Gota d'Água (Drop of Water)

Water scarcity is already part of life in Alentejo, Crete, Malta, Lazio and Extremadura. Gota d'Água — named after a song from Alentejo's cante tradition — brought together young people with fewer opportunities from these regions to learn how digital tools can help manage water and adapt to climate change.

The exchange took place in Castro Verde in July 2021. A covid-19 case detected through regular testing put the group into preventive quarantine; field trips were cancelled, but the training programme went ahead, adapted: a survival game built around monitoring and saving water, 3D printing to solve real problems in the accommodation, microcontrollers (micro:bit, Arduino, ESP32), soil moisture sensors, automatic irrigation prototypes and an IoT sensor network communicating over LoRa around the campsite where the group stayed.

For almost everyone it was their first contact with 3D modelling, electronics and programming, and for many their first international experience. The circumstances strengthened the group's mutual support and sense of European belonging. The project received the Erasmus+ Good Practice label.

• 41 participants: 34 young people with fewer opportunities and 7 youth leaders
• Smart irrigation and soil water monitoring prototypes
• IoT sensor network with LoRa, built by the participants
• Youthpass with daily reflection on learning

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