Sharing and Mutual Help in the Algarve

The sun is already high in the sky by the time the group of around 20 people begin dispersing over the land. Some already know each other, for others it is a first time. Bags, hoes, spades and water are distributed.

The day ahead involves clearing a small plot in Barão de São João, set back from the coast in the borough of Lagos.

The picture could be from an old snapshot of “days on the farm”, except for the fact that all those present are volunteers – some having come from far away. And some have never worked in the fields before...

“What’s happened is that we’ve all started to realize that this lifestyle of work, work, working to make money and buy things, isn’t really making any of us happy. Perhaps, happiness lies in much more short-term needs”, explains Ana Tara, 33, coordinator of the «Almingas» group.

The desire to create «Almigas» came spontaneously and without force, as a result of another event. “I have a blog on downsizing and the simplicity of voluntary work. It’s a movement of people who’ve decided to adopt a simple life, without consumerism”.

After the movement’s last international congress in Barcelona, the organisation decided to hold a global picnic – held in different locations throughout the world - on 6th June 2010 to discuss their thoughts and questions.

Ana Tara signed up for the idea (completely new in Portugal) and spread the word via social networking channels and email. The chosen locale was Barão de São João.

“Lots of people turned up. It was all so nice that we decided to repeat it once a month”. And then the idea evolved for “something more pro-active”. And thus the group that always welcomes new faces was born.

“People are joining us because it’s basically such a simple thing. There’s no bureaucracy. Whoever can come, comes. If someone can’t make it, no problem”. The whole thing is totally free.

There’s simply a short questionnaire to fill out which acts as a database for the network. Right now the group has around 40 active members. “After lunch, we sit round and discuss together what will be our next initiative, and when”, Ana explains.

Attending a doctorate in Biology, Ana Tara has been a veteran of this way of life and believes that more and more people are looking for new, more meaningful, lifestyles.

“When I started to look at my reality and see that it really didn’t suit me, there weren’t that many of us. People were knocking their heads against the system, but not in any concrete way. But then in only half a dozen years it’s amazing to see how the number of people looking for alternatives has multiplied.

In the last two years, for example, there’s been a real boom in the number of people moving to the countryside, planting vegetables on their balconies, or taking courses in permaculture. A lot of things are happening!”

Until now, «Almingas» has only been involved in “working the land”. “But we’re available for other initiatives. Not all the people who come and help have farms. So, why don’t we also help those people if and when they need another kind of support? The whole idea is that we’re a mutual help network. We’re here for each other”, she guarantees.

Helena Campos, 60, Ana Tara’s mother, has been involved with the group since its inception. “I always knew I wanted to live in the country, and I’ve lived an alternative life since I was 19”. An unorthodox attitude considering Portugal was living through the height of its rural exodus period, with populations seeking more and more urban centres.

“There were always people who refused to live in towns because they could see that everything in them was wrong –and because, ultimately, people like that, like us, cannot accept that way of life”, she says.

But then, “there were many people who also gave up (in the country), because this is a very hard way of life. You have to make many choices – forget a lot of consumer perks and comforts in order to manage to survive”.

“But I don’t regret any of it. And I’ve never felt lonely. How could anyone feel lonely with so many birds, almond trees and fig trees all around? It’s not possible! Everyday, all this means so much to me!”

Today, after almost 40 years living in contact with nature, it’s with pleasure that she sees her daughters following in her footsteps. “What makes it all the more positive is that it’s a much more educated generation – and this helps protect the environment even further”.

In explanation, she continues: “You see, 23 years ago, I planted trees on the land here that today I would never have planted” simply because she now knows better. “This was a desert, just stones – and I wanted to plant greenery! I was silly to plant those pines and cypresses, because they really don’t belong here”, she laments.

Regarding the «Almingas» group, Helena Campos, who crafts items in bamboo, thinks it is something “that allows a different level of consciousness to develop among people”.

Kindergarten teacher Ana Manjua, 32, agrees with her. This was her third time taking part in an activity within the group. “It’s a kind of apprenticeship. There are people involved who work in traditional agriculture, others in permaculture – so there’s a lot of interesting stuff to learn”, she says.

When she met the group, “the people involved wanted to know where they would go for the next “date”.

I told them I was living in a new place, that I had a bit of land to cultivate, but that I’d always lived in a town, so didn’t have the first idea how to get started. So, that was the place chosen for our 1st May get-together! And although it rained all day, I now have a wonderful vegetable garden.

It was really planted out with love”… she concludes, with a smile.