A territory in regeneration
Regenerating a landscape is, first and foremost, about recognizing what lives within it. Any regenerative design process begins with observation, not with the imposition of a technical design on the territory.
Since 2019, Idanha-à-Vida's work has been blossoming in the landscape surrounding the village of Idanha-a-Velha, in Beira Baixa, in a territory of approximately 1600 hectares. A vast and diverse place, marked by eroded ecological and human layers.
Before any intervention, it is essential to understand the character of the place, not only its geo-biological characteristics (the geology, the watercourses, the impoverished/compacted soils, the patches of native flora and fauna that persist) but also the impact of human presence through agriculture, the more recently introduced eucalyptus plantations, local culture, the memory of practices, and the ways in which this territory has been organized and renewed over time.
Regenerative design doesn't mean creating a new landscape. It means recognizing its unique bio-cultural makeup, that which gives it its own identity, and understanding how this potential can be expressed again in a healthier and more integrated way.
The long ecological, cultural, and human history of this place remains present, even if less visible. Regenerative design, therefore, adopts a co-creative stance with the territory, where decisions seek to listen to and amplify its capacity for renewal.
What is being designed is not a controlled final result, but a system of relationships. A territory organized into three interconnected zones, which do not function as isolated islands, but as parts of a living whole.
The natural zone focuses on observing, protecting, and supporting the regeneration of ecological processes that already sustain the landscape: habitat recovery, regeneration of native vegetation, and improved water retention and infiltration. Here, the priority is to restore stability and resilience to natural processes so that biodiversity is strengthened and the territory becomes more adaptable to climate variations.
The combined zone brings production and ecology closer together. The practice of regenerative agriculture, agroforestry, and rotational grazing can regenerate the soil while producing economic value. The aim is not to balance two opposing sides, but to integrate them, knowing that production can play an active role in the health of the ecosystem when aligned with its natural patterns and regenerative methods.
The economic zone integrates social, cultural, and productive activities that support the community and create local value. We start from the premise that landscape regeneration involves not only nature but also relationships, opportunities, and forms of participation.
The social dimension of this work stems from the recognition that a regenerated landscape is not solid without the people who inhabit, care for, and understand it. In this territory, marked by rural depopulation and the fragmentation of community relations, regeneration also means rebuilding bonds between neighbors, generations, those who work the land, and those who come to learn from it. Through volunteering, open days, community participation, and listening processes, we are creating a gradual and conscious engagement with the territory, where human presence ceases to be merely a user of the landscape and becomes an active part of its care and continuity.
The cultural dimension emerges as a natural extension of the existing bio-cultural landscape in Idanha-a-Velha and its surroundings. It is not about introducing a new cultural identity, but about rescuing and valuing local practices, knowledge, seasonal rhythms, and ways of relating to the territory that have been built up over time. The cultural project, moments of encounter, and socio-cultural initiatives function as spaces of living memory and contemporary creation, essential to the connection between ecological regeneration and the revitalization of local life. In this way, culture emerges naturally from the integration of ecology, community, and territory in this regenerative process.
This design is an ongoing process of listening and co-creation, developing models of collaborative governance and adaptive learning, recognizing that a territory of this size is not transformed through fixed solutions, but through evolutionary processes.
On the ground, this translates into concrete decisions. In the northern part of Idanha-à-Vida, the Barrocal, where water is the main ecological driver, the recovery of watercourses and the management of vegetation has been the first major intervention, considering the geographical importance of this territory: it is here that water enters for the rest of Idanha-à-Vida. In eucalyptus transition areas, gradual processes were chosen: maintaining organic matter in the soil, reducing intensive disturbances, and allowing holm oaks, cork oaks, and native shrubs to reappear naturally whenever possible with the help of eucalyptus trees, which capture deeper water and provide shade to the emerging vegetation.
Regenerative design articulates water, soil, and forest as inseparable dimensions. Soil health influences water infiltration; water determines the vitality of vegetation; forest structure regulates microclimates and fire resistance. Every decision is made considering not only the immediate location but the larger system in which it is embedded.
More than just carrying out interventions, the project seeks to assume a clear role in this territory: to contribute to the renewal of this place and to enable it to generate continuous ecological, social, and cultural value. The potential of a project is manifested when it helps the territory to better fulfill its own role within the broader system in which it exists.
That is why this work has a horizon of 25 years or more. Regeneration is not about quick results, but about creating conditions for living processes to reorganize and establish themselves over time. It requires patience, consistency, and shared intention.
Regenerative landscape design here means working with what already exists, not just what is visible, but what is possible. It's about recognizing the essence of this territory and creating conditions for it to express itself fully, strengthening its ability to evolve in an integrated and resilient way, based on your own potential.