The Association of Cerebral Palsy Patients of Viseu (APCV) presented this Monday an innovative project that involves home delivery of agricultural products produced in the institution using an electric “tuk-tuk”.
“This is an ‘update’ of our project and we do not want to stop there. In the future, we want to develop our project,” admitted this Monday the president of APCV, Armando Torrinha, who presented himself with the team at the City Council of Viseu to show the car.
The 100% electric vehicle is part of the “Ria na Quinta” project, which “currently involves 10 users, as well as employees and technicians” from APCV, who are working “about 2,000 square meters of land to produce agricultural products in a sustainable way.”
“We already have our own stall where people go to buy our products, and now we also take them home, although we cannot go far, we cannot leave the municipality, given the autonomy of the tuk-tuk,” which is about 60 kilometers.
For Armando Torrinha, the project is a way to “engage users and the institution in society, since the idea is to include people with disabilities in the community and promote their autonomy.”
The car is the result of an investment of 25 thousand euros, financed by the La Caixa Foundation, which considers it “an innovative project in the region” and “allows people to be autonomous, which is the most important thing”, says one of the foundation’s managers in Viseu, Paulo Silva.
The Viseu City Council financed the project with 10,000 euros, “because that was the amount the institution needed to buy a car,” said the president of the municipality, Fernando Ruas, who found the idea extremely interesting.
“APCV has done a great job, not always recognized, with these complementary activities, which I consider fundamental. And this is a way to make the institution known,” Fernando Ruas emphasized.
The mayor said that APCV is not just bragging with this project, “it is also raising awareness among citizens, because in this matter the biggest barriers are still mental, not physical.”
Home delivery of agricultural products will begin in September, and until then the institution is “publishing the project on the APCV website and social media to build a customer list.”
“I myself have already said at home that we are clients and asked to be included in the list because I will gladly pay for the products produced there,” said Fernando Ruas, who received a symbolic basket from the APCV on Monday.
The tuk-tuk, “which has attracted a lot of attention, perhaps because it is the only one in Viseu,” said APCV president Armando Torrinha, is capable of carrying “up to six small wooden boxes made from old pallets by users” and can carry up to six people, including the driver.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Tifany Hawkins, a professional journalist with years of experience in news reporting. I currently work for a prominent news website and write articles for 24NewsReporters as an author. My primary focus is on economy-related stories, though I am also experienced in several other areas of journalism.