Agroforests in Gandum: planting trees is easy, creating living systems is not

Over 50,000 trees planted in Gandum—and growing. But more important than the number is the system behind it.

One of the most effective ways to put regenerative agriculture into practice is by creating—and maintaining—agroforests. That's where we started. Today, there are three agroforests at Gandum, all of which were sown and planted at the beginning of the project. This was not a symbolic gesture, but rather a structural decision about how we want to produce food, care for the soil, and regenerate the land.

Working with nature, applying principles of syntropic agriculture combined with traditional farming practices and local know-how, we care for these agroforests, which in turn nourish us. It is a relationship of reciprocity, not extraction.

Since 2019, we have planted more than 25,000 trees on the farm—a number that continues to grow, thanks to the involvement of many people who have contributed their time, energy, knowledge, and dedication to the regeneration of this place.

Young agroforests, real impact

Although still young, Gandum's agroforests already enable sustainable food production, using practices that preserve biodiversity and promote soil regeneration. But the impact goes far beyond food production.

These systems help mitigate climate change, regulate the water cycle, capture carbon from the atmosphere, and create habitats for a huge diversity of local fauna and flora. They literally make the world breathe better.

Working with nature, not against it

Inspired by the syntropic agriculture developed by Ernst Götsch, at Gandum we have adopted an approach that is simple in essence but demanding in practice: working with nature, not against it.

Here, humans cease to be exploiters of resources and take on the role of co-creators of living systems. We don't just grow food—we grow biodiversity. And we don't just plant trees: we plant water.

In agroforestry systems, fruit trees, forest trees, shrubs, vegetables, and wild plants coexist, creating an ecosystem in which each element contributes to the balance of the whole. This diversity strengthens the resilience of the system, increases soil fertility, and creates abundance in the medium and long term.

By foregoing the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, we produce food that is not only tasty but also deeply nutritious. This choice is both a gesture of respect for the land and a concrete response to the challenges of climate change and water scarcity—especially relevant in hot, dry regions such as Alentejo.

Sintropia: accumulating energy instead of dissipating it

Agroforests are based on the concept of syntropy, a process in which agricultural systems become progressively more complex and capable of accumulating energy, unlike the entropy typical of monocultures, which deplete resources.

By replicating nature's logic, these systems replace the idea of extraction with a logic of positive energy balance. All elements—humans, animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms—play equally important and interdependent roles.

Diversity is the basis of everything. Instead of occupying land with a single species, as is the case with intensive agriculture, we produce food in several layers, making intelligent use of vertical and horizontal space.

Stratification: producing like a forest

In Gandum's agroforests, trees, shrubs, and horticultural crops grow according to the natural forest model. Some plants almost touch the sky, while others live close to the ground. Each species grows in the shade—or light—of others, according to its specific needs.

This stratification allows plants to develop in a more balanced way, reach their maximum potential, and produce more and better, with less water stress and less vulnerability to climatic extremes.

It is agriculture designed for the future, but deeply rooted in the way nature has always worked.

A living system, constantly evolving

Gandum's agroforests are not a closed project or a final result. They are living systems, constantly adapting, learning, and growing.

Every tree planted is a long-term decision. Every mistake is a learning experience. Every season brings new answers. And it is precisely this complexity that makes agroforestry one of the most promising tools for regenerating soils, producing food, and building landscapes with a future.