Our projects

RE.VIRA.VOLTA is a project structured by Dona Ajuda as a space for recycling, reusing, and repurposing, born out of the desire to recycle, using uninteresting waste, and giving it a new destination other than the trash can!

We started with plastic lids, which we collected and gathered to donate to the Portuguese Association of Parents and Friends of the Mentally Disabled Citizen (their sale is one of the funding resources of this association). Then, we collected paper and joined the “Paper for Food” Campaign by Banco Alimentar (“Food Bank”). We established a bank of glass bottles (with the concept “bring if you don’t need, take if you do!”) and began to think about larger projects.

We joined other groups of volunteers and enthusiasts of environmental protection and the circular economy. Thus emerged the “RE.VIRA.VOLTA Project – Mercado do Rato Circular Economy Hub,” which was the most-voted project in the Participatory Budget of the Lisbon City Council in 2021.

This project, which has a significant educational component, brings to P. R. A. Ç. A. several initiatives such as a “Tool Library,” a vertical garden, plastic processing machines, new sewing machines, and many other new activities. These are currently being analyzed for implementation by the municipality’s competent services.