The cooperative called Cooperativa Silvo Agro -Pecuária de Vila Nova do Ceira S.C.R.L., established by private deed on April 20th, 1968 and whose articles of association were approved by the Secretary of State for Agriculture on May 22nd, 1969, changed its name to Cooperativa Social e Agro-Florestal de Vila Nova do Ceira, C.R. L, is governed by the Cooperative Code, approved by Law no. 119/2015 of August 31, by Decree-Law no. 335/99 of August 20, by Decree-Law no. 7/98 of January 15, other applicable legislation and by these statutes approved at the General Meeting of October 27, 1984, amended at the General Meeting of November 8, 2008, October 30, 2010, September 22, 2013, August 29, 2016 and October 22, 2016.

In the 1960s, Vila Nova do Ceira was in a state of turmoil: there was a sense that the centuries-old economic model was coming to an end. The once self-sufficient production of corn, olive oil and pastoralism, which had dominated the local economy, had become insufficient to ensure a standard of living similar to that of other territories. Vila Nova do Ceira couldn’t resist the exodus from our rural countryside and was slow to react.

By the 1960s, the local elites were studying, reflecting and discussing among themselves how to tackle the economic and demographic decline of the parish.

The idea of creating a Cooperative arose as a way of overcoming the discouragement among local residents, especially those who were interested in agriculture.

A Cooperative was then conceived to take advantage of the wasteland that had been left unused after the almost total disappearance of pastoralism.

Eucalyptus, a tree species in great demand in the booming cellulose industry recently set up in Portugal, was considered the most profitable tree species that could offer farmers “compensatory” income for their depleted traditional agricultural activity.