Fridayhappiness Associação

We are a cultural and arts community that is working towards being self-sustained. The community is situated in the mountains of Monchique, Portugal surrounded by nature.

Our community provides an alternative way of living with permaculture gardens, farm animals, sustainability projects, and arts and cultural workshops. It is a great place to come to meet other like-minded people if you are passionate about sustainability and alternative living. We hold community meetings throughout the week alongside activities and workshops, such as quiz nights, dance nights and yoga classes. If you have something you are passionate about and want to share with others, we would love for you to run a workshop. One of the best things here is the variety of tasks you can do as a volunteer, which gives you the opportunity to learn new skills and discover what you enjoy doing most. We are also starting an Ecovillage for families, artistes and other creative people

We have a combination of short and long term volunteers and on average we have between 10 to 30 volunteers and residents at a time. There are a wide range of age groups among our community including families, children and teenagers and we would love it if other families with children would join us. We are looking for motivated, responsible and hard-working volunteers with an interest in permaculture so we can work towards our goal of being fully self sustained. We have a variety of accommodation options including caravans, vans, tents and tepees. You can also bring your own tent or you are also welcome to camp in your own van. If you intend to stay long term, you may have the option to move into a caravan or van if this comes available. We are currently working on building some sustainable huts. You will experience living in a community, where everyone works to contribute to the community goals. Living alongside people from all over the world, you will have the opportunity to learn about different cultures, languages and ways of life. This is a place to discover yourself, develop strong friendships with others and find out what unique qualities, skills and knowledge you can offer to contribute to the community. What else ... The community is located on 14 hectares of land, surrounded by mountains and nature all around including ponds, lakes and streams to swim in, mountains with hiking tracks and beautiful peaceful areas to sit down with a book. There is a nearby town, Marmelete within a 2 hour walk or short drive. On the weekends, you may wish to day trip to Lagos or Aljezur, which are only 25-30 minutes away by car. A little more information … We provide 3 meals a day, which are all vegetarian. There will sometimes be vegan options available, but we cannot guarantee this. While we are a vegetarian farm, we do offer meals with meat on occasion (usually once a week). We have a bar where you can purchase drinks from and a shop with snacks available daily. Work is approximately 24 hours a week. For most jobs, we start in the morning and you can have the rest of the day to yourself. In summer, we start earlier to avoid the midday heat. We decide on weekly and daily jobs and responsibilities during our morning meetings. We require volunteers to commit to a minimum of 2 weeks.