Hello

Curious how the first year at our little ecoqueer experimental space in the Alto Alentejo has been? Let's have a look (and also, let's hope you can join us in 2023!)

After purchasing the farm, the Quinta Project opened just before Christmas in 2021. And we started 2022 by publishing our Manifesto.

Since then, 82 “quinters” joined us on Quinta Land! Thank you for bringing your energy and light to this special place... and what else has happened in 2023? 

This year we had over 100 online events, connecting with quinters around the world. We were talking about gardening, growing and everything horticultural at the Teatime in the Garden to the regular Welcome Meeting for new quinters. The Queer Book Club had a dazzling selection of queer and ecology-themed reading and the Quinter Social brought us together with the legendary "paper plane making competition"!

On the Land Project we hosted 5 Work Weeks, including harvesting our very first ever olives. As this was a generally really bad year for olives, we had only a whooping 35kg of olives – resulting in 3 litres of real Quinta olive oil. It’s the world’s best olive oil. Obviously ;-) !

There has been an enormous transformation on the Land Project this year: Where last year we had overgrown terraces and impenetrable bramble, we now have two large vegetable gardens and planted a food forest! We discovered hidden spots: a waterfall, a natural pool and the Lost Olive Grove. Together we cleared a totally overgrown threshing circle, which is now a ceremonial space and meeting hub on the land. And many more hidden spots around QuintaLand.

Inside the community house we installed a solar water heating system (yes, last year we had no warm water!). And now practically all of our electricity is generated by the new solar system. After a very cold winter last year (and well into spring), community house now has a central heating system, with all common and bedrooms toasty warm and comfortable (making crocheting so much more comfortable on a rainy day!). We have a new, large stove in the kitchen where we can cook for everyone on the land and visitors. And… we have the most beautiful “Poo with a View”-compost toilet!

Wondering over the land you can now find inspirations to look at the nature around you in different ways: The literary gates in and out of the vegetable garden. A frame that frames your view of the land suspended above the waterfall. A moving chair is on a constant journey to the most beautiful places on the land, and you can listen to eco- and queer poetry in the Poet’s Grove. Our scarecrow is a glorious figure with glamour, and a former bird cage has been transformed to inspire liberation…

Spreading ecoqueer ideas, quinters talked at the QueerPorto film festival as part of the ecoqueer focus stream to a full house. We published a chapter on alternative LGBTQ+ tourism which included a case study on the Quinta Project. The NiCHE Research Centre published an account of the first Work Week, and Bath Business School (UK) and EUB (Spain) hosted talks about the Quinta Project and our model of an alternative economy.   

We created new ways of connecting with each other - and engaging with sustainable ways of living on the land: We now hold a daily CheckIn/Out which creates a space to connect with everyone on the land and to reflect on their experiences. Our food now uses almost exclusively local and seasonal food: we are working with two local suppliers to buy only vegetables that are grown in traditional ways (no industrial agriculture, no heated greenhouses, etc…). We love to rise to the challenge of cooking with what is available naturally and seasonally, and create amazing food from it. We are also eliminating carbon-negative and non-local dairy products, emphasising more vegan food options.

Our governing structure evolved into an organic model: We now organise in ten “pods”: a co-ordinating pod, four task specific pods and the five thematic pods: creative-, ecofeminist-, ecosensual-, queer permaculture- and food pods. The thematic pods are also mirrored in the gatherings we are hosting next year.

And for next year, we have a lot of new projects:

Foremost, of course, out gatherings:

We are also planning a lot more developments on the land:

clearing more areas of the land from invasive species and making currently inaccessible parts accessible. We plan to have two more rooms for volunteers in the community house, create better insolation and more energy efficiency. Our shed needs to be rebuilt after the roof collapsed late last year, we want to create a Love Temple on the land - and install a pagoda as a shaded space for nature immersion, yoga and other outside activities. 

Want to join us next year?

- Join us online for one of our events:
from the Queer Permies Café to our Community Call, the Book Club or our vegan Food Cookalong!

- Come to one of our gatherings: 

Ecosensual, Ecofeminist, Ecoqueer Reserach or Queering Permaculture? Be creative on the land or co-create the Open Week. See all the details on our gathering page!

- Volunteer on the land:

Come and join us taking care of the land, with creativity, reflection, sharing, joy and fabulousness are part of our daily practice!

Wishing you all lots of love, fabulousness, peace, nature and connection in 2023!

...with love from the Quinta Land