Regenerative Farm Design Workshop, what is it?
Terracrua Design presents a new formation workshop for 2021, a 5-day intensive course where participants will learn how to use all available tools to plan, implement and maintain their farm idea or project. This of course, in a regenerative approach, within the frameworks of regenerative agriculture, permaculture, keyline design and holistic management.
After years of developing projects for public and private clients, we can say that our field of expertise is the development of mainframe designs for farms of any size and rural projects. Hereby we have a focus on the creation of a web of different elements, designed to fulfill several regenerative and human objectives. This grid or mainframe design would structure your land, and optimize all the investments you need to do. Whether it is in a short, medium and long term perspective:
What does the Terracrua Design Mainframe entail:
- A structural vegetation grid that recreates the glade phenomenon, to protect human structures and activities, while creating shelter for biodiversity, on the top of the hills, on the bottom of the valleys, on the perimeter, on access hedges, and on green corridors. This network of vegetation will also become a network of spontaneous flora and fauna. This vegetation mainframe will also maximize the rain and fog capture, and restore the water cycle, recharge aquifers and restoring the water sources.
- A water network of dams, ponds, swales and forests that allow rain water to infiltrate on the landscape, following the S.S.S. principles, namely slow, spread and sink. Plantation patterns that host productive or forestry species, on a water efficient mainframe, maximize the success of the plantations and hold the rainwater runoffs.
- A smart network of accesses, both roads and pedestrian tracks, that serve also as a water catchment tool, driving the surface rainwater runoff towards dams and ponds, avoiding the negative effects of erosion and soil loss, thus accumulating water for different purposes.
- A infrastructure web that defines where from and where to water and energy have to go, protecting the water reserves and the energy supply, and decentralizing water areas for efficiency.
- A structured grazing system, developed to allow extensive landscape grazing, creating the structural conditions for the fast recovery of pastures.This system is based on the fast but controlled passage of the herds in small parcels, so their impact is better on grasses and soils, fixing more carbon and producing more quality pasture.
- A “light” intervention plan to structure the open landscape, where a grid embraces the shape of the earth, and gives it cohesion, and glade characteristics. These contour lines serve several functions such as: paddocking facilities, infrastructures, water retention, green corridors for vegetation, as well as access for maintenance.
- Diversity in productive areas, polyculture and multilayered plantations. All productive zones would be diverse in species and layers, but focused in simple patterns that allow full mechanization for installation, management and cropping routines.
To Whom:
This workshop is intended for property owners in the Alentejo, who are truly interested in investing differently in their farms. Regarding both profit and ecologic restoration, regenerative agriculture aims to increase yields, while giving more space to ecosystems to restore their functions, in quality and quantity.
Conditions to participate:
- Registration validated by email + payment of 25%;
- Basic knowledges in Permaculture or Regenerative Design;
- Interest and capacity to implement a full mainframe design;
- Property with more than 20Ha (+-50Acres);
- Topographic survey, format paper A1;
- Concerning the actual “pandemic” situation, the course is for 4 participants only. Each participant is responsable for its own security measures. Social distances can be assured.
Participant selection:
- Participants will be selected. Taking in to account the aboved mentioned conditions. Aproximity to Reliquias/Concelho de Odemira will be taking in to account;
- Participants must fill out the registration form here, with information about their project;
Price and payment:
- The participation on this design workshop costs €1250,- (+VAT), of wich 25%must be advanced by bank transfer on the confirmation of your participation;
- The remaining 75% must be payed by bank transfer 2 weeks before the event date;
Timetable:
- Daily from 09:00 to 12:30, and from 14:00 to 18:00;
What does it include?
- Includes tuition and course materials;
- All maps and documents produced during the workshop;
What is not included?
- Transportation, accomodation and meals are not included. However, all can be facilitated.
About the facilitator:
Nuno works with Permaculture Design since 2010, and professionaly since 2015, when Terracrua Design was officialy created. He has a diverse and intensive porfolio, working with small and big farms, aswell as public designs and formations. He has a particular interest in water design, earth modulation and broadscale regenerative agriculture. His “Permaculture” includes earthworks, cattle, hunting, broadscale farms and profitable production systems, as he believes, the world changes with good examples, and on keeping up with the demands of the agriculture, forestry, cattle and hunting standards.
Currently Nuno is working permanently in several design and implementation projects all over Portugal. He is mentoring Permaculture design students from his home in Reliquias. In this workshop Nuno offers, his knowledge and experience condensed in pragmatic strategies and systems, for local property owners who wants to go out of the box, and push the limits of conventional agriculture systems. More on his portfolio here.
Keytopics for the formation:
#permaculture #design #regenerativeagriculture #keyline #holisticgrazing #scaleofpermanence #yeomans #swale #terrace #water #hidrology #earthworks #infrastructures #checkdams #saddlepond #keylinepond #permanentpasture #polyculture #agroforestry #foodforest #zoning #sectoranalysis #mapping #googleearth #*kml #*kmz #bulldozer #digger #trench #contourline #offcontour #topography #soil #fire #drought #desertification #erosion
