Behind the scenes of Terra Sintropica

Background

Recently, we conducted filming at PREC and in the regeneratively managed Maladinha gardens of the Terra Sintropica association. Both are located in Mértola, in the Portuguese Alentejo region. We were there for a BIOTraCes project meeting and took the opportunity to look behind the scenes. During the filming, we got to know remarkable people who are making a big difference on a small scale.

Even the butcher from across the street drinks his coffee here every day—at the vegans' place! PREC (Proceso Regenerativo em Curso), which translates to "Ongoing Regenerative Process,” is a place with many facets. It’s a vegan canteen, café, organic store, food hub, and meeting point for Terra Sintropica members and helpers. Located in Mértola, a picturesque village in the Alentejo region of Portugal with just under 5,000 inhabitants, Nuno Roxo, 48, has been running PREC for four years. Twelve years ago, he quit his steady job. "My family and friends thought it was completely crazy. In this region, a job is like life insurance. But I took the plunge—luckily!" Nuno is a tour guide specializing in ecology, secretary of the Terra Sintropica association, and manager of PREC. Most importantly, he’s a local, and he wants to stay that way. In one of the most sparsely populated, driest regions in Europe, he is part of a small miracle. At PREC, they serve what the Terra Sintropica people harvest fresh in the morning from the Maladinha gardens, about 20 minutes outside of Mértola. There, the Terra Sintropica people have created a small Garden of Eden. They don't wrest anything from this arid, desert-like landscape; they cooperate with it. The principle is regenerative agriculture with a focus on syntropy.

The wonderful Maladinha gardens

Marta Cortegano founded Terra Sintropica in 2018: "When I founded Terra Sintropica, we were in an extremely critical situation. We have practically had no rain for years, and people from the region were moving to the big cities—essentially as climate refugees. So we urgently needed to do something. That's why I founded Terra Sintropica together with Antonio Coelho, our farmer." When you walk through the Maladinha gardens, it’s hard to believe that the soil here is normally completely infertile. Lush spring onions, ripe potatoes, crisp salads, fragrant herbs. In a few weeks, the peaches, apricots, and pomegranates will also be ripe—all in the best organic quality. How is this possible?

A complete transformation

Antonio has been working as a farmer for 14 years. In his previous life, he planted monocultures and used plastic sheeting. But then came climate change, desertification, and the rain almost completely stopped. He had heard about regenerative agriculture before but never thought he could apply it in his home region. He was inspired by Felipe Pasini, the co-founder of the "Living in Syntropy" association. Pasini is one of his most important mentors. Antonio learned from him to apply basic principles of syntropic agriculture: always give back more to the earth than you take. Plant as many trees as possible—they store water, provide biomass, wood, and sugar. The sugar formed through photosynthesis is the basis for a fertile, living soil. Use different trees and plants—the more diversity and photosynthesis, the better. A very successful approach: "If you don’t work with monocropping systems, you get a higher yield per hectare because you are always harvesting something that was included in the system from the start."

Of course, not everything always goes smoothly in the Maladinha gardens. A completely new principle, a profoundly new way of thinking and working means experimenting, making mistakes, and having patience. When you, like Antonio, have to make a living from it, it’s a big challenge. What sustains him—and this is not a cheap cliché in Mértola—is the community of Terra Sintropica people: "The change in agricultural practices brought people and energy. This flow of ideas is not one-way. It’s a sense of belonging. Belonging to a group of people who have the same vision for this space and also for the territory." This includes not only the founders of Terra Sintropica but also the many volunteers from all over Portugal and worldwide.

Supporting through the challenges

It's not easy in Mértola. As picturesque and idyllic as this Alentejo village is, its structures are very conservative. PREC operator Nuno Roxo is well aware of this. "The Portuguese military dictatorship ended only 50 years ago; it still shapes people. Especially in rural structures like here. In Lisbon or Porto, it's a different story. But we are here in Mértola. New ideas, in any field, need above all one thing here: a lot of patience." But PREC and Terra Sintropica receive support from the municipality. For several years now, there has been the Mértola Future Lab, which promotes ecology and sustainability. This includes ecological gardens and healthy cooking courses for elementary school children—the most sensible investment in the future generation. Behind this support is the very committed mayor, Rosinda Pimenta: "We can only make a difference here if we do it together with the citizens. They need to understand that we only have a chance if we completely rethink our approach to nature."

The future is: here!

For the people at Terra Sintropica and in PREC, the rethinking has paid off. Terra Sintropica founder Marta Cortegano: "Neighboring regions are beginning to absorb our practices. We can see this concept of regenerative agriculture spreading through the Alentejo. And the people we welcome here as volunteers are replicating this type of process all over the world." Nuno Roxo is also quite positive: he may not have gained money, but he has gained quality of life. He is happily married, has a daughter, and can give her what is most important: a future. And maybe the butcher from across the street will also try eating vegan soon.