Quinta do Phoenix

In October this year, wildfires ravaged the forests of Portugal and Spain. Aside from many tragic casualties, large numbers of homes and farms were destroyed, including that of my dear cousin Adam.

Several years ago, Adam moved to central Portugal with little money, a plot of land, and a big dream to make a beautiful place to grow, accomodate, and enjoy a deeper relationship with nature. What he created was incredible, but now lies in ruins (as you can see from the photos below). Of course, the fire was a terrifying experience but we're lucky to say that Adam and his neighbours all escaped with their lives, if not the means of their subsistence.

You can imagine how they must be feeling. There are discussions about compensation from the EU but, if forthcoming, this will take a long time and won't cover the true value of their properties. In the meantime, I'd love it if we could pull together and give Adam a little kickstarter to begin on the long road to rebuilding his dreams. He is such a kind soul and really deserves a break.

For my part, I've signed up to the Winter Winsor half marathon - a distance I've never run before and with only 2 cold months to train I know it's going to be stretching for me. You could consider this sponsorship, although of course I will pass on all proceeds to Adam. 

Please pass this onto anyone who you think might like to help. We massively appreciate your generosity.

Please ask if you have any questions about how the funds will be used. Adam has said that once the goal is reached he will allocate one third towards helping his Portuguese neighbour who is a subsistence farmer and now has no way of feeding his family. The rest will go towards irrigation for Adam's farm.

Here are the heartbreaking photos.

The caravan
The bathroom