Associação Terra Sintrópica

Associação Terra Sintrópica was born from a collaborative spirit in 2018, when a group of people (motivated citizens) came together to respond to a set of challenges that affected the territory, such as desertification, depopulation and climate change, in Mértola Portugal.

In a participatory, community-based and multi-stakeholder approach, we intend to become a replicable prototype for the development of best practices in regeneration: Mértola – Laboratory for the Future. Through “regeneration by use”, we promote a local foodnetwork and we test and apply agro-ecological farming solutions.

We run a logistics centre and a pilot-and demonstration farm where the regenerative practices with the best results for the territory are tested, so that other farmers can use them. The initiative increases local self-esteem and it helped to create social and economic perspectives, fostering the settlement of new local residents and entrepreneurs.

The team has been grown to 12 co-workers, more than 60 volunteers and interns have visited and contributed, also have integrated master and doctoral students focusing on experimentation and research.