Following the discovery of the land in 2019, and the decision taken with the community, we had to start getting our hands dirty to make this beautiful project a reality😊
We decided to embark on self-financing the purchase, to keep the possibility of taking out a loan for the construction phase. It was a big challenge, because the amount of money involved was substantial and everyone had to make a huge effort to support the project. We organised a crowdfunding for the closest group of people (around 50 people) that were more involved in the development of this project.
A major preliminary task, which began at the end of 2019, was to find a law firm in Portugal capable of supporting us throughout the process. Our choice fell on VdA – Vieira de Almeida, which has a department dedicated to associative projects and projects such as ours, which combine it with an entrepreneurial aspect with the development of several other activities. We would like to pay tribute to them, because they have been doing a great job, always with an open heart and talented skills, and we are delighted to work with them. This enabled us to find the legal form that would allow us to carry out such a project, which includes both an association and a social enterprise. This very important groundwork was crucial, both to enable us to receive the donations and to build the foundations for developing the whole project legally on the land we wanted to buy. This is a very important theme that requires a lot of work in advance. Many projects like ours struggle to take this aspect into account from the outset, and this often creates major complications when the project develops. So, we really wanted to create solid foundations for the project that would guarantee a stable framework for its development. This effort, which was made before the purchase, greatly facilitated all the subsequent stages, particularly with the municipality.
The crowdfunding itself took almost 2 years, and thanks to everyone’s generosity we were able to finance the entire purchase 💛🏡. It’s extraordinary to have been able to make such a purchase and raise enough funds, with this small group, and we thank everyone for their generous contribution, which made it all possible 🙏❤
This road has been full of pitfalls, and at times we have had to show a great deal of patience. Indeed, negotiating with the owner was very complicated, as he initially asked for a price that was overvalued and, in general, he was extremely difficult to contact. Despite this, by showing a great deal of patience and confidence in the success of the project, we finally reached an agreement.
This agreement had two important aspects: first, the deposit would be reimbursed, and the purchase cancelled if the municipality didn’t give pre-approval to the project as a whole, and second, the payment would be made in two instalments, over two years, to give us enough time to raise the needed funds.
The deposit was paid on the 9th of June of 2021.
Then, we started to work on submitting an official preliminary application to present to the Municipality of Ourique, where the property is located. This application contained the broad outlines of the project, in its complete version. We had met the town hall architect beforehand, and the meetings had been very constructive, enabling us to validate different subjects verbally, and the best legal choices for the project (all the preliminary work with VdA proved to have been invaluable). The municipality was very positive and receptive since the beginning, appreciating the fact that we were working in collaboration with them beforehand.
At the beginning of 2022, the good news arrived: this preliminary application had all its subjects officially validated, opening the door to the rest of the purchasing process. So, we finalised the call for donations to be ready for the first payment, which took place in April 2022.
A year later, on the 6th of April 2023, the second payment took place, and the purchase was concluded before a notary in Lisbon. After this long journey, it was a great joy for everyone! 🎉🎉🎉✨
