Regenerating by receiving

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Land of Shelter was a multidimensional and community-based model of welcoming Afghan activists for peace and human rights persecuted in their native country. A pioneer project in Portugal, its objective was to promote the development of personal and social skills that would lead to personal autonomy, while simultaneously ensuring opportunities for professional integration and a sense of belonging in the territory.

Inspired by permaculture principles, the project sought to bring together human regeneration — essential for those starting over — with the regeneration of the land and the ongoing process in Mértola.

Part of the Land Grants project, Land of Shelter was created to address two systemic challenges: the international refugee crisis and rural desertification. Thus, the aim was to integrate a group of young Afghans into an increasingly depopulated territory through their active participation in a process of ecological and social regeneration.

The welcoming process was based on several dimensions: professional training (with a focus on regenerative agriculture), language learning, psycho-emotional support, and community integration — promoting holistic regeneration, beneficial both for those who arrive and for those who welcome them.

The hosting model first pioneered in Mértola was then replicated in other projects in Portugal and Spain.