When you first embark on a permaculture lifestyle everything suddenly slots into place and wonder why nobody ever told you about this and why on earth farmers across the globe are ‘still’ farming using destructive methods.

I first learnt about Permaculture via two Facebook friends who are doing amazing work in Uganda and other parts of Northern Africa. I got intrigued by it, but it wasn’t until recently that the bug really bite.  And when it bites its like a moment of enlightenment.  

I wanted to know all I can, I spend ever minute and every second of my day reading and buying whatever books I can get. I recently read a book by Gabe Brown who as a farmer found himself frustrated and often like a salmon swimming upstream farming using Permaculture techniques.  He described how everything that he is doing is everything what he was taught in college NOT to do. Its taken a few years but farmers are now starting to see that they have actually been doing more farm than good and are switchen to modern more ecologically friendly farming techniques.

So whats the plan the Quintafeira?

Apart from being a totally organic, permaculture farm I would like to encourage and even teach farmers in Portugal some basic techniques.  I was really saddened to see the state of some farms in my recent visit.  I do believe that if production was more lucrative, people wouldnt be leaving their farms, and by simply making a few changes to the way they farm they can produce food without chemicals, without added fertilisers, and pesticides and could have much bigger and better yields. 

My plan is to lead by example.  If I can prove with before and after photos what you can do with a few different techniques and in this way, take people back to the lands and at the same time improve the state of the planet, then, then I will die a successful person.  Not because I am rich, not because I have a degree, not because of my car or big house… but because I motived someone to put good healthy food down on the table for his family, without damaging the planet.