Table of Contents
10 essential Regenerative projects you can integrate to be more than sustainable
and to live more REGENERATIVELY
How we started to live more sustainable, interconnected, and regenerative …
The eco and regenerative projects at Purposeflow Living Guarda da Freira In Alentejo, Portugal aims to be sustainable but also more than that, REGENERATIVE! Creating an environment and ecosystem where humans live in harmony and connection with nature around them. The energy taken from nature, that gives us the opportunity to live, is in a circular manner put back into the land in various ways. In this way a coexistence with flourishing life around us, where we all – the animals, the plants, and the human beings – benefit from and with each other.
Our start began with building a food and kitchen garden, feeding both humans and wildlife, nourishing not only us but birds, bees, and insects. It has also helped with attracting individuals who want to learn and live a lifestyle more connected with our natural life source. We are attracting more biodiversity back into the land with the insects that it attracts and the life that they bring to a once depreciated piece of land. This is step was ecologically foundational, as we are what we eat, and therefore to grow and flourish with life, it is necessary to connect deeper with our food and with that which nourishes our food, the life, microorganisms, nutrients and minerals, and all the elements that make up a thriving garden.
However, a Perma garden, also known as a permaculture garden does not stand alone, it requires a circular system to work in harmony with in order to make it a permaculture garden. This system is then what creates a truly regenerative project and circular system.
and soooo…
How to create a regenerative cycle?
Essentially all ”long-term sustainable solutions” are unsustainable unless they are also intrinsically regenerative. So, in order to create this circular cycle we need to understand what are the components that make up a system, like an eco-system, what does each of these components consumes, produces, and considers waste. From this, it is our duty to develop and integrate interconnected systems and regenerative projects, and to help facilitate this process. This process is something that has already been created by the intelligent design of nature. Through observation we can see what can be considered as waste to one element, can be food or sustenance to another. An example can be, when we cook food, we often have food scrapes, these food scraps can be thrown away incorrectly and land up in a landfill where they can rot and produce methane, contributing to the damage of the climate, or they can be given to a composting system as its input and food. When done correctly, so, a process, it can then turn into compost, which can then be used to nourish a new generation of plants, which then can produce things like food for us. Creating and facilitating a circular way of producing and consuming. Whether we put our food scraps in a composting system, give them to chickens to eat, or make other products with them, we are integrating ”waste” as an essential ingredient for the development of another.
This is one of the most important elements of permaculture, creating an interconnected system that consists of regenerative elements, that efficiently uses all resources and by the end of an effective cycle, does not have any or minimalized waste. Two of the cornerstone permaculture design principles are that “Each Element Performs Many Functions” and “Each Important Function is Supported by Many Elements”
Our 10 powerful regenerative projects to an interconnected regenerative system
1) Food garden:Â We created 18 raised food garden beds to grow a diversity of nutrient-rich food and attract more insects to nourish life
2) Composting bins: turning normal food scraps and organic ”waste”, animal manure, and plant matter into rich organic compost to feed next cycles plants
3) Food preservation: Transform the surplus of harvested food into preservatives so we can benefit from them later on. Examples are dried tomatoes and fruit, jams, sauces…
4) Natural construction and upcycling: We use locally sourced materials and ”waste to build many of our projects that include wood, bamboo, straw, sand, and stones. However we use so much more, the aim is to find a purpose and usage for everything that is lying around as well as the trash we and others have, connecting with local shops, salvage yards, industries, and more. With some of the materials, we have found we could build an entire house that could stand for more than 20 years, FOR FREE!!! Most of our compost toilet and chicken wonderland is built out of recycled materials
5) Wormery: An old bath-tub held above ground, feeding compost worms with organic waste. Watering it and capturing our own organic & very powerful fertilizer as well as producing valuable worms to liven and loosen the soil in eroded areas
6) Compost toilet: Building an outdoor toilet, a way to capture human waste to turn it into tree food, returning essential nutrients back into the land with…
7) Humanure storage: A place to store and put the humanure through a simple process, where it can then be converted into nutrient-rich compost for our forests
8) Chicken-coup: Providing a safe space for chickens who help regenerate the land, fertilize and loosen it. They also eat flies and produce the best delicious organic eggs!
9) Medicinal herb garden: Devoting a piece of land with natural plant medicines to be able to support many forms of life, but importantly to serve with natural medicines that are made from the land, designed for the life on the land.
10) Food forest: Planting in a little forest of a large variety of food baring flora and fauna that supports humans, animals, insects, and the land. Serving many benefits which you should learn more info from here.
Bonus: Natural biodiverse forest: We regenerate a part of the land as a biodiverse forest to support the protection and development of the original flora and fauna, protecting endangered species and thus enhancing our ability to face adversity. Providing them with protected habitats where they can create a thriving ecosystem! Biodiverse forests are a key solution for our fight against negative climate change and provide a regenerative solution to a thriving world. Here you can read a bit more and find out how they do this and how we are integrating one onto the land here in Pavia, Portugal.
”That which is sustainable maintains what already exists, but does not restore (eco)systems that have been lost. ”  and so what we are focused on is not sustaining, but restoring, regenerating, and letting life thrive in harmony with itself.
Do you want to support us from far away and help us help the soil and the life connected with it???
Check out the Crowdfunding we are hosting for our largest regenerative project yet, to continue to reforest the land with more than 15000 trees, integrate better rainwater management systems to fight climate change, the desertification and erosion of the soil in Portugal, and how we are combating the lack of rain and droughts in Portugal. You can support us financially on our crowdfunding
Fight desertification, regenerate the Earth | Indiegogo
Or support us on Patreon and receive monthly benefits as we regenerate the land, the human connection, and its surroundings, restoring the soil, one regenerative project, one human and one seed at a time. PurposeFlow Living is creating Permaculture, Community Living, Reforestation, Regeneration | Patreon
Dive deeper and learn about permaculture and regeneration FOR FREE in the course below, see how we inspire, volunteer, host an event or read into regenerative articles!
If you would like to see how we facilitate holistic living with growing biodiversity of nature in Portugal looks like, you can follow us on Instagram @purposeflow_living Regenerating Nature & Self (@purposeflow_living) • Instagram photos and videos
Or maybe you are interested in getting your hands dirty and working on the land, supporting us with your digital skills, or bringing your creative talents to the land? Digital, regenerative, permaculture, construction, eco-building, art, and more are welcomed with our volunteering opportunities here in sunny Alentejo, Portugal. You can find out more either here on our website or on our Workaway volunteering page.
Would you like to host an event in nature in the Portuguese countryside, enjoying freshly grown organic food? Integrating and using interconnected regenerative systems that help us live more in harmony with ourselves and nature, maybe hosting a workshop, an ecstatic dance, or another wholesomely connected experience. Either way, you can find out more on our Stay With Us page and get in contact to explore the opportunities of connection and synergy with BODY, MIND, HEART, SOUL, and NATURE!
(1266) Regenerate The Planet With Us | PurposeFlow – YouTube
(1266) How To Heal The Planet With Biodiverse Forests | PurposeFlow – YouTube
permaculture. link by Heather Jo Flores
Permaculture: regenerative Ă‚Ĺ’ not merely sustainable (regenpreneur.com)