Aerial photo of the food forest in 2023: bare red earth with a freshly dug swale and young trees.

The same view in 2026: the same ground grown dense with trees and shrubs.

The food forest on Quinta da Fornalha: the same ground in 2023 and in 2026.

This part, we want to carry together.

We are Cooperativa Integral Sulitânia. For three years we helped build a community project on Quinta da Fornalha, in the south of Portugal. On bare red ground we planted a food forest and built what makes a place liveable. Everything we had went into it: time, work, knowledge and, in the end, nearly all our money. We chose not to ask that of anyone else.

This is not a story about a failed dream. It is the end of a chapter, and an ending deserves the same care as a beginning. Right now we do not have the money for that. So for the first time, we are asking you.

The cooperative

Sulitânia began in May 2023, when a group of us started to live and work on Quinta da Fornalha, near Castro Marim in the eastern Algarve. In June 2025 we became a cooperative: Cooperativa Integral Sulitânia, CRL.

The work can be seen. Where in 2023 there was bare red earth and a freshly dug swale, there is now a food forest that keeps growing without us. Around it came the ordinary infrastructure that makes a place liveable. How it began is told on syntrociety.org.

Not everything went the way we hoped, and at times it was hard. We are grateful for what we built together and want to learn from what was difficult too. We are drawing on those experiences as we develop RRL. These same years also gave rise to Syntrociety, the network of Living Labs we are building, with Sulitânia as its first Lab. Now we want to close this chapter with care. More about RRL at rrl.syfers.eu.

People at work on the land during a pruning day.

First know what is true, then decide.

What we had went into the place: plants, materials, a complete solar power system and years of work. That system was never installed; circumstances overtook us. What we invested remains there: in the land and in equipment that was never connected. That is why we do not have the money for this step. This is not an emergency. It is an honest request for help with the costs of bringing this chapter to a careful close.

We have asked an independent law firm specialising in cooperative law for a written assessment. Not to win an argument, but to know what is true before we decide anything. Whether a compensation figure can be established, and on what basis, is not settled. That is exactly what we want examined. The assessment has to make five things clear:

Where we stand legally, including what the promised comodato means.

How our investments and improvements are treated.

Which routes are open, including simply talking it through.

The risks of each route, and whether it is realistic.

What evidence is needed, and what the practical next steps are.

What your contribution pays for

Independent legal assessment

Quoted by a law firm specialising in cooperative law: €1,500 plus VAT for the legal memorandum, with a €1,000 upfront payment that forms part of that fee.

€1,845

Independent inventory

An independent record of what we did, built and invested in the place, so that it does not rest on our word alone. Who carries it out is not yet known; the general assembly decides.

€1,500

Other measures and expenses

Other steps the process may need: notarial costs, documents, translations and administration. Set aside, not yet spent.

€1,655

Maximum, VAT included

€5,000

All amounts in euro, VAT included. Our general assembly set this maximum for all the costs of this process, with crowdfunding as the first route. The cooperative receives the contributions and pays the invoices. If the cooperative receives more than is needed for these costs, it will use the remaining amount to further its aims, in consultation with its members.

Carry a part

Any amount helps. You are just as welcome to read this and decide it is not for you.

Contribute

You enter or confirm the amount in euro (EUR) on the payment page before you pay.

Payments are processed by Stripe. Contributions go to Cooperativa Integral Sulitânia, CRL.
Stripe emails you a receipt. For a receipt from the cooperative, email hello@syntrociety.org.
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Before you decide

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Questions

Not seeing your question? Email hello@syntrociety.org or book a video call.

The money

Where does my contribution go, and who receives the money?

To Cooperativa Integral Sulitânia, CRL (NIF 518771571). The cooperative receives contributions through Stripe and uses them to pay its own invoices for this process: the legal assessment, the inventory and the other costs in the budget. Nobody receives money for personal use through this page.

Why doesn't a cooperative pay €5,000 itself?

Because of the circumstances we found ourselves in, we could not set up activities that bring in revenue. What we had is in the place: the food forest, a solar power system that was never installed, building materials and years of work. That is not money you can withdraw.

Can I get a receipt for my company?

Stripe emails a payment receipt for every contribution. If your company needs a receipt from the cooperative, email hello@syntrociety.org with the company name and tax number.

Can I get my contribution back?

If you contributed by mistake or chose the wrong amount, email hello@syntrociety.org within 14 days and the cooperative refunds it to the payment method you used. The details are in the terms.

The process

What is the legal memorandum?

A written assessment by an independent law firm of our position, our investments, the routes available and their risks. It is advice, not a ruling.

Does this mean the cooperative is going to court?

No. Nothing has been decided. We want to understand the situation first; talking it through is one of the routes we are looking at.

What falls under other measures and expenses?

Steps the process may need beyond the assessment and the inventory: notarial costs, documents, translations and administration. Up to €1,655 including VAT, budgeted and not yet spent.

Why are some details kept private?

Other people are involved, and it would be unfair to discuss them in public. We also do not want to draw conclusions before we have had proper advice.

And after that?

That is not clear yet. We have had conversations with people at possible new locations, and some are still ongoing. But we first need to know how our departure will be settled before we can commit to a new place. Once everything falls into place, you will hear it at the email address you give when you pay.

The meaning

Why contribute to something that ends in this place?

Because an ending is work too, and we want to do this work well. Your contribution is not there to continue at Quinta da Fornalha. It pays for closing this chapter with care: knowing where we stand, recording what we built and invested, and taking the steps a departure asks for. The cooperative carries on. The knowledge, the relationships and what was learned here go with it.

What does this say about the viability of the project?

For us, this experience shows how important clear agreements about land use, responsibilities, cooperation and income are. The food forest is visible, but it does not tell the whole story about whether a project is viable. The legal assessment should clarify our position and options. We want to take what we learn from this to a future place. About the quadruple helix.

Does that mean the SYFERS framework does not work in practice?

The SYFERS framework is still being developed. Our experience helps us refine its questions and conditions, but does not by itself prove that the framework works. Clear land use agreements, viable income and cooperation with residents, research institutions, businesses and public authorities need attention in each new place. We want to record what went well and what did not, so that a future Lab can build on it. The six conditions of a Syntropic Living Lab.

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