Oásis da Lua, Portugal

A welcoming place of life

We are a family from Yverdon-les-Bains (Switzerland) and have always been attracted by nature and always wanted to bring back in our daily lives essential values of well-being and simplicity.

It is therefore quite naturally that we wanted to create a place where everyone is welcome and where mutual help and sharing are the watchwords.

This project is the result of a lot of research and reading undertaken over the last few years. It has been living in us for more than 10 years now. We have had various opportunities to find an estate but this was not the place nor the time.

Here in 2017, we are visiting this beautiful land. Everything has become clear and limpid: it is here that we are going to create our little piece of paradise, this intergenerational, community-based, ecological living space developed in agro-ecology according to the principles of Permaculture.

Located on the foothills of the Mondego River in Portugal and on the edge of the village Póvoa de São Cosme, the 7.5 ha land is composed of small fertile agricultural terraces and water sources.

We need support to quickly start the construction of the reception areas: communal living space, bungalows and training centre (agro-ecology, permaculture, health and well-being).

Why Oásis da Lua ?

We wish to move towards «happy sobriety», as Pierre Rahbi so aptly put it.

We want to allow people «without land» but full of beautiful energies, eager to learn and / or use the knowledge already acquired, to embark with us in the adventure.

This is why we are going to develop an agro-tourism project by building a training and wellness centre, bungalows and a place to live together.

We wish to offer different types of training, especially in permaculture, in agro-ecology, we also want to allow anyone who wants to experiment new techniques in these different fields to be able to do so. The field is vast and just waiting for your ideas!

In this idea of being in harmony with nature, we also want to take care of our body. This is why we want to organize stays and wellness retreats but also cooking or handicrafts workshops.

We want to learn and allow learning.

This is what we need backing for.

Your support will enable us to set up micro construction projects in order to quickly materialize the project.

The first objective of the participatory financing is CHF 80’000. Thanks to your help and the collection of this amount, we will be able to :

• build the common space (which will initially serve as a bungalow)
• build the campsite
• consolidating the irrigation of the land while creating the first water storage pond
• build the Walipini greenhouse (semi-subterranean greenhouse)
• acquire a mini excavator that will allow us to carry out various earthmoving and excavation work.

We have decided to include a stretch-goal in our crowdfunding campaign. This additional target of CHF 66,000 would enable us to be operational and autonomous even more quickly. With this sum, we will be able to build the Training Centre and then host the first courses, retreats and workshops there.

The aim being to have as little impact as possible on the environment, all the buildings with flat green roofs will be made of wood-straw-soil (structure, insulation and finishes) and will be rectangular in shape to blend in with the terraces. To avoid impact on the ground, they will be placed on a wooden platform, themselves mounted on construction screws.

Dry toilets, renewable energy installations, rainwater harvesting and grey water treatment by phyto-purification will be carried out in parallel. Indeed, we aim to be as fast and as autonomous as possible.

Your support will make our project possible!

Thank you!