Association Project New Discoveries
We are a non-profit educational and recreational association.
We nurture spaces where everyone can be authentic, can create regenerative bonds between the individual and themselves, between the individual and the community, and between the individual and their landscape.
We cultivate NEW DISCOVERIES for Eco Social Regeneration: sowing new perspectives, sharing tools and growing partnerships beyond sustainability.
Vision
An inclusive society active in eco-social regeneration.
Mission
Stimulate regenerative action through learning, awareness, capacity building, and partnerships.
Values
Social Inclusion | Diversity | Regeneration | Innovation.
We are a non-profit educational and recreational association with an active associative body.
Established in 1994, Projecto Novas Descobertas has more than 27 years of work carried out in the following areas: social, environmental, educational, citizenship and community inclusion, family support, support for children and youth, non-formal education, and eco-social regeneration.
We create learning cycles that involve participants in Discovering, Learning, Practicing and Sharing during their stay with us. We facilitate groups to relate as a learning community, where everyone has something to learn and something to teach.
We believe that to solve today's social and environmental problems, our society needs solutions beyond sustainability: innovative and comprehensive solutions that change the perception about our role as integral beings of nature.
Our living classroom, Campo do Vale, is located within the Vale da Lama farm. An evolving, collaboratively designed learning space, it is the location of most of our activities.
Our indoor facilities include a classroom, dining hall, indoor toilets, hot showers, and a covered terrace. Outdoor facilities include a camping area, children’s garden, nature playground, solar kitchen, and educational nursery, as well as ample space to relax and enjoy nature.
Meet the team of Project New Discoveries, working on behalf of the association to advance the cause of Social, Ecological and Economic Regeneration & Inclusion. Many more offer their support to the association throughout the year as cooks, trainers, members, etc.
Our action is inspired by values of social inclusion, diversity, regeneration, and innovation, placing the ethics of caring, nurturing, and regenerating society, nature, and people, transversal to all of our activity. Within the association we practice from the ground up what we teach.
Project New Discoveries started with summer camps that championed the cause of social inclusion. We are now a membership-based IPSS (non-profit) with 25 years of experience offering educational and recreational activities. Since moving to Vale da Lama farm, we have developed a range of activities focusing on Permaculture and Regeneration.
Project New Discoveries started with the dream of social inclusion. The first activities were summer camps that brought together young people from all walks of life. In the summer camps, youth learned to value their differences and work together.
Now, 25 years later, we are a membership-based IPSS (non-profit) that offers educational and recreational activities year-round to a diverse public, including the most vulnerable elements of society. Since moving to our new space at Quinta do Vale da Lama, we have developed a portfolio of activities focusing on Permaculture and Regeneration.