Three years ago we planned to give it all up and start a sustainable yoga community in Portugal. We moved onto the land we bought less than two months ago along with 6 pioneer volunteers who offered to come and help us set up, in exchange for food, yoga and meditation.
Our first group of volunteers and our gorgeous doggies, with high spirits even though it was cold and wet back in January!
In January 2017 when we arrived on the land it was bitterly cold at night, raining during the day, and the volunteers were staying in tents. Two of them didn’t last long, but the rest were happy no matter what mother nature threw at them. Kimberly worked hard in the kitchen to provide amazing food to keep spirits up and at least the yoga room was nice and warm for our daily practice!
Our first horta (vegetable garden) put together by volunteers. A pond, a swale, herbs, vegetables, irrigation and a fence to try and keep wild animals out.On the first day all of the volunteers chose camping spots to set up tents. Everyone worked hard together to clear paths to their spots, levelling the ground and making look out points to watch the sunrise from their new homes. We really do have the most magical campsite I have ever been to, all at the creation of the volunteers.Jori testing a solar pump, purposed for a solar heater, on our pond as a mini water fountain.Everyone here told us that everything will take longer than planned and generally they have been right, but when you have a great group of people who are motivated it is amazing how much can be done in such a short amount of time. Our focus for the past two months has been on improving facilities and starting to grow food.Showing people the test vegtable patch next to the stone house, our first horta (vegetable garden) put together by volunteers. A pond, a swale, herbs, vegetables, irrigation and a fence to try and keep wild animals out.Everyone who has visited us has planted a tree to help with building our food forest or reforestationThe main stone house is a ruin and at the start we were eating in a small cold room with no doors or windows and just a small fire. We have now knocked down the walls, had a new mezzanine floor built in, had windows and doors put in, and now we have a large community building with a kitchen, pantry, mezzanine chill out room and dining room. We also have a big workshop and of course the yoga building.Enjoying lunch in the January sun!
Although we have 45 acres of magical land, we really lacked outdoor space that was protected from sun or rain. One of our neighbours gave us his old roof as he had his roof replaced. This consisted of strong hard timber which Ortwin turned into a huge undercover outdoor space for us. It is tiled with second hand tiles that we sourced nearby, and is a true up-cycled project. We will use this space for our Eco washing machine, outdoor sink, wood fired water heater and shower room. We have been so impressed by the pioneer volunteers taking on these projects and building things for the first time. Upside down yoga in our yoga room
In our food forest we have planted lots of vegetables into beds to try and pack every bit of soil with edibles. Although we have a lot of space we are focusing on intensive planting in a small area so it is easier to manage and irrigate. Each season we will expand the food forests and growing gardens.Morning meditation on Look Out RockAs part of our community outreach programme we are visiting different farms each Wednesday to lend a helping hand wherever they need it in exchange for new knowledge, a tour of their farm and lunch. This gives us time off from our farm and surroundings and an insight into what other people are doing on their land. Everyone seems to be enjoying this weekly trip out so we will definitely keep it on the agenda. So far we have been to a friend’s cheese farm to learn about making and maintaining fencing and making cheese, a local permaculture farm to help with mimosa tree clearing, a friend’s sheep farm to move manure and help with gardening, and a friend’s small holding as they needed help with the clay rendering of their kitchen. Each week we learn valuable new skills and get to see our friends which makes us happy! After this we go back to Keela for a community cook, bonfire and bread making in the outdoor stone oven and enjoy some wine and music together.Our first wash in our eco washing machine, under a roof made from recycled wood and second hand tiles by one of our volunteersIt has been an amazing past two months and we no longer need to rent the house in the village for cooking and hot showers as we are now full time on the land with a waterfall and a solar shower to keep us clean.
Our first hot water shower on the land. This is what we use when we don’t want a cold shower in the waterfall, or a walk to the house in the village for a hot shower. One more week for the shower room on the land to be ready with hot water!
We want to thank all of the pioneer volunteers that have got things going for us in the toughest first months. Some of the achievements to be highlight include a new roof and outdoor area, a new greenhouse full of vegetable seedlings, many fruit trees planted, hundreds of trees planted as part of out reforestation program and thousands of seeds, a solar outdoor shower, one small vegetable garden, a new large food forest, fences, a new compost toilet, a workshop, a mezzanine floor in the house, irrigation installed outside, electrics inside, amazing campsites built with plants and viewpoints and most of all, happy vibes. We are really enjoying living like this and have many volunteers booked in for the months ahead.
A stone pig house is slowly being converted into an out building by Dale! First we will move our compost toilet there until we build a permanent toilet block then we will give this space to chickensOur stone bread oven cleaned by volunteers and our first loaf of bread made!If you want to come and volunteer please do get in touch, click here for more information
Next Permaculture Courses in Portugal
Check out the dates of our upcoming Permaculture Design Course (PDC) and Specialist courses. Each specialist course is held right after a PDC so that you can attend both together if you want.
Breed Worms Like a Pro by Laurence Manchee December 9, 2024 This article was published in Permaculture Magazine. I have a subscription to this magazine and can highly recommend it. Click here to subscribe to Permaculture…
Permaculture Design Course Schedule by Laurence Manchee August 2, 2026 Permaculture Design Course Portugal Permaculture Design Certificate More Info Thank you, please find more information about or Permaculture Design Course here. It is a big…
Erasmus+ KA131 Traineeships in Portugal by Laurence Manchee August 3, 2026 KA131 Student Mobility for Traineeships Erasmus+ Traineeships at Keela Permaculture Farm We host Erasmus+ traineeship students at the farm and education centre here in central…
Land Restoration Course by Laurence Manchee October 24, 2026 Land Restoration Course Join us for one week to learn how to improve soil in a small garden, a homestead or farm scale. We will…
Permaculture Apprentice Portugal by Laurence Manchee December 9, 2024 Established permaculture farm Permaculture Apprentice Welcome to the Permaculture apprenticeship program in Portugal. Join our Permaculture community and deepen your skills in community management, permaculture…
Permaculture Farm Stay Portugal by Laurence Manchee July 21, 2026 Established permaculture farm Permaculture Farm Stay You are welcome to stay and experience our off-grid permaculture farm in Central Portugal. Find out what off-grid living…
Enjoying lunch in the January sun!
Although we have 45 acres of magical land, we really lacked outdoor space that was protected from sun or rain. One of our neighbours gave us his old roof as he had his roof replaced. This consisted of strong hard timber which Ortwin turned into a huge undercover outdoor space for us. It is tiled with second hand tiles that we sourced nearby, and is a true up-cycled project. We will use this space for our Eco washing machine, outdoor sink, wood fired water heater and shower room. We have been so impressed by the pioneer volunteers taking on these projects and building things for the first time.
Upside down yoga in our yoga room
In our food forest we have planted lots of vegetables into beds to try and pack every bit of soil with edibles. Although we have a lot of space we are focusing on intensive planting in a small area so it is easier to manage and irrigate. Each season we will expand the food forests and growing gardens.
