A bilingual natural education project and intentional eco-community of more than 270 people in the mountains of Benfeita, central Portugal. Founded in 2018 and based in a restored olive press, it supports home-educating families, works towards environmental regeneration and brings together forest school, permaculture and community resilience work.
Folha Verde is an association that supports home-educating families with bilingual natural education, and it is also an intentional eco-community. It started in 2018 and is based in a restored olive press in the mountain valleys of Benfeita, in the municipality of Arganil, Coimbra district. More than 270 people from across Europe and North America are part of it, committed to sustainable living and environmental regeneration.
The Jardim, the kindergarten, takes children from 3 years old. Their days are built around outdoor free play, storytelling, arts and crafts, and a connection with nature. The Big Kids group, for ages 6 to 14, works in small learning groups through the core areas of the Portuguese curriculum, in both Portuguese and English. Emotional intelligence, collaboration and communication get particular emphasis. Once a week, all the children go to forest school.
Folha Verde wants to establish an official “ecozone” in the natural basin formed by the surrounding mountain ridges. The project uses its site as a testing ground, showing practical ways to move rural economies away from environmental degradation and towards regeneration. It has renewable energy systems, geodome greenhouses, composting toilets, rainwater harvesting and greywater systems, and it's actively reforesting with native broadleaved species.
After the devastating wildfires of October 2017, the community organised itself spontaneously: relief efforts, tool banks, crowdfunding campaigns and donations from across Europe. That response has since grown into systematic frameworks for community resilience.
The project operates from the Quinta do Vale educational hub and offers permaculture design courses, workshops and volunteering opportunities. With support from the municipality, it is working towards an official Eco-Freguesia designation. Folha Verde is closely linked to A Fonte, a health and wellbeing centre in Benfeita, and the wider initiative hosts regular yoga classes, meditation and sound baths, and has retreat spaces.
Our Goal
To establish a thriving natural education project and intentional eco-community in Benfeita, central Portugal. Through education, permaculture and environmental restoration, it wants to show practical routes to rural regeneration, sustainable living and community resilience.
Our Wishes
Folha Verde welcomes volunteers, educators and families interested in home education. It also welcomes partners and supporters who can help move its Eco-Freguesia designation forward and expand its community resilience frameworks.
