The work is already happening. Here’s where to find it.

She kept coming across good initiatives all over the country, most of them growing quietly and on their own. To bring them all together, to create more coherence among the sustainable movement in Portugal, seemed the right thing to do. She also wanted to give these beautiful initiatives a voice: an outlet that is both individual and shared. Showing what’s already happening, all in one place, makes a bigger impact than any project can alone. About six months ago she and Marcel started building the platform, which became www.sustainableliving.pt.

It covers most, if not all, the sustainable themes that are important to build a greener Portugal. The thread running through all of it is connection. The platform makes it easier for people and projects to find one another, so that good work doesn’t go unnoticed or stand on its own. Our purpose is manifold: to connect the people doing the work, to spark collaboration between them, and to show others that another way is possible.

We are there for people who are searching for another way of life, seeking inspiration, wanting to start their own project or join an existing one. We also love to introduce people who don’t yet know much about the sustainable options, and are open to learning, for their own living spaces. On our platform you can find the people and organisations who provide information and support with natural building techniques and materials, greywater systems, permaculture and syntropic gardening, for houses, pools and gardens large and small.

In our opinion, to strengthen the heartbeat of sustainable living in this country, and to make real change happen, it is essential to bridge the different groups of people who live here. We would like to help empower people to be part of this movement, even in the smallest of ways. We make sure that everything on the site is hand-curated and available in English and Portuguese. New entries go up every week.

We are grateful that The Portugal News offered to work together and to have a full page on sustainability in their newspaper after understanding our initiative. It shows they back what we’re doing: bringing real examples of sustainable living to a wide and varied audience. We will run this section every week, in print and online.

We can’t wait to bring you these stories: people making a difference, helping their own corner of the planet regenerate. For our own good, and for the generations who come after us.

Pulse: the daily heartbeat of sustainable Portugal

Pulse, our daily read on what is happening in sustainable Portugal.

A lot happens in sustainable Portugal on any given day, and most of it never reaches a wide audience. Many stories are out there, but they are scattered across dozens of outlets and many of them appear only in Portuguese.

Pulse is the Sustainable Living answer to that. It is a short daily summary of what is going on across the country, covering nature, energy, farming, water, housing and circular economy.

Each morning it gathers the day’s stories into one place with a sentence or two on each subject and a link to the original report, so you can read further if something catches your interest. It comes in English and Portuguese and is free to read.

The items are sorted by theme, so you have a quick overview. And every item is also tagged by region, so you can follow what is happening where you live.

The thinking behind Pulse is the same as behind the rest of the platform. There is more going on in sustainable Portugal than most people realise, and it is easier to take part once you can see it.

The name Pulse is a way of saying that living sustainably is a living, breathing thing, like the earth itself. It needs our care. And because we’re all interconnected, the ripples of what we do reach everyone, good or bad. Pulse is how we keep an eye on that, together. People want to contribute and we like to show the different ways they already do.

You can read Pulse every day and the full archive at sustainableliving.pt/pulse.

About Sustainable Living

A hand-curated, bilingual directory of the people, projects and practices building a more sustainable Portugal. Browse projects, people, jobs and events, follow the daily news in Pulse, all in English and Portuguese.

Contact

Web: sustainableliving.pt

Email: info@sustainableliving.pt

Instagram: @sustainableliving.pt

Facebook: sustainablelivingpt

About Marcel

Marcel has been in Portugal for five years. In the Netherlands, he worked in business education, publishing and IT before leaving that world behind. He co-founded O Cais, an eco café and shop in a historic Silves building, and now builds and runs Sustainable Living, turning the shared vision into a working platform.

About Willow

Willow has lived in Portugal for 25 years. She founded Healing Circle Sanctuary in Silves, a coliving, retreat and eco-space, and co-founded O Cais with Marcel. A connector by instinct and the originator of the Sustainable Living vision, she is passionate about nature, community and regenerating the land.