COOLWOOL - creative weekend at Covilhã, a co-designed programme.

Abstract COOLWOOL, Creative weekend at Covilhã is a creative tourism programme to discover the wool industrial heritage of the Portuguese industrial city of Covilhã. It proposes a singular experience of immersion into the city factory and into the factory ambience. The project is co-organized by the New Hand Lab (www.newhandlab.com) and the Wool Museum of the University of Beira Interio(www.museu.ubi.pt) and was developed as part of the CREATOUR ® project. Creative weekend at Covilhã is a city break programme that invites participants to discover the wool industrial heritage of the city. It aims to offer creative and relaxed tourism activities to discover the local culture, through being introduced to crafting techniques and by sensing the wool heritage. The programme is conceived to reach a very specific group of tourists, experienced people who have accumulated both a taste for creative experiences as well as an enthusiasm for textiles and wool culture. This programme, offered all year round, aims to offer alternatives to winter sports, challenging visitors to discover the wool culture. The aim in the future is to enlarge the audience, bringing to Covilhã more visitors interested in industrial wool heritage. It is thus a programme for curious people who like new experiences, to be challenged, and to know the places they visit through their history and identity.