From Sustainability to Symbiosis: Lifestyles as Laboratories of the Symbiocene

Off-grid and low-impact lifestyles have emerged as important sites of socio-ecological experimentation that challenge conventional understandings of sustainability. This study examines the initiative ‘Portugal It Is’, a Lithuanian diaspora homestead in rural Portugal, as a qualitative case through which to explore the relevance of such lifestyles to the emerging concept of the Symbiocene. Using an abductive case study approach informed by the Biomimetic–Organizational Ecology framework, the research draws on a longitudinal analysis of publicly available video narratives, supplemented by field observations and informal research conversations. The findings indicate that the transition to off-grid living involved processes of adaptive learning, ecological stewardship, livelihood diversification, and the development of new relationships with local communities, digital networks, and ecological systems. Rather than achieving complete self-sufficiency, the initiative evolved through forms of socio-ecological interdependence and relational value creation. The study develops and empirically illustrates the concept of symbiotic livelihoods to describe livelihood arrangements that integrate environmental care, adaptive learning, and community engagement. The findings suggest that off-grid initiatives can function as experimental niches in which alternative human-nature-economy relationships are developed and refined. The paper contributes to sustainability transitions literature by advancing a regenerative and co-evolutionary perspective on emerging socio-ecological futures.