The village of Furnazinhas, in the parish of Odeleite, at the northwestern extreme of the municipality of Castro Marim, in the Algarve, has about 50 inhabitants and has been presented by the local authority as an example of revitalisation in the interior of the Faro district. The interventions carried out aim to combat the isolation of a settlement marked by distance from major urban centres and low population density.
Among the changes implemented, the installation of household water supply and sewage network stand out, as well as the arrival of mobile telecommunications network, developed by the municipality. These basic infrastructures significantly altered the daily lives of residents, facilitating contact with the outside in a territory where interactions and services were more difficult to ensure.
Furnazinhas is also part of the project "Volta ao Monte", created to combat population isolation, and is part of the Via Algarviana route, a hiking trail that crosses the Algarve through less frequented interior areas. These initiatives brought movement to the village and boosted the emergence of local accommodation. The local authority identifies the opening of a community space as one of the needs that still remain.
The village preserves traditional crafts such as basketry and wattle work, techniques of working with plant fibres and weaving associated with palm, maintained as cultural references and integrated into the tourism and cultural valorisation strategy. Furnazinhas was also one of the Lynx Villages under the LIFE Lynxconnect project, related to the Iberian lynx reintroduction area in the Guadiana Valley, having received an artistic installation dedicated to the Iberian lynx.
