Step 1: Settle In
• Perfect my Portuguese, find a small town I vibe with, chat to locals and maybe the mayor.
Step 2: Bake my way in
• Open a little community bakery.
• Everyone’s welcome, if you’re struggling, the bread (or meals) are free.
• We cook together, share food, and yes, there will be puppies/kittens to lure people in.
Step 3: Figure out what’s broken
• Talk to residents, map issues (Streetlamp out? Playground needs fixing? Missing signs?).
• Do small, visible projects that make life better, i.e. a community garden, or a micro-grid to showcase energy sovereignty.
Step 4: Bring in skilled hands
• Use Helpx/WWOOF volunteers for a few weeks at a time
• They work, teach, and build in exchange for food and a place to stay (I’ve done this a dozen times)
• Locals pitch in to host/feed (or I do it), and everybody meets new people
Step 5: Keep the money sharks away
•Exchange skills for sustenance, not cash for property. Keep value circulating locally, and avoid falling into an unintentional gentrification trap.
Step 6: Let it snowball
• Each little win inspires more projects.
• Volunteers leave behind skills, tools, visible improvements, and a logbook/blueprint.
• Locals feel empowered to initiate their own projects.
Big picture: We can’t stop the self-cannibalising nature of capitalism hollowing out our existence, but we can outflank it by building something small, human, and worth living in.