At noon today, officials of the Formentera Council and representatives of the small and medium-sized business association of Eivissa and Formentera congregated to unveil a special buy-local push this Christmas season. “Compra a Casa” was presented today in the administration's hall of ceremonies by trade secretary Alejandra Ferrer, department specialist Amalia Mora, and PIMEF's president and managing director, Pep Mayans and Lidia Álvarez.

According to Ferrer, 31 local businesses have signed on since the campaign's launch in December of last year, and 1,060 Formentera shoppers have received associated Compra a Casa loyalty cards, which offer consumers big discounts. The programme, she explained, is about supporting independent businesses on the island and enlisting both shoppers and merchants in bringing local streets to life.

Buying local pays off
Two measures have been rolled out as part of the buy-local push. The first, “Al Nadal Compra a Casa” (Buy local this Christmas), rewards shoppers for buying at participating stores with €200, €100 and €50 Compra a Casa gift cards for the first-, second- and third-place winners. The drawing will take place on Tuesday, January 10, 2018.

With the second measure, “Anar al Mercat de Nadal té premi” (The Christmas Market pays off), shoppers get a ticket for every €15 spent at the Christmas Market, making shoppers eligible for a raffle of five €100 Compra a Casa gift cards. The Christmas Market starts tomorrow at 5.30pm. From December 1 to January 7, shops will be open from 11.00am to 3.00pm and 5.00pm to 12 midnight.

Details
PIMEF's director Lidia Álvarez explained that in 2017, Formentera residents spent €717,423.86 at participating Compra a Casa businesses. That added up to €14,716 in discounts.

Black Friday
Last week on the island, Black Friday was observed with a special addition to the Compra a Casa initiative. All day long, purchases over €15 at member businesses qualified shoppers to win a €50 gift card. The winner, announced today by the president of PIMEF, was José Ramón Mateos. Formentera consumers spent €9,766 in participating shops on Black Friday.

How to get the card.
Compra a Casa loyalty cards are available at any one of the following partner adherent businesses:
SUPERMERCADO OFIUSA, SUPERMERCADO ES CAP, SUPERMERCADO LA SAVINA, SUPERMERCADO BTQ, SUPERMERCADO AVENIDA, MAQUINARIA HOSTELERIA CASA ORTEGA, LLIBRERIAS I PAPERERIAS TUR FERRER, INSAFOR, INSAFOR ALMACEN, ZAPATERIA STRIVANCUS, INSTALACIONES JODAR, CARPINTERIA FORMENTERA, MUEBLES CARLOS, PINTURAS CABEZUELO, FLORISTERIA FORMENTERA, ANDOR INFORMATICA, DETALLS NOU ESTIL, ECOFOR, RTE.ES MARES, DEPORTES PITIUSA, CASA PAYA, CASA PAYA GARDEN, ES BROLLS MOTOS, PETROFOR REPSOL, SALON BSB, INSTALACIONES MAGU, MODAS FERRER, APP FORMENTERA, BE FORMETNERA, PESCADERIA FEDERICO I CORALL VERMELL.

A team of local and regional government officials paid a visit to the Sant Ferran cemetery where efforts will begin today to locate and ultimately disinter the burial ground located there. In the party were Balearic president Francina Armengol, Formentera's deputy vice-president and patrimony secretary Susana Labrador, regional minister of culture Fanny Tur, deputy vice-president Bartomeu Escandell and community involvement councillor Sònia Cardona.

Money for the upgrades will come from a €16,780 Govern grant for the Eivissa-Formentera forum for remembrance as well as the Formentera Council (€4,000). For the occasion the officials also paid a visit to the forum's president and vice-president, Luís Ruiz and Artur Parrón.

The driving impulse behind the undertaking is to unearth the remains of five individuals —Jaume Ferrer Ferrer, Josep Ribas Marí, Joan Tur Mayans, Jaume Serra Juan and Vicent Cardona Colomar— who died at the hands of pro-Franco forces during the Spanish Civil War. A seven-person crew, headed up by archaeologist and forensic anthropologist Almudena Garcia-Rubio, will spearhead the approximately week-long effort. The cemetery currently belongs to the bishopric of Eivissa and Formentera, whom the officials thanked for their collaboration.

Citing the fact that direct relatives of the victims are still alive today, regional minister Fanny Tur called the effort “a top priority” and expressed her hopes that crews would be successful. Councillor Susana Labrador shared Tur's stance, calling it “an emotional day” as they waited for the outcome of an effort that might lead to the discovery of the remains of five individuals shot down behind the very cemetery on March 1, 1937. “Our hope,” said Labrador, “is that the uncovering of these remains can, at least partly, ease the pain of those they left behind” and the families of other locals that met their end on the island during the war. She said the victims' relatives “to this day don't know where their loved ones have been all these years”.

According to the regional president, the current effort marks the third disinterment of its kind in the Balearics and the first in the Pityuses. She reasoned that “justice had to be served, so that the families could move on, and dignity could be brought to the names of those who died defending democracy”. “When a grave is unearthed, a wound is allowed to heal. Now it's time to heal a great many wounds that remain open to this day,” Armengol concluded. All of the officials thanked the historical remembrance forum for the part it has played in bringing dignity to the names of these and other individuals who unjustly suffered at the hands of repression under Franco.