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
Terramada
Terramada is a permaculture ecovillage near Castro Marim, in the Algarve, with over 20 years of soil regeneration behind it. It combines nat…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.