Encosta do Paço

Encosta do Paço is a permaculture project being established on a 5-hectare hillside at Quinta do Casal do Paço, an organic and biodynamic wine estate in Padreiro, near Arcos de Valdevez. The estate is close to Peneda-Gerês, in northern Portugal. The project was conceived as an environmental education project and as a centre for education and retreats. It grew out of combining sustainable viticulture with permaculture design principles applied to the surrounding landscape. It's best known for its Permaculture Design Courses (PDC), certified trainings held on site with international facilitators such as Silvia Floresta and Yassine Benderra. The courses run for roughly two weeks in August. Participants are invited to bring their families and immerse themselves fully in permaculture theory and practice among the estate's biodynamic vineyards. Course themes recorded from the project's activity include organic agriculture, biodynamics and permaculture design methodology. The project is also a gathering point for people in Minho who are exploring alternative, land-based and ecologically minded ways of living. It's a short drive from Arcos de Valdevez and the Gerês mountains, and that location places it within a wider network of permaculture and intentional-living projects documented in academic research on lifestyle migration in Portugal. Diogo Azevedo coordinates the project and can be contacted through the project's email with enquiries about courses, visits or collaboration. Detailed information about current activities is limited. The site is still referred to as an established permaculture education venue, with a track record going back to at least 2014.