Center for Knowledge and Action

Following the Therapeutic Gardens project, Germinar – Seeds of Intergenerationality places elders at the heart of knowledge and climate action. The project empowers the wisdom of older generations as a source of learning in the ongoing agroecological transition. Around them, children, young adults, and local communities participate in the creation of therapeutic gardens in 9 senior homes across Mértola, a territory challenged by an aging population and abandonment.

These therapeutic gardens are living spaces incorporating agroecological and regenerative design principles inspired by “syntropic nests,” the gardens combine traditional knowledge with innovation, with the goal of fostering biodiversity, resilience, and connection to the land. They are places of care, cooperation, and community that facilitate the interaction between different generations.

Growing herbs and fruits, going for ecological walks, and creative workshops, are some of the activities rolled out to strengthen well-being, active citizenship, and collective identity.