MEET THE TEAM

PEDRO VALDJIU

Founder, Host and Lead Facilitator

Meet Pedro, host and lead facilitator at Terra Alta. Pedro is an artist, musician and permaculture designer dedicated to continual growth and education. Being a natural storyteller he designs the Permaculture Design Courses to be unique and dynamic, offering courses where one is never quite the same as the other. 

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He is a certified Permaculture teacher of the UK Permaculture Association and deeply committed to the teachings of Permaculture pioneer David Holmgren.

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Founding Terra Alta in 2008 was part of his dream to build a model for regenerative culture. Another part of this dream manifested in co-founding Escola da Terra - a Waldorf School in the community of Sintra.

RITA SEIXAS

Co-Founder

Rita is a dedicated educator, community leader and artist. As co-founder of both Terra Alta and Escola da Terra, she is committed to transformation through a renewed educational context.

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Rita is deeply connected to Anthroposophy, a spiritual science created by Rudolf Steiner and the belief system underlying Waldorf education. She is also a skilled artist in the areas of crafting, painting, and drawing, with a strong eye for function and aesthetics. These qualities have filtered into all her output, whether personal or professional.

JENNY READY

Co-host & co-facilitator

Committed to constant growth and education, Jenny's journey has led her to permaculture into which she incorporates her passion for music, arts and interconnectedness. After discovering various projects around the globe she is now dedicating her path to sharing the teachings she has received along the way. 

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She took her PDC at Terra Alta in 2021 after which she became a perennial crew-member. In the 2022 PDC season she then went on to co-facilitate and co-host the courses together with Pedro. The 2024 season will be her third year co-facilitating and hosting.
We're also happy to announce that Jenny has recently also been registered as a certified permaculture teacher through the UK Permaculture Association.

HENRIK ELLERBROCK

Guest Teacher

Henrik Ellerbrock spent years as a social activist before shifting his energy to growing social change from the ground up. He moved to Portugal in 2010, met Pedro and his family and joined the Terra Alta project, purchasing the neighbouring land where he resides today. Aside from co-hosting at Terra Alta, Henrik runs a successful biointensive market garden in the area using Permaculture techniques.

MICHÈLE LYSENS

Guest Teacher

Michèle is a permaculture teacher and environmental activist, with a degree in Permaculture & Sustainable Horticulture. She has a seasoned relationship with Terra Alta, having completed an apprenticeship in June of 2019 and co-hosted six courses in the summer of 2020. Now, we are thrilled to welcome her back as a guest teacher for some of the key modules of our course.

INÊS BARROS

Guest Teacher

Inês Barros is a friend, community member and educator working at the intersection of food science and permaculture. We are thrilled to have her as a guest teacher hosting sessions on fermentation and nutrient dense food.

Ines completed a Permaculture Teacher Training with Rosemary Morrow as well as being a certified Health and Nutrition Coach, having studied with Paul Pitchford (Healing with Whole Foods) and under the mentorship of Tomio Kikuchi (George Oshawa disciple).