The relevance of non-formal education activities in promoting the authenticity of the territory: The case study of the training model for interpreter guides in Santiago da Fonte Saltpan

Abstract

The Santiago da Fonte saltpan, University of Aveiro (UA) property, is one of the nine saltpans producing salt using exclusively artisan methods, in the Ria of Aveiro, and has functioned as a natural experimental laboratory for a set of non-formal education activities, promoting the interconnection between traditional knowledge and scientific knowledge. The objective of this study was to implement, analyse and evaluate the guides training model of the Santiago da Fonte saltpans and to understand how a non-formal education activity can assume a relevant character at several levels: i) in boosting sustainable activities, complementary to salt production, such as tourism activities and environmental education; ii) in the preservation of a secular activity; iii) in raising awareness about traditional saltpans conservation and, in this way, promoting the preservation of wetlands, allowing a balance between traditional and scientific knowledge. Based on a pilot study, the qualitative study presented demonstrates the role played by collaborative approaches in the development of non-formal education activities, namely in promoting academia-society linkages, allowing new approaches to the authenticity of the territory.