ElevateMarket
Who we are
Elevate Plant Based is a non-profit association based in Braga, working across Portugal for a food system that is better for people, for animals and for the planet.
Our purpose is the promotion and practical education of environmental sustainability: organic and regenerative agriculture, eco-experiences and sustainable tourism, the use of plants to protect the planet, health and animal welfare, zero-waste solutions in the food sector, plant-based food systems and the circular economy.
Our mission is to educate, equip and support individuals and communities in adopting sustainable and healthy ways of living.
Our vision is to contribute to a regenerative society — one where human activity restores ecosystems and supports the wellbeing of people and animals alike.
Elevate was founded by Chantal Di Donato. Her work alongside the city helped make Braga the second municipality in Portugal to sign the Plant Based Treaty, and Elevate works with Plant Based Treaty Portugal on the yearly conference.
Chantal is a Board-Certified Holistic Nutritionist and plant-based Naturopathic Practitioner. Through her practice, Cycles Wellness, she works with women's health from perimenopause through menopause. Her wider passion is regeneration: nutrition and wellbeing through plants, for our own health, for animals and for the planet.
Let's Elevate together — for our health, our planet, and all our human and non-human friends.
What we aim to do
Five lines of work set out in our statutes — the projects the association is working towards.
The Elevate Market, every month
Our monthly market brings plant-based food, local makers and small producers together in Braga. Free entry, no ticket, everyone welcome — the next date is at the top of this page.
Elevate Braga 2026
Three days at the Biblioteca Lúcio Craveiro da Silva, 9 to 11 October 2026 — forty speakers, a full programme of panels, and the Elevate Market open alongside it. Here is what was discussed.
Every session ran in Portuguese and English with live interpretation, and entry was free throughout. Our thanks to the speakers, the moderators, the interpreters, the stallholders, the volunteers and everyone who came.
The essentials
The panels, day by day
Each session, who took part, and what it set out to cover.
Interpreters
Every session ran in Portuguese and English, interpreted live by:
The Elevate Market
A monthly plant-based market in Braga. Free entry, no ticket needed — come for the food, the makers and the people.
The market brings together plant-based food, local makers, artists, growers and small producers. Walk in, eat, browse, and meet the people behind the stalls. Everyone is welcome, whether you eat plant-based every day or have never tried it.
Market dates
Dates for next year are being set and will appear here as they are confirmed.
Where to find us
Stallholders
Makers and producers who have joined us. Tap any name to see their work.
Speakers
The forty speakers who joined us at Elevate Braga 2026. Tap any name to read their biography.
Take part
Come and eat, bring what you make, or help us keep it going.
Get in touch
Message or email us — we answer every one.
Discover Braga
Staying for the conference? This is how to find your way around the city while you're here.
There have been many versions of Braga. Once a Roman city known as Bracara Augusta, it later grew into one of the most important Catholic strongholds in the Iberian Peninsula, earning the nickname "City of the Archbishops". Today it is one of the fastest-developing municipalities in Portugal — and home to the Elevate Plant Based Market and Conference.
Getting here
Braga sits in the heart of the Minho, in northern Portugal, about 55 km north of Porto and 76 km from the Spanish border — a 50-minute drive.
Places to stay
A spread from sleek to simple, all within reach of the venue.
Places to eat
Vegan and vegetarian spots around the city, for the meals that aren't at the market.
Some of the information on this page comes from Go Ask a Local.
Presentations
Slides from Elevate Braga 2026, shared by the speakers themselves and free to download.
Each presentation stays the work of the speaker who made it. You are welcome to read it, learn from it and pass the link on — please credit the speaker, and ask them first if you want to reuse their material.
Elevate Braga 2026
Photographs from the 2026 conference at the Biblioteca Lúcio Craveiro da Silva.
Photographs by João Rodrigo Correira.
Last year at Elevate
Photographs from the 2025 conference in Braga — panels, workshops, and guests joining from around the world.
Photographs by João Rodrigo Correira.
Sponsors & partners
Elevate runs on the support of municipalities, organisations and local businesses who want this work to happen.
Support Elevate
Sponsorship is what keeps the market free and open to everyone, month after month, and the conference free to attend. We have packages for businesses, producers and organisations, and we're glad to build something that fits.