Regenerating Mediterranean Landscapes in the Douro Valley

Regenera Outono — Regenerating Living Landscapes in the Douro

The Regenera Outono project is emerging at Quinta do Outono, a small family-run property located in the Douro Valley, Portugal.

Over the years, while living and working within this landscape, it became impossible to ignore the growing signs of ecological degradation: increasingly depleted and compacted soils, erosion, biodiversity loss, reduced water retention capacity and the growing vulnerability of Mediterranean landscapes to drought and climate extremes.

At the same time, we also felt a growing disconnection between people and the living processes that sustain rural territories — soil, water, ecosystems, food production and natural cycles.

Regenera Outono was born precisely from this need to regenerate both the landscape and the human relationship with the land.

The project seeks to gradually transform Quinta do Outono — currently a small family-run agro-tourism project — into a living space for ecological regeneration, regenerative agriculture and community learning adapted to the Mediterranean context of the Douro.

We believe tourism can evolve into a more regenerative and place-based model, where hospitality directly contributes to the restoration of landscapes, soils, biodiversity and ecosystem services.

The vision of Regenera Outono is to create a practical connection between hospitality, ecological regeneration, education and territory, allowing part of the economic activity generated by the agro-tourism operation to help support long-term regenerative processes.

Our work will focus on restoring soil biological function, increasing water retention and infiltration, recovering biodiversity and regenerating ecosystem services associated with Mediterranean landscapes, including soil fertility, water regulation, ecological resilience and support for biological life.

We aim to develop regenerative practices adapted to perennial agricultural systems such as vineyards, orchards and multifunctional rural landscapes, including holistic management principles adapted to Mediterranean ecosystems.

The project envisions the gradual creation of demonstration areas for regenerative viticulture, composting and vermicomposting, biological fertilizers and amendments, biodiversity corridors, polycultures, agroforestry systems and holistic management practices integrated into ecological landscape regeneration.

We have already started small practical experiments related to soil regeneration, polycultures, organic soil cover, composting, biodiversity and agroecological approaches inspired by regenerative and agroforestry principles. The project now aims to gradually expand these first initiatives into more structured demonstration areas for regenerative agriculture and ecological landscape restoration.

Observation of soil life and natural ecological processes is also a central part of the project philosophy, seeking to restore healthier relationships between food production, biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.

However, Regenera Outono does not aim only to regenerate a single property.

We want to create a living space for demonstration, learning and connection between people, territory and living systems — a small regenerative living lab where farmers, students, researchers, visitors and local communities can learn, observe and directly participate in real regenerative processes.

Direct contact between visitors and the landscape, regenerative agriculture and living soil processes is also an important part of the project vision. We hope to help reconnect people with the ecosystems that sustain life while fostering a deeper appreciation for rural territories and their ecological value.

In the long term, we also aim to develop a small interpretive center dedicated to the regeneration of soils, water, biodiversity, ecosystem services and Mediterranean landscapes, helping reconnect people with the ecological processes that sustain life and rural territories.

We believe regeneration needs to be practical, accessible and rooted in local territories. For this reason, we intend to organize workshops, field days, educational activities and immersive experiences connected to soil, biodiversity, regenerative agriculture, soil microbiology and Mediterranean landscape regeneration.

The funds raised through Ma Earth will help support the implementation of the first demonstration areas, biodiversity planting, soil regeneration activities, ecological infrastructure, biological systems and community learning activities.

By combining regenerative land stewardship, education and agro-tourism, we hope to demonstrate how ecological restoration and rural economic activity can support one another, creating a more resilient future for Mediterranean landscapes.

Our long-term vision is to contribute to the creation of a living and replicable model for territorial regeneration in the Douro and other Mediterranean regions.