation of old times but hat there was a break in the last century. As much of the knowledge and substance is lost, the younger generations do not understand how important it is to preserve this knowledge and the natural diversity and to build on it. The association would aim to plant a seed to educate the population about the treasure we have in this island.

Miis a business man, he told us about his experience with a village in Northern Portugal. He started to buy small ruins there, restored them for Turismo Rural and brought income to the community. He also had them plant flax to weave linen, to produce high quality products for sale to the tourists. He got a classification as National Treasure for the village, and then he ran into trouble. The Mayor did not want to publish the classification because he had plans to install wind farms around the village. Miis not working on this project anymore.

He also had a similar experience with a grape seed project, The machine to crush the seeds (the powder, an expensive product with high profit, has anti-cancer properties) constantly broke down, probably due to bad handling.

What they took away from this experience:

  • You cannot force or compel Portuguese people do to anything they do not want, not even if it is with the best of intentions. Madeira Consorcio members learned the same from (among others) the basket project.
  • We need to pick people up where they are. We need to listen and see what they need.
  • The market is ruled by supply and demand, if there is no demand – in this case, for a solution to a problem – the people will not take up suggestions.
  • On the other hand, demand can be created by creating and marketing a new product.
  • We have to be persistent if we want to achieve something.
  • We have to start new product ourselves, if they are good, the Portuguese will copy it.
  • Projects need luck but Eis convinced that we can make luck happen!

How we can co-operate:

Ehas found an able potter on Madeira who is copying his “Römertopf” pottery (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_pot_cooking). With these pots, everybody can bake healthy, leavened bread in a household oven. He is already teaching a group of kids how to bake bread; he can do that also for a group of children A is working with.

Sacan teach painting techniques to the children. All these activities will give working-class children unforgettable experiences which might move their lives into a different direction.

Although it was a lot about failure, this was a great meeting about new approaches for both Groups.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A great place to relax with friends

Sep 5, 2014 at 10:11 am | Posted in Posts | Leave a comment
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The core of the group had a great evening in Regina’s place in Tabua yesterday, with many heated discussions. As we are not working along the principles of the Madeira Consorcio anymore – be positive; problems are only obstacles – we can complain away at everything and everybody.

Regina’s farm has beautiful gardens, lots of happy crickets and a wonderful view over the sea far down.

New petition for a ferry connection to the mainland

Aug 23, 2014 at 11:24 am | Posted in Posts | Leave a comment
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Sérgio Marques from the PSD…ok, whatever… has launched another attempt to get the Government to give us a ferry connection to the mainland, here is the link:

http://peticaopublica.com/pview.aspx?pi=ferry-para-madeira

Sign and help push the issue!

Ursula

 

6 commandments for a state

Aug 16, 2014 at 6:39 pm | Posted in Posts | Leave a comment

 The Government is here to serve, and bound by six commandments:

  • do not kill your citizen,

  • do not steal from your citizen,

  • do not lie to your citizen,

  • do not coerce your citizen;

  • do not promote one religion over others,

  • do not get into bed with special interests.

Change is in the air

Jul 20, 2014 at 9:52 am | Posted in Posts | Leave a comment

The Madeira Consorcio now has few members and as we can see, since we started our work in April 2012, many of us are disappointed, and many feel that it is a waste of our energy to try to help the Madeirans. We also have difficulties to find new pro-active members with the necessary enthusiasm.

What will change now:

The Madeira Consorcio will be changing direction. U and V will continue with the herbs project and U will try to finish the Basket project. Then we shall have one or two meetings a month in various places, also in our homes, to talk about issues that interest us.

What will not change:

Many of us have become friends; we are going to stay in touch, and talk and talk until our ears fall off, because we still have good brains to discuss difficult issues!

A Madeira Consorcio agora tem poucos membros e, como podemos ver, desde que começamos nosso trabalho em Abril de 2012, muitos de nós estão decepcionados, e muitos acham que é um desperdício da nossa energia para tentar ajudar os madeirenses. Nós também temos dificuldades para encontrar novos membros pró-ativas com o entusiasmo necessário.


O que vai mudar agora: 
A Madeira Consorcio estará mudando de direção. U e V vão continuar com o projeto das ervas e U vai tentar terminar o projeto de cesta. Então teremos uma ou duas reuniões por mês, em vários lugares, inclusive em nossas casas, para falar sobre as questões que nos interessam.


O que não irá alterar: 
Muitos de nós tornaram-se amigos; vamos ficar em contato, e falar e falar até nossos ouvidos cair, porque ainda temos bons cérebros para discutir questões difíceis! 

62 reunião Madeira Consorcio ToBinG 17.7.2014

Jul 20, 2014 at 9:36 am | Posted in Posts | Leave a comment
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62 Reuniao Madeira Consorcio ToBinG 17.7.2014

Tivemos como sempre, tivemos uma conversa interessante!
D está muito decepcionado com a reação que recebemos dos madeirenses às nossas iniciativas. Ele não ouviu falar do Continente, e U não tem sucesso com o Pingo Doce, para ser autorizado a distribuir os nossos manuais de incêndio nos supermercados. D também está decepcionado com os produtores de cesta de praia; precisavam demasiado tempo para produzir a amostra em tamanho natural, e isso não é feito para as especificações que queríamos.


A Madeira Consorcio agora tem poucos membros e, como podemos ver, desde que começamos nosso trabalho, muitos de nós estão decepcionados como D, e muitos acham que é um desperdício da nossa energia para tentar ajudar os madeirenses. Nós também temos dificuldades para encontrar novos membros pró-ativas com o entusiasmo necessário.


O que vai mudar agora:
A Madeira Consorcia estará mudando de direção. U e V vão continuar com o projeto das ervas e U vai tentar terminar o projeto de cesta de praia. Então teremos uma ou duas reuniões por mês, em vários lugares, inclusive em nossas casas, para falar sobre as questões que nos interessam.


O que não irá alterar:
Muitos de nós tornaram-se amigos; vamos ficar em contato, e falar e falar até nossos ouvidos cair, porque ainda temos bons cérebros para discutir questões difíceis!

Notícias:
cesta: U vai tentar convencer P para colocá-lo na área de recepção  para que P encomenda cestas de praia para os seus hotéis de praia. Mas, então, eles vão provavelmente comprar as da China, como aos produtores aqui são muito caros e não são muito interessados ​​na idéia.
U falou sobre a resposta que recebeu do Provedor de Justiça (Ombudsman), em relação ao seu pedido de atualização do simulador de Pensões da Segurança Social (funciona apenas para um ano de previsão agora).
O Provedor não é de opinião que o simulador deve dar às pessoas a oportunidade de calcular a sua pensão para os anos vindouros. Ele diz que não se deve incutir nas pessoas um sentimento de esperança irrealista … para uma boa pensão, isso é. O grupo disse que o Estado não quer que os cidadãos perceberem o valor reduzido das suas pensão no final. Por outro lado, se os cidadãos sabem do problema agora. poderiam tomar já agora precauções e (se possível) começar um fundo de previdência privada.

A pergunta: qual o instrumento mais eficaz para defender os cidadãos em tais situações? Deco parece boa, mas a experiência mostrou que não é muito eficaz, também. O Livro de Reclamações é ainda a melhor ferramenta para obter serviços (mas não instituições) para melhorar os seus serviços. Precisamos de uma ferramenta contra as instituições.


Falamos sobre o interesse de outras nações para copiar o modelo “alemão” de aprendizagem, que combina formação teórica e prática. Isso depende muito de uma boa colaboração entre as escolas e pequena e média indústria de tamanho e não pode ser facilmente aplicado em outros países. Uma exceção é a Putney School, perto de Boston: dê uma olhada no seu site e, especificamente, em suas grandes crenças fundamentais: http://www.putneyschool.org/content/fundamental-beliefs

A boa notícia:
E teve outra temporada de sucesso de seu curso Oceanográfico com a Universidade de Leicester; seu coordenador quer enviar mais alunos no próximo ano. E também vai tentar criar um outro curso para a permacultura orgânica. Portanto, há uma Universidade de Verão em desenvolvimento, mas, neste momento, apenas para os alunos, e não para os turistas.

Outras informações:
Ro está na Bulgária, no momento, participando de uma conferência de permacultura: http://www.eupc.eu/


A cura quântica: ter um olhar para http://www.quantumk.co.uk/


A Câmara Municipal do Funchal está agora aberto ao público: durante a semana, os visitantes podem, para o custo de 3,50 € /adulto, visitar o Assembleia , o “Salão Nobre”, utilizado para comemorações – este é o lugar onde você iria receber um prêmio da cidade se você fosse para obter um – e outras salas. As visitas guiadas começam às 10h, 11h, 02:00, 15:00 e 04:00. Uma vez que as obras terminaram na torre do edifício, esta será incluída também. U irá organizar uma visita lá para o grupo em agosto.

Nossa próxima reunião ToBinG é no dia 21 de agosto. No futuro, este será um grupo de discussão, para o benefício dos membros participantes. Ainda assim, grandes idéias virá-lo!

 

62 reunião Madeira Consorcio ToBinG 17.7.2014

As always, we had an interesting conversation!

D is very disappointed with the reaction we received from the Madeirans to our initiatives. He has not heard from Continente, and U has no success with Pingo Doce, to be allowed to distribute our Fire Manuals in the supermarkets. He is also disappointed with the beach basket producers; it took way to long to produce the life size sample, and it is not made to the specifications we wanted.

The Madeira Consorcio now has few members and as we can see, since we started our work, many of us are disappointed as D, and many feel that it is a waste of our energy to try to help the Madeirans. We also have difficulties to find new pro-active members with the necessary enthusiasm.

What will change now:

The Madeira Consorcia will be changing direction. U and V will continue with the herbs project and U will try to finish the Beach Basket project. Then we shall have one or two meetings a month in various places, also in our homes, to talk about issues that interest us.

What will not change:

Many of us have become friends; we are going to stay in touch, and talk and talk until our ears fall off, because we still have good brains to discuss difficult issues!

News:

Basket: U will try to get P to place it in the Reception area  so that P gets beach baskets for their hotels. But they will then probably buy from China, as our people are too expensive and not very interested in the idea.

U spoke about the response she received from the Provedor de Justica (our kind of Ombudsman) in regards to her request for a update of the Social Security Pension simulator (it works only for one year ahead).

The Provedor is not of the opinion that the simulator should give people the chance to calculate their pension for years ahead. He says one should not instill in people a sense of unrealistic hope … for a good pension, that is. The group said that the State does not want the citizens to know how small their pension will be in the end. On the other hand, if the citizens know of the problem they could take precautions already now and (if possible) start a private pension fund. The question: which instrument is most effective to defend the citizens in such situations? Deco looks good but experience showed that is not very effective, either. The livro de reclamações is still the best tool to get services (but not institutions) to improve on their services. We need a tool against institutions.

We spoke about the interest of other nations to copy the “German” model of apprenticeship, which combines theoretical and practical training. This depends very much on good collaboration between schools and small & medium sized industry and cannot be easily applied in other countries. An exception is the Putney School near Boston: have a look at their website and specifically, at their great fundamental beliefs: http://www.putneyschool.org/content/fundamental-beliefs

The good News:
E had another successful run of his Oceanographic course with Leicester University; their co-ordinator wants to send more students next year. E will also try to set up another course for organic permaculture.

 

Other info:

Ro is in Bulgaria at the moment, taking part in a permaculture conference:http://www.eupc.eu/

Quantum healing: have a look at http://www.quantumk.co.uk/

The Funchal City Hall is now open to the public: during the workweek, visitors can for the cost of 3.50€/adult, visit the Assembly Hall, the “Noble Hall”, used for commemorations – this is where you would receive an award form the city if you ever were to get one – and other rooms. The guided visits start at 10am, 11am, 2pm, 3pm and 4pm. Once the works are finished on the tower of the building, this will be included as well. U will organize a visit there for the group in August. Let`s go!

Our next ToBinG meeting is on August 21. In the future, this will be a discussion group, for the benefit of the participating members. Still, great ideas will come of it!!

 

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