Quinta Shangri-La
Quinta Shangri-La is a biodynamic farm and intentional community with a small bed and breakfast in the hills near Silves, Algarve. The prope…
Permaculture
Permaculture found fertile ground in Portugal, from Várzea da Gonçala's smallholding in the western Algarve to Terra Alta's courses near Sintra. Design with nature, learn by doing, and visit the places where it works.
Projects in this focus
Farol do Colibri
Farol do Colibri is a cooperative farm (CRL) near Viseu, in conversion to organic farming and run along permaculture lines. It also hosts oc…
Terramada
Terramada is a permaculture ecovillage near Castro Marim, in the Algarve, with over 20 years of soil regeneration behind it. It combines nat…
Mellow Cogumelo
Mellow Cogumelo is an off-grid permaculture project in the Alentejo, combining a gourmet mushroom farm with a mobile Neapolitan pizzeria and…
Monte da Luz Dourada
Monte da Luz Dourada is a French-American family homestead and nature reserve in Alentejo, Portugal, combining permaculture, natural health …
The Quinta Project
The Quinta Project is a queer permaculture farm and ecovillage in the São Mamede mountains, growing food, regenerating land, and hosting vol…
Quinta Ecosophia
Quinta Ecosophia is a permaculture farm in Colares, Portugal, hosting volunteers, concerts, talks and cultural gatherings centred on sustain…
Oasis dos 3 Sobreiros
Oasis dos 3 Sobreiros (also known as Oasis des 3 Chênes) is a permaculture garden and eco-living project in São Francisco da Serra, Portugal…
Florestas de Iroko
Florestas de Iroko is a regenerative polyculture company based in the Alentejo that designs, implements, and manages productive agroforestry…
Projecto Agroecológico do Soajo
Projecto Agroecológico do Soajo is a community initiative in the Peneda-Gerês National Park promoting agroecology, permaculture training and…
Quinta Regadinha
A natural, family-run farm near Gouveia, in the Serra da Estrela, bringing life back to a hidden valley and producing organic products.
Vale do Rodrigo
A small permaculture farm in Ferreira do Zêzere. It uses no-dig, pesticide-free methods to produce weekly vegetable boxes, potted medicinal …
Encosta do Paço
Encosta do Paço is a permaculture and environmental education project on a biodynamic wine estate near Arcos de Valdevez, in Minho, offering…
Monchique Homestead (Terra do Milho)
Monchique Homestead is a self-sufficient organic farm in the Serra de Monchique, Algarve, where a family grows vegetables and keeps chickens…
Soil & Sea
Soil & Sea is a permaculture farm and retreat centre on São Miguel, Azores, offering retreats, consultancy, education and community experien…
CATCH Permaculture
CATCH (Centro de Arte, Tecnologia e Criatividade Humana) is a family-run initiative in Porto Brandão, Portugal, that combines permaculture, …
Horta Cá de Casa
Horta Cá de Casa is a family-run ecological farm in the Azores that practises and teaches permaculture, syntropic farming and agroforestry o…
Associação Nascentes de Luz
A non-profit family support association in Maceira, Leiria, that combines social care with a large-scale permaculture and regenerative agric…
Peneda Eco Farm
A certified organic family farm and ecotourism project near the Peneda-Gerês National Park in northern Portugal, offering B&B accommodation,…
Lalaland Family Farm
A family-oriented regenerative farm at Sítio Craveira, Portugal, built on permaculture principles by founders Manuela and Joe and run with i…
Keela Permaculture Farm
Keela Permaculture Farm is an off-grid, certified organic homestead of 18 hectares in Fundão, central Portugal, offering hands-on courses in…
Atelier Terra Viva
Quinta Terra Viva is an agroecological farm in Baião growing a wide variety of certified organic seasonal vegetables, using soil regeneratio…
Quinta Kania
Quinta Kania is an ecological permaculture homestead in Tábua, central Portugal, with courses, workshops, farm tours and hands-on natural bu…
Quinta Vale da Lama
Quinta Vale da Lama is a 43-hectare regenerative organic farm near Lagos. It produces certified organic fruit and vegetables and restores ec…
Herdade do Freixo do Meio
Herdade do Freixo do Meio is a protected agroecological estate at Montemor-o-Novo, Alentejo, combining organic food production, biodiversity…
Várzea da Gonçala
Várzea da Gonçala is a 7.5-hectare permaculture smallholding near Aljezur in the western Algarve, developed over 18 years into a food forest…
Ekogaio
Ekogaio is a Portuguese agro-regenerative collective based in Tomar that designs and implements permaculture, agroforestry, and regenerative…
Permaculture in Portugal
Permaculture arrived in Portugal with the people who came looking for cheap land and long growing seasons, and it stayed because the design problems here are real ones: thin soil, hard summer rain that runs off instead of soaking in, and five dry months to plan around. Swales, keyline design and water retention landscapes get used here because they have to be.
Várzea da Gonçala works a smallholding in the western Algarve. Terra Alta teaches courses near Sintra. Between them sit farms, land projects and design practices at every scale, several of which run the full Permaculture Design Certificate.
If you want to learn rather than read, the project pages list who teaches and who takes volunteers, and our events calendar carries the courses with dates attached. Related focuses: regenerative agriculture, syntropic farming and agroforestry.