Agroforestry conversion, Alentejo, Portugal

6-8.2.2020

The conversion of this orange grove in the land of Pedro, who was one of our participants in the PDC "Permahabitat" that was co-funded by the European union, is showing a great example of agroforestry in midst of monoculture olive groves in Alentejo and therefore shows a mimicable example of agroforestry in a productive setting. It was only the first step of converting his whole land which is mostly olive grove into agroforestry system. 25 people mostly from the local area came, that themselves have land and younger people that are involved in the student initiative on permaculture of the university of Lisbon. This event exposed not only the participants to a large scale land conversion, it showed them further the power of community and the principle of inclusion. Moreover the visitors of the guesthouse that come 50% from Portugal and 50% from all over the world, will see an exemplary agroforestry regenerative farming system, and they will be able to buy the products of this farm and bring it back into their communities, spreading the word about regenerative farming and consumption of those products as an alternative. Further it gives all visitors an entry point into the ecological community of Portugal and Greece, through the involvement of our project.

Aim

Regenerate the eco-system, Biodiversity, create an exemplary agroforestry system to inspire the agricultural surrounding, share knowledge and skills, contribute to the food sovereignty of the project

Impact:

700 Trees and shrubs planted, 100 seeds planted, 400 m2 of soil mulched and seeded with edible plants, 30 people inspired + all the following visitors