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Permaculture Regenerative Institute in Portugal

The experience

We are a professional environmental startup with an office and regenerative education garden in the foothills of the Serra da Sintra national park in Cascais; one of our mediterranean teaching centres. We are also a certified Permaculture school (insta study_permaculture), and on a global mission to improve communication around sustainable issues to students and young professionals who are passionate to make a big difference in the green economy.

What you offer

25 hours of help per week

Social Work: Help with volunteer work in local projects and communities.

Gardening: Help grow plants and cultivate gardens

Building & Repairing: Help with a wide range of repairs or building.

Farming: Plant crops, sow seeds and help in outside tasks.

What you get

2 days off per week

Shared Dorm: You will have a bed in a shared room, which means you will share the same room with other travelers.

Lunch: You are entitled to a free lunch, every day of your stay.

Dinner: You are entitled to a free dinner, every day of your stay.

Free Laundry: You can use our laundry room freely.

Free Tours: We’ll take you on tours and rides around town. For free!

Permaculture Course: Take part in our Permaculture course for free.

Use our equipped kitchen: Feel free to use our kitchen and make your own delicious food.

Certificate: Get a certificate of completion after you finish your experience.

Fast Internet Access: High-speed internet for you to work remotely

Dedicated Workspace: Specific space for you to work remotely

Requirements

Welcomes solo volunteers, couples, and partners of volunteers

What's not included

Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa

Program Details

Frustrated by the lack of positive solutions to the global issues we all felt at school and university — and are reminded of daily on social media — we discovered that, when digging deeper, for every major global problem, there were already solutions in place. And those solutions were green.

So we came to the conclusion that the biggest global challenge wasn't innovation, but clear, simple, and effective communication. That’s why we launched our institute — to find better ways to reconnect and communicate these green solutions to the next generation. Our team lives around Cascais and Lisbon and works from our newly opened space.

Our typical days in Cascais are spent developing our regenerative garden, showcasing the latest and most effective strategies from Permaculture, Syntropic Agriculture, Market Gardening, Natural Farming, and more. We try to stick to a 4-day working week and are lucky to be surrounded by some of Portugal’s most beautiful beaches and hiking trails. We also spend time together outdoors as a team, making sure regeneration starts with ourselves.

We understand that on many volunteering platforms, most hosts are small families or family-run businesses. So it’s important to clarify that our setup is a bit different. Our team is made up of co-founders and students who are very independent and proactive. And as a business rather than a household, volunteers will have more freedom to create their own schedules and enjoy the incredible beauty of the surrounding cities, countryside, and coastline — as well as tap into our extended network of regenerative farmers, businesses, and friends across Portugal and globally.

Collectively, our project brings together many decades of experience in organic farming and regenerative design.