Hi, we are so glad to see you here!
You clicked on this page – we are impressed and a little surprised! The best way to get to know us, though, is to get in touch!
Grow With Us
Alo Land Strategy Summary
Alo Land is a regenerative initiative by us – Petru and Inês. We are former tech professionals who moved to Portugal with our two children. We currently manage a 1-hectare plot with a food forest and own an additional 2.5-hectare undeveloped plot nearby.
Vision and Goals
- Land restoration using regenerative practices
- Supporting holistic well-being (physical, emotional, spiritual)
- Cultivating eight forms of capital (financial, material, living, social, intellectual, experiential, spiritual, cultural)
- Building community resilience
Current Challenges
- Overwhelming workload maintaining the food forest
- Potential for more social connections, particularly for the adults
- Gaps in food production despite potential
- Restrictions on travel due to land care responsibilities
Strategic Approach
The family has shifted to an incremental growth strategy that focuses on:
- Leveraging existing resources and activities
- Attracting people to the land (as participants or volunteers)
- Creating a volunteer pipeline
- Thoughtful development of their 2.5-hectare plot
What's with the name?
From Wiktionary: alō (present infinitive alere, perfect active aluī, supine altum or alitum); third conjugation
-
- I foster, I nourish
- I raise (as a child, an animal, etc.)
- I feed, I maintain, I develop
From our visual diary...
Duck treats.
Duck treats.Following a suggestion from the Duck Chronicles, we have been sprounting some seeds for our ducks.The interest so far had been null, but this time we let the seeds sprout a bit longer, until the leaves are big.After some initial hesitation, they now devour...
Deli cotta with strawberry purée.
Deli cotta with strawberry purée.Feeling a little creative these days, perhaps because there is more energy. Or maybe it is the other way around.In any case, here is another healthy treat: it is similar to panna cotta, but plant based and free of refined sugar.
Flowering myrtle (murta / Myrtus Communis).
Flowering myrtle (murta / Myrtus Communis).Only planted last autumn in a difficult (so far) spot on the duck pond edge, this one seems to be unexpectedly thriving.