Hari and the Biotope

At Sandomil market (first Sunday of the month I think) I had the pleasure of meeting many people for the first time. Hari was one such person.

I visited Hari’s farm (Quinta) today and he gave me a tour.

By the Mondego river, with a flood plain, terraces, streams, more terraces, you could not pick a better place to build and permaculture ecovillage. What I do love so much about these deserted and overgrown agricultural lands in Portugal is when you discover how back beyond Roman times they knew all about water. Just to see the 2m+ walls of granite stones still in place along the terraces, the water gullies, walled as well, that take the water from the stream or river to the terraces! To know that every one of those rocks and stones was placed by hand, to see what may be the old routes of the Levadas, to take yourself back to the time before the great rural exodus of the 70s….well done Hari for your vision of building a community again.