In an era when in-person shopping is harder than ever, even the most old-fashioned businesses need the Internet to reach their customers. Businesses without a presence online risk closing down, never to reopen — crushed under the invisible weight of the virus and its economic consequences. But not everyone knows how to work the Internet. Think about the butcher down the street, or the old lady selling baskets in the square.
Comerciantes.pt is a nonprofit organization providing local Lisbon merchants with an online platform to sell their merchandise. Because we as a society simply cannot afford to lose those businesses — they are the heart and soul of our community, and losing them means losing the historical memory of who we were.
Of who we are.
João was a boy when he came to Lisbon. He handpicked the location of his butchery to be halfway between his sweetheart's house and the soccer field where he practiced with friends.
Aurora was twelve when she started working at her fruit stand, and she once had to hide under her piles of oranges to escape a riot during the days of the Carnation Revolution. Back in the day, she was a beauty queen.
Joana feeds the neighborhood cat, Maria, and lets her sit on the softest couch in her pub.
Sofia left a well-paid job to follow her dream and bake cakes for the few customers who pass by her father's old shop.
These are our merchants, and their stories are our stories. Comerciantes.pt set out to tell them.
