Located in the heart of the Guadiana Valley Natural Park, Mértola already suffers from the effects of the climate crisis: exhausted soils, water scarcity, rural abandonment, and an accelerated process of desertification.

Terra Sintrópica was born to tackle these challenges – not simply to resist them, but to create regenerative alternatives that foster community resilience in an increasingly challenging world.  

We work with the local and scientific community to create living systems capable of restoring life to the soil, food to the people, and an abundant future for the territory. We develop agroforestry systems adapted to semi-arid regions that restore ecosystems while producing food that we bring directly to the consumer through a local food network. And we bring ecology to the center of daily life, from local public schools to elderly homes, cultivating a culture of intergenerational care for the territory.

Our goal is then to develop an approach that can be replicated in other semiarid territories, which is in accordance with our way of working from the local to the global scale.

We foster a process that is constantly evolving, built on collaboration, shared learning, and long-term commitment to the territory. And we grow with every farmer, student, neighbor, researcher, volunteer, and visitor that decides to be part of this transformation.

Our mission is clear: to make Mértola a Laboratory of the Future — a territory that demonstrates that it is possible to regenerate ecosystems, strengthen communities, and create new economies in an increasingly challenging world.