Permaculture, food forest and natural building
Our 4ha land has a diverse woodland, open terraces full of fruit trees, shrubs and little ponds. We develop the landscape with love and permaculture principles, so it can serve us and our planet with abundance.
We have created a big vegetable and food forest garden, that provides us with food most of the year. The diversity was always our priority in order to create a healthy and resilient ecosystem. The result is fascinating!
Since we love the challenge of natural building, every dwelling was designed and built by us. The community kitchen and our classroom are done as geodesic domes, which bring a natural feeling and good energy for the groups. There are several bathrooms made from cob or timber supplied with the wood from our forest. A lovely big yurt provides a shared accommodation during the courses. We also offer a private wooden cabin with a stunning sunset view and a glamping bell tent. Besides there is always plenty of space to park your van, pitch a tent in your favorite spot of the land or hang a hammock.
The enchanted Portugal
The farm is situated in a perfect spot between the charming village Vila do Mato and the beautiful valley of Mondego river. So whenever you feel like having a nature walk in the forest, spending some time on the river beach, or simply socialize with locals in the cafe, everything is just around the corner.
There are many like-minded projects and families in the close neighborhood. Local events, parties and markets are happening on a regular basis.
This region is truly unique from it’s geography and climate. Being not too far from the ocean coast and having the Serra da Estrela mountains on the horizon, it provides us with everything, what’s best. Comparing to other regions in Portugal, the climate is mild and it never gets extreme hot in the summer or cold in the winter. We are situated exactly between Coimbra and Viseu, with 45min drive to each city.
What makes us special
Every part of our life on the farm is consciously designed to serve people and our planet. The water supply comes from our well and runs by gravity to the garden, the trees and also to the bathrooms and the kitchen. It is being cleaned by the plants to later return into the soil. We cook the meals for us and our visitors on a stove, heated with wood from our forest. A fantastic root cellar acts as our passive fridge and provides enough space to store all the farm’s harvest. This way there is no need for electricity or gas to cook or store our food.
Since we care for our forest, we constantly replant it with many species of trees. Diversity is the best way to prevent it from wild fires and to create a healthy, resilient ecosystem.
Growing food has been always in the center of our attention. We learn more every year about the local climate and love to experiment with different techniques and varieties of vegetables and trees. Two greenhouses help us to prolong the growing seasons and give different niches for the plants. The functionality of a food forest has fascinated us from ever since and it became not only our favorite place to work but also to relax.