REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE IN GANDUM
It is possible to farm in a more sustainable and conscious way, preserving natural resources and minimizing environmental impact. Above all, it is possible to produce healthier and more reliable food, while maintaining the balance of ecosystems and regenerating the landscape and soils.
Gandum's founders, Martina and João, have always worked in the area of food sustainability and decided to put into practice at Gandum a food model that they had often idealized or written about. In other words, with their ideas clear and their hands on the ground, they decided to go from theory to practice. Moving from the computer to the ground isn't always easy. But it's the only way to achieve what they envisioned: a hotel specially designed for families, as sustainable as possible and which produces much of the food it consumes, its water and its energy.
Regenerating the soil
Climate change is already so great and drastic that talking about the sustainability of agriculture no longer makes much sense: soils are already too poor and often unproductive due to desertification, and increasingly intense rainfall or long periods of drought make the condition of soils even worse. The loss of biodiversity and the depletion or pollution of groundwater and water resources complete a scenario that is no longer about "sustaining", but regenerating - about improving, returning to a state of productivity and balance with a future. That's why we dedicate much of our efforts at Gandum to learning and designing regenerative agriculture techniques and practices that work here, regenerate the soil and allow other farmers to be inspired and follow suit
Prioritizing the soils
The regenerative agriculture we practice at Gandum aims to provide, perhaps not all, but a significant portion of the food we consume. We say 'a significant portion' because we are also passionate about coffee or chocolate, and it will be challenging in the near future to have exotic products in Alentejo.
We definetely need to create a better food system for everyone, one that includes food that provides us with energy, respects nature and the balance of ecosystems. We will only reach this system when we´ll be able to produce locally most of what we need.
Financially viable
Regenerative agriculture only makes sense if it is financially viable. We believe that large intensive monocultures, whether conventional or organic, cannot be the only solution for those who want to invest in the rural world. We produce, sow, plant and care for our agroforests inspired by permaculture and we draw on the local knowledge and traditions of Montemor-o-Novo. We try to combine all this knowledge into a plan that we want to be profitable, attractive and future-proof. Although we still have a long road of learning ahead of us, it is literally already beginning to bear fruit.
Agroforestry: more than 25'000 trees planted
To put the principles of regenerative agriculture into practice, you need to create forests. That's where we started: at Gandum, there are three agroforests, all sown and planted since the beginning of the project. Today they are green and abundant! Despite their young age, agroforestry makes it possible to produce food sustainably, using agricultural practices that preserve biodiversity and promote soil regeneration. What's more, they make the world breathe: they help to mitigate climate change by capturing carbon and providing habitats for local fauna and flora.
In practice
Edible forests, densely planted
There are 3 hectares of orchards with 30 varieties of fruit trees, forest trees, aromatic herbs and native shrubs, planted with inspiration from the principles of syntropic agroforestry. What used to be pasture has been transformed into a densely planted "edible" forest, where forest and fruit trees, shrubs, vegetables and other plants now grow. This combination of trees and shrubs protects our commercially valuable vegetables from the most extreme weather conditions, such as wind, extreme heat and storms.
Chemical-free
We know how much work it is. Sometimes it's riskier and requires a lot of monitoring and maintenance. We still prefer to replace the use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers with manual weeding and natural techniques that are less invasive for the environment. Mulching, for example, allows us to protect the soil from temperature differences and bad weather, provide food for soil microorganisms and retain moisture. By eliminating the use of aggressive chemicals, we can obtain organic food that is beneficial for our health and at the same time improve the health of the soil we cultivate.
Closing the circular economy loop
We produce our own natural fertiliser by composting all our organic waste, promoting the circular economy. In this way we ensure that everything that is returned to the earth as fertilizer is reliable and does not harm the environment. We feed the soil by replenishing organic matter and thus close the waste cycle by using it more efficiently. At the same time, we are developing techniques to return nutrients from the wastewater treatment plant to our soils.
Traditional vegetable production without impact
100% vegetable production without chemical fertilisers or pesticides, with the utmost respect for nature and always with the aim of improving the soil, not exploiting it.
Hedges with mostly native shrubs and trees
Even non-productive gardens favor native plants. We give priority to trees that provide shade and thus reduce the sun's exposure to the soil, protecting it and creating conditions to support biodiversity.
Renaturation of several areas
At Gandum, we have several areas of the farm fenced off from domestic animals and left to nature to encourage natural regeneration and allow spontaneous plants to coexist with our food production.
Wildlife also finds its home here. The regeneration of the riparian landscape with native vegetation that we planted throughout the Gandum has contributed to the return and increase of various species of birds, reptiles, amphibians and small mammals. As if in a perfect marriage, the stream bed has been reforested and parts of the land have been given back to wild animals through rewilding.
Inclusion in the territory and community
First and foremost, we wanted to open our doors to the community. That's why, when we looked for people to help us, we mainly turned to the local population, hiring employees for the most diverse areas of Gandum's work, including agriculture. The diversity of perspectives can be very enriching and add robustness to the agroforestry plan we have drawn up. We believe that the vast experience of those who have been here longer than us only adds to us and makes us grow as farmers.
Seasonality
We give priority to the crops of each season because we know that everything has its own time. We can adapt and receive the best that the land gives us if we know how to respect natural systems and their rhythms. By rotating the crops on the various plots we cultivate, we can control pests more efficiently, manage the soil more assertively and preserve it. Seasonal food is always healthier, more nutritious and more environmentally friendly.
Sustainable water management
At Gandum we use water-saving techniques, such as drip pipes and the use of water obtained 100% from our land, without resorting to water from reservoirs or dams.
Whenever possible, we use traditional gravity irrigation techniques and solar energy when we have to use pumps to draw water from wells, boreholes or springs on the land.
Water resources
One of the key points in managing any crop is water, this scarce and often mistreated resource. We are aware that without water and without good management of this resource, none of this would be possible. One of the ways we use to maximize the amount of water available for agricultural use at Gandum is by collecting rainwater. We have a system that stores rainwater, which is then used in the irrigation systems of the cultivated plots. In addition to this, we reuse the so-called greywater from the maintenance of the hotel's pools. These waters are treated with UV radiation while serving the facilities, and when changed, instead of being discarded, they are used for the irrigation of cultivated plots. This way, we can improve and make the water cycle more efficient.
An Oasis in the Alentejo
Medium- and long-term forecasts tell us that the Alentejo will become an arid zone like North Africa. We want to counter this trend and we are doing all this so that in the future Gandum will be an Oasis in the middle of the Alentejo: green, with water, with a mild temperature, which regenerates the soil by sequestering carbon from the atmosphere, where everyone can enjoy, be inspired and learn how we can build a better life together.
