Vegoa

Vegoa is a platform and registered association working to make sustainable and ethical living accessible and tangible. Its values are veganism, self-sustainability and freedom, combined with entrepreneurial ambition and creativity. All members agree to a shared manifest setting out those values. The association's flagship initiative is Vegan Hills, a vegan eco-village on 104 hectares near Pedralva, Vila do Bispo, in the Algarve. It is planned as a fully vegan and self-sustainable community that leads by example. Vegoa runs on a governance model it calls “Self-Responsible, Direct Democracy Without Any Leaders”. It rests on four principles: personal freedom, mutual respect, collective responsibility and transparent rule-making. Decisions are taken by direct vote, so every member holds equal influence whatever their personality or assertiveness. All meeting notes and minutes are open to all members, which keeps the process transparent and stops power gathering in a few hands. Volunteers, visitors and new members are welcome to join and contribute. Further ahead, Vegoa plans to establish several vegan and self-sustainable regions in other parts of the world, and to encourage people and communities elsewhere to take up a more ethical, plant-based and ecologically responsible way of life.