Welcome to this first article of this blog, in which we share with you some of the actions that took place during the first phase of the project.
As shared in more detail on the “Origin and development of the project” page, the vision for the project emerged in January 2017. In this moment, we started to define some essential concrete points to make the project possible, in terms of size, operation and activity. We studied some different subjects that would be important for the project, such as construction, agriculture, water management and so on. This process helped us to create an initial general idea of the requirements needed for such a project and enabled us to define a series of criteria for finding a plot of land. These included, for example, a size of at least 60 hectares, enough flat areas for construction, easy access and, above all, a place where one can feel good, recharge batteries and where the beauty of the landscape can touch the people who come here. All of this in a place with a climate that allows this to be a haven of peace and rich in nature and develop over time.
The search of a suitable land began!
We visited the first plots of land in Spain in the summer of 2017, in the Alpujarra region, where Quentin was living at the time with several members of the community. We were particularly interested in this area because, despite the extremely warm weather of Andalusia, it enjoys a favourable climate thanks to the water coming from the Sierra Nevada mountains. However, after extensive research in the area, and visits to several properties, we understood that this region would not allow us to find a plot of land that met all the criteria required for this project.
Visit of a land on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada in Spain’s Alpujarra region:
In 2018, while in Spain, someone recommended us to move our search to Portugal, where several plots of land might suit our needs.
After some fruitful research, we did indeed find some interesting opportunities, mainly in the region of southern Alentejo. So, in May 2018, we decided to organise a visit to some of those plots of land. Meriam arranged the contacts with estate agents in the region, and we left with a dozen members of the community.
Site visits in Portugal in May 2018:
These visits have been a great success and have provided us with a lot of rich information. We found several interesting plots of land that met some of our criteria. We also took the opportunity to meet with the municipality of Odemira, which was one of the municipalities primarily concerned by our research, and during this first very positive and constructive meeting, we were able to understand the different possible legal solutions that would enable the project to be carried out.
Although some of the properties we found were already very interesting, we felt that none of them was ideal for this project, so we decided to wait and see if any new properties came up in the market. Thanks to our real-estate contact, with whom we have an excellent relationship, we were kept updated to new available properties.
Nearly a year later, while we were busy with events and other activities in Spain and France, we received some news from Tom, the estate agent. He had found a plot of land that was exactly what we were looking for, and it was about to come on the market.
So, on the way to another trip, Meriam, Quentin and Cyrille decided to make a detour to Portugal to visit this land. The visit revealed itself to be surprisingly perfect for the 3 of them, and it remarkably met all the needs for the project. This land, with 80 hectares, was magnificent, very close to Funcheira train station, on the Lisbon-Faro line, with plenty of water and a beautiful old adobe farmhouse to rebuild. There were other aspects that matched our needs perfectly, and we realised that this was clearly the right plot of land for our project.
In the following weeks, we dedicated our time to studying in detail how the project could be implemented on this specific place. And in the meantime, we coordinated with the estate agent to prepare for a potential purchase.
During the summer, we presented the project and the property to the community, during the events organised in Spain. The whole vision was shared, with plans of the future project and supporting videos and pictures. This gave us a lot of joy and enthusiasm and enabled us to start preparing for the purchase. We decided that the purchase of the land would be financed collectively by an appeal for donations from all those in the community who were touched by the project.
So that’s how we found this wonderful plot of land, and we’ll see you soon for the rest of the adventure 🙂
