Vision:
The Seminary is an invitation to sow seeds of a different culture—one consistent with the laws governing life rather than working against them. This is not a utopian project or political movement, but an ecological experiment: testing what happens when humans attempt to live within natural principles rather than industrial imperatives.
We’re guided by the Seven Laws of Ecology articulated by John Michael Greer (Wholes, Flow, Balance, Limits, Cause & Effect, Planes, Evolution) and the three fundamental freedoms identified by David Graeber and David Wengrow: the freedom to move, to disobey, and to create new social worlds.
Who We’re Seeking:
Companions willing to walk into uncertainty together—not followers of a fixed vision, but people committed to discovering through living. We’re looking for those who:
* Recognize that contemporary civilization is fundamentally maladapted to ecological reality
* Are willing to embrace “pedagogical discomfort” (starting with tents and wood stoves, learning through direct challenge)
* Understand that accumulation—of possessions, experiences, even knowledge—ultimately causes suffering
* Can work through conflict using dissensus principles (productive disagreement over forced consensus)
* Are prepared to contribute financially toward debt-free land acquisition without expectation of return
* Possess or want to develop skills in food cultivation, foraging, hunting, traditional crafts, and natural building
What We’re Building:
A small community (4–6 core members initially) practicing diverse subsistence strategies: some wild harvest, some cultivation, some animal tending, some craft work. We’ll follow no single system—not permaculture alone, not Fukuoka’s natural farming, not any fixed approach—but remain experimentally flexible while using ecological laws as our lens.
The land will be held collectively by an association focused on cultural and educational mission. We’ll host seasonal apprenticeships and knowledge exchanges—not as revenue generation but as nodes where ways of knowing outside dominant culture can meet and cross-pollinate.
Governance:
Dissensus-based: individual sovereignty within shared ecological commitments. Stewardship roles emerge from demonstrated care rather than election. The Seven Laws serve as our foundational guidance, with the health of the land as final arbiter of decisions.
Financial Model:
Companions contribute what they can toward land purchase (target: 30–45 hectares, €90,000–140,000 total). This is not an investment—contributions may not be recoverable. The experiment might fail. Ongoing costs are covered through supporting memberships, seasonal programs offered on a donation basis, occasional surplus sales, and companion labor.
Timeline:
* 2025–2026: Gathering founding companions, building trust and relationships
* Early/mid 2027: Form association, purchase land
* Autumn 2027: Begin living the experiment
What This Requires:
Honest self-assessment about whether rustic living, physical labor, and genuine interdependence genuinely call to you. Willingness to contribute through presence, skill-sharing, and patience with uncertainty. Recognition that you’re accepting real risk: your contribution might not be recoverable, the experiment might fail, this life might not be for you.
What We Offer:
No certainty, no comfort—but honest exploration with others who share the conviction that another way of living is both necessary and possible, and the commitment to discover together what that might look like in practice.
About the Founder:
Francesco Gimelli — PhD in Human Geography (Monash University), former academic researcher in sustainability and human wellbeing. Experience in Buddhist monasteries (Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka) and natural farming (following Fukuoka’s principles at Natural Farm Shizen, Italy). Speaks Italian, English, Portuguese, and Spanish. Currently translating William Ophuls’ *Immoderate Greatness* into Italian. Enneagram Type 1 — brings intellectual frameworks and commitment to coherent design, while working with the shadow sides of perfectionism and rigidity.
Ecological experiment guided by Seven Laws of Ecology. Seeking founding companions for land-based community in Portugal/Italy. Collapse-aware, anti-accumulation, dissensus governance.
Please read the information available on the website for details.
Please read the information available on the website for details.
Little to no formal governance structure.
Currently, The Seminary has a single founder and initiator (Francesco) who has articulated the philosophical framework and is gathering founding companions. This is a practical necessity at the forming stage—someone must put the invitation into the world.
However, the vision is explicitly non-hierarchical. Once founding companions gather (target: 3–5 people), we will collectively form the association’s governance structure and make decisions together. The founder’s role is to initiate, not to lead permanently.
Governance model:
We practice dissensus-based decision-making—honoring individual sovereignty within shared ecological commitments, with the Seven Laws of Ecology as foundational guidance. Rather than forced consensus or majority rule, we seek to make space for productive disagreement and diverse approaches.
Stewardship vs. leadership:
Rather than fixed leadership positions, stewardship roles emerge organically from demonstrated care and capacity. Someone who shows dedication to the forest garden becomes its steward; someone skilled in conflict resolution naturally holds space for difficult conversations. These are not elected positions but recognized contributions.
Founder’s evolution:
As companions join, the founder’s role transitions from initiator to fellow companion—one voice among equals. He brings the initial framework and intellectual grounding, but founding companions will shape the actual culture through living it together. The Seminary belongs to those who build it, not to whoever wrote the first proposal.
The association’s legal requirements:
Portuguese and Italian law require formal governance bodies such as a Board of Directors and a General Assembly. These will be fulfilled minimally, prioritizing the living culture over bureaucratic formality.
Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.
Join fee: $35000
Regular fees: $0
Labor: Yes
Financial model:
Companions contribute toward land acquisition (estimated €22,500–31,400 / $25,000–35,000 per person, depending on final land cost and number of founding members). This is a one-time contribution to the association, not an investment. Contributions may not be recoverable.
Ongoing costs:
Collective expenses (food, materials, seeds, tools, land taxes, insurance, minimal professional accounting) are shared among companions based on actual costs and individual capacity. We avoid fixed monthly dues, instead adjusting to real needs and seasonal variations.
Labor contribution:
All companions contribute labor according to what needs doing—more during planting and harvest seasons, less during winter. We follow ecological and seasonal rhythms rather than industrial time-clock expectations. The work is subsistence-focused: food production (cultivation, foraging, hunting), shelter maintenance, skill development, and knowledge exchange.
No income sharing:
Companions do not share external income. If someone has outside work or earnings, those remain personal. What we share is the labor of maintaining collective life and meeting subsistence needs together.
Debt consideration:
We are open to companions with some existing debt (student loans, medical debt, etc.) as long as it does not create incompatible external obligations or prevent meaningful contribution to the community. We want to be realistic about the fact that many collapse-aware people carry debt from their participation in industrial society.
Not a business:
This is not a revenue-generating venture. Seasonal apprenticeships and knowledge exchanges operate on a genuine donation basis. Occasional sales of surplus produce or crafts supplement costs but are not primary income sources.
Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace
A residential project: people live here as their primary home.
An institution, business, network, or project that isn’t a residence (e.g. a learning center, farm, or network with no one living there full-time).
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