OUR STORY
To understand who we are today, it is necessary to go back a few years to understand how Tribo da Praia was started. There is a very funny and unusual story behind it.
Read this: Maria de Jesus, owner of a small grocery store, and Eduardo Nunes, prison guard and photographer in his free time, had 2 small children. One day, Eduardo thought of buying an ice cream maker, without consulting his wife (this almost cost him his marriage). He gathered around 80 contos (400€) – which was all the money his wife had saved working at the grocery store – and purchased the equipment. However, worried and with no idea of how to recover the investment made, he started to build a fiber cart to sell handmade ice cream at local fairs and gatherings. But this wasn’t enough to support his family.
Then, Eduardo thought of asking for a license to place a kiosk on Baleal beach, where he could sell his ice cream. However, this was always denied to him, because at the time the area was exclusively occupied by another concessionaire. His need was such, though, that he never gave up trying. Every day, for almost a year, he asked the port captain for a license. Eduardo’s resilience finally generated results, as the port captain (tired of seeing him daily) decided that he could set up his kiosk, but that it would have to be in Consolação.
Eduardo was grateful for the opportunity and took advantage of it. However, ice cream sales in Consolação were very low, so he went back to the port captain to ask him once again for another license to set up a kiosk in the Baleal area. He finally was able to convince the port captain, who said that the license would only be valid for a year. After one year, the port captain was replaced by someone else. Fortunately, the new harbor master renewed Eduardo’s licenses in Consolação and in Baleal. The success of his homemade ice creams was so great that there people queuing to buy them. After some unexpected events, but always maintaining the popularity of their ice creams, Eduardo and Maria de Jesus were forced to build a wooden bar and have lifeguards. Instead of giving up, they took advantage of the opportunity and made the necessary investments. Consequently, “Bar Água-Doce” was born.
In 1997, Bar Água-Doce would change its name to Bar da Praia. At that time, it was a simple beach bar, which only operated during the bathing season. Ice creams, coffee, sandwiches, and cakes were served. Over the years, and in response to the increasing demand, Bar da Praia was adapted to the needs of its customers, who have contributed a lot, by the way, to defining the Bar’s concept. It was a bar mainly frequented by friends who gathered there when they went surfing. It was an informal, relaxed, and intimate bar, where sometimes some customers helped themselves and even served at the guest tables and in the pantry. In wintertime, and despite the rain and the cold, Bar da Praia became increasingly popular.
After some structural changes, which allowed to increase the terrace area and protect it from the cold and the rain, the Bar began to have a new dynamic, namely through parties organized with regular customers. The Bar started opening at night with a DJ party: it was a success and the influx of people was such, that the entire stock of drinks was exhausted. From then on, it never stopped growing until it reached its current concept.
In 2008, the bar was restructured as a result of government requirements. In 2011, there was a need to evolve with new services and a new concept in tourism. A surf school, an Eco-Hostel in the center of town and an organic vegetable garden using permaculture principles were created. This gave rise to the concept of “Tribo da Praia” with the aim of being a brand that represented all its sub-brands with a more holistic vision, so as to encompass the various areas in something more integral.
Since then, Tribo da Praia has assumed the position of a differentiated company focused on environmental, social and economic sustainability, strengthening the spirit of mutual help, cohesion and the sharing of knowledge and experiences, with the aim of contributing to a better, fairer, and more inclusive world.