Quinta das Relvas

Associação Quinta das Relvas runs non-formal education where the arts meet sustainability. It's based on a farm in Branca, Portugal, that dates back to 1789. The non-profit NGO was founded in 2016. Its multidisciplinary team uses Permaculture methodology and treats the farm as a living laboratory. Together they develop, share and promote artistic residencies, workshops, conferences, trainings, internships, volunteering programmes and international exchanges, including Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps activities. Priority goes to young people who are still studying or starting their careers, and to those with fewer opportunities. The association gives them access to culture, creative thinking and sustainable practices in a rural setting. Programmes range from bio-construction youth exchanges and food forest management exchanges to artistic research residencies (GRÃO) and training courses that combine Permaculture and Green Art (GALA). The farm also has an eco-hostel for visitors interested in sustainable living, the arts and permaculture. The association works from the belief that connecting people, entities, projects and ideas increases their impact and makes shared work lighter. It is actively building a co-work community and forming partnerships with like-minded projects to widen the reach and complexity of its work. Through this it promotes social participation, creative and critical thinking done collectively, a reconsideration of rural life, and the decentralisation of access to culture and training.