Driven by:
Re.Rural experience
Short-Term Volunteer Program with a Monthly Allowance – 2 Months in the São Luís Ecosystem.
Regenerar Odemira Project – Supported and developed by the European Solidarity Corps & Odemira Municipal Council.
A transformative experience in a vibrant territory
This 2-month educational program, part of the European Solidarity Corps and coordinated with the Municipality of Odemira, offers you a unique opportunity to live, learn, and actively contribute to the regenerative development of a vibrant rural village — São Luís, in the municipality of Odemira.
It is an experience of deep immersion in rural life, where tradition, innovation, and community intertwine to create sustainable pathways for the future.
What is this experience about?
Over the course of 2 months, two young people (aged 18 to 30) will be welcomed in São Luís — a village in transition that blends traditional knowledge with the energy of new artistic, social, and ecological movements.
Participants become part of a learning community and a living community ecosystem, collaborating with local projects and contributing ideas, knowledge, and innovative perspectives. This is an immersive experience where collective action, hands-on learning, and everyday coexistence foster new ways of inhabiting and regenerating the territory.
Here, learning happens with the land, and every day new and old visions for the rural world are co-created.
What do we mean by a community of learning?
We don’t have perfect answers on how to regenerate a territory.
We have curiosity, a willingness to experiment, and a clear intention to care.
We learn through trial and error, side by side with those who already live in and care for this place. You will learn by doing, collaborate with local people, and become part of an ecosystem that is already regenerating its territory in a simple, practical, and collective way.
Who is it for?
For proactive young people (18–30 years old) who want to:
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live an out-of-the-ordinary experience
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be part of an experience where you are expected to be proactive, in an environment where you are cared for and also care for others
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learn about regeneration, sustainability, and rural life
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contribute to projects with real impact
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experience a different way of living and co-creating
Come co-learn to re.generate with us!
We are young, and we believe in our future!
Schedule of our main activities during these 2 months.
You will participate and support us in making it happen!
Urra Festival - peasant week - (April 16th to 19th)
re.educa conference (May 2nd)
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Intercultural exchange and collective learning in a collaborative environment.
Active involvement with local associations and initiatives.
Regenerative Coop/Espaço NATIVA
We included:
Accommodation
You will have access to a private room and a shared kitchen with all costs included (water, electricity, gas and internet).
monthly allowance
Accommodation and costs: 330
Food: 285
Transportation: 50
Personal project: 25
Pocket money: 180
Vibrant local ecosystem
You will have access to a local ecosystem of inspiring organizations, projects, and people, with whom you can learn, collaborate, and develop new ideas and initiatives.
Practical learning process
Here you will learn how to make things happen. Your tasks will be aligned with your learning objectives and, at the same time, you will contribute to structuring tasks within the ecosystem in which you are involved.
What will be the key activities you will undertake during your experience?
Communication
Creating content for our networks and platforms based on your experience.
Logistics
Co-caring for the Co.Re Center
Project management
Administration
Facilitation
Supporting Espaço Nativa
Bulk grocery store shifts
Supporting community events
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Active projects centered in São Luís
The history of the place that hosts this experience.
and that makes this path more congruent
In the golden hills of Southwest Alentejo, where the Mira River meanders through cork oak forests and ancient paths, lies São Luís — a village shaped by deep ecology, resilience, and ancestral wisdom.
For generations, life followed the rhythm of the seasons: wheat, olive trees, arbutus berries, and cork sustained communities rooted in mutual aid and hospitality.
This rhythm was interrupted — by monocultures, industrial agriculture, and rural exodus.
But São Luís resists.
Not as a relic of the past, but as a beacon of the rural regenerative movement.
Today, this bioregion pulsates with renewal.
Farmers, educators, artists, and young people return to the land, reactivating its memory and potential.
Agroecology restores vitality to the soil, and dozens of cultural, artistic, and community organizations make São Luís a true living laboratory.
The Alentejo singing tradition continues to echo through the fields, blending with new voices and learning experiences.
And this landscape invites us not only to visit — but to learn, collaborate, and co-create the futures we need.
São luís
Regenerate Odemira – A Programme with History and Real Impact
Since 2015, Odemira has been the setting for long-term international volunteering projects under the European Solidarity Corps, with a deep and lasting impact on the lives of many young people and on the local community.
Over the years, this programme has not only provided transformative experiences for dozens of young Europeans, but has also created strong bonds with the territory. Many participants chose to stay in Odemira after their volunteering experience, actively contributing to local development — including some who today coordinate and care for this very programme.
Today, we are several generations of young people who have gone through this experience and who continue to strengthen a network of solidarity, commitment, and active participation. A true cycle of care, learning, and belonging.
International Volunteering in Numbers
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34 young volunteers hosted in Odemira
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35 volunteers sent to international projects
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13 accredited local organisations
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27 European partners from 12 different countries
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10 successful editions completed
This is a programme made of people, stories, and real impact — on the present and future of those who take part and of the territory that welcomes them.
Apply by January 10, 2026.