The Fix for Modern Youth: Why This Center Is Connecting Youth to Farmers (Not Phones)
In Amarante, Portugal, the Casa da Juventude (Youth House) is quietly challenging what it means to “engage” young people in the modern world. While most solutions point toward more apps, more screens, and more digital tools, this youth center is moving in the opposite direction, toward the land, the farmers, and real-world responsibility.
Their mission tackles two urgent crises at once: youth disconnection and climate change. And their approach is anything but theoretical.
A Youth Center Built on Responsibility
From the very beginning, the Casa da Juventude was designed to be more than a hangout space. The team wanted young people to understand impact on social, environmental, and personal field.
That vision led to the creation of a system they built themselves: the Green Dex.
The Green Dex tracks the carbon footprint of every activity that happens at the center. Whether it’s a workshop, kayaking, food, housing or a community gathering, each event is measured and accounted for. For the youth involved, sustainability isn’t just a word, it’s something they can see, calculate, and question.
Turning Emissions into Action
But the Casa da Juventude doesn’t stop at data.
Once an activity’s footprint is calculated, the team takes responsibility for it. Trees are planted to offset emissions, directly transforming numbers on a page into living, breathing ecosystems. The goal is clear: to make the youth center carbon-neutral through tangible action, not promises.
In the process, young people learn that climate responsibility isn’t about guilt, it’s about ownership.
“We’re Raising Weak Youth”—And Why That Matters
Volunteer Coordinator Marcella doesn’t sugarcoat her concerns. She believes many young people today are growing disconnected from the skills and resilience real life demands.
Constant screen time, she argues, has replaced physical effort, patience, and connection to nature. The result isn’t laziness, but fragility.
Her solution is simple and radical: bring young people back to the land.
Why Farmers Matter More Than Phones
At the Casa da Juventude, youth are encouraged to spend time with local farmers, understand how food is grown, and experience work that requires presence, strength, and cooperation. These experiences rebuild something that can’t be downloaded, confidence rooted in reality.
By trading phones for fields, and scrolling for soil, young people rediscover a sense of purpose and capability that modern life often strips away.
Growing the Next Generation Differently
This youth center in Amarante isn’t trying to fight technology. It’s trying to rebalance life.
Through climate accountability, hands-on environmental action, and deep connection to local agriculture, the Casa da Juventude is offering a compelling answer to a modern problem.
Not more screens.
Not more noise.
Just responsibility, resilience, and roots in the real world.
