the past month has been a rollercoaster, a very fun one. Portugal was not new for me, as I lived the past year in Lisbon. Nonetheless, living in Alcantarilha on this land is a whole different experience. There was an internal craving to work with and live in nature. The fact that the connection with Mariana and Animame was made very organically makes is even more special. During my thesis research `how conservation activities can empower women’, I have had an interview with Mariana regarding her NGO chica’s pedrosas. This is the moment we found out that there are much similarities in our character and view on life.
As I just gratuaded my studies international development management, with a specialisation in rural development and innovation I was looking for a new chapter to enter. To find out it was possible to do an Erasmus entrepreneurship at Animame seemed like a breath of fresh air. This gave me the opportunity to focus on my professional development without the pressure of an actual job, which can be a bit intimidating to be honest. My focus always has been on women’s empowerment and environmental sustainability, which aligns with the goals of Animame.
Fast forward to Thursday 29th of August, my arrival date (officially I started the 2nd of September). My arrival at the land felt calm, I was alone and found my time to ground in this. Prior I had visited the land only once. The upcoming days Mariana had visitors, which gave me the time to get to know alcantarilha and its surroundings. These days I focused on my goals for the upcoming months, organising a retreat, increase my knowledge on agriculture and the organisational structure of setting up a business.
After a few days it was time to sit together with Mariana, and discuss our expectations and the aim of my stay more in detail. It became clear that the vision of Mariana was big and tangible, the creativity in Mariana is inspiring. In every corner there is an idea of what it should become. From the beginning I felt there was a lot of trust in my capabilities and that my input was valued, this made it easy for me to join the conversation. But where to start with 536829 ideas?
Slowly progressing from working in the vegetable garden, to working in the greenhouse (making a pallet deck, which was really rough but made us feel super strong and cool!), just brainstorming about everything that has been going on and what is possible in the future, preparing the first! Women’s retreat, going live on park 4 night and hosting the first guests and so many little things in between the bigger moments.
To be surrounded by and work with likeminded people is very inspirational. Than I am not only talking about Mariana, but about her and mine friends visiting, them seeing the land and the work that is being done, talking about the vision. To explain in bullets points what the past month had brought is not possible. It is way more than physical work and seeing end results, it is a mind shift. Feeling powerful and seeing the potential in others, in the land and most importantly in myself.