The Fridayhappiness Associação is a cultural and arts community that is working towards being self-sustained. The community is situated in the mountains of Monchique, Portugal surrounded by nature. The community provides an alternative way of living with permaculture gardens, farm animals, sustainability projects, and arts and cultural workshops. It is a great place to come to meet other like-minded people passionate about sustainability and alternative living.

The most prominent activity is the Pizzanight running every Friday for more than 8 years now. In addition, other activities to share the mindset of the community with a broader audience such as workshops and yoga classes are organized. So far, the major revenue source for sustaining the community life is the entrance fees collected for the Pizzanight. In 2018/2019 it was explored how this dependency could be reduced and how revenues could be diversified with respect to the sustainability mission and the culture values of the community. The coronavirus is now increasing this situation dramatically as Pizzanight activities are not allowed to take place for a while due to local regulations and the related hygiene requirements. Therefore the community is searching for other revenue sources that could be activated in the short term. This includes the introduction of membership fees or the collection of donations by the large range of supporters of the community including friends and families of the volunteers. The overall aim is to create an ecosystems that supports the creation of common activities and allows for the exchange of related values among the members of the community but also with the external supporters of the community. This ecosystem shall facilitate the development of a sustainable ecovillage in Tojeiro in the long term allowing all members of the community to contribute to the economical viability of this project.

This contribution is more than a single donation or the payment of regular membership fees. It is their engagement that links the members towards the community and makes them share what they are passionate about. So it is about creating a slace for the community where members can meet, exchange ideas and create values.