THE LAND & FACILITIES
With the help of many hands, we have spent the last 10+ years developing Terra Alta to suit our changing needs across the seasons. Here, students and visitors can observe permaculture principles in action, and we are always looking for ways to upgrade our systems for more flow, efficiency and abundance.
BIO-INTENSIVE KITCHEN GARDEN
As an educational centre serving thousands of meals per summer, we adopted the bio-intensive system (Alan Chadwick) as our main method of food production.
FARM HUB
A focal point for our kitchen garden, keeping things flowing smoothly.
MANDALA GARDEN
Complementing our bio-intensive garden, we have this productive (and beautiful!) system combining keyhole design, sunken vermicompost beds, and mixed companion planting.
FOREST GARDEN
A large portion of our land is native cork oak forest. Each summer, we practice forest gardening with our students, applying tree guilds and experimenting with related techniques.
CHICKEN COOP
Our chickens reside in a specially designed rotation coop. This includes a solar dehydrator to convert their manure into fertiliser, as well as vermicompost bins to provide extra protein for our chickens.
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KITCHEN
Our kitchen, serving thousands of meals per summer, was built using natural building techniques and reclaimed materials including glass windows, oak and acasia.
ARTS CENTRE
Built in 2020, our arts centre houses music, pottery, jewellery making, and other craft.
STARDOME
The Stardome is our main indoor classroom, shaped in the round and built using natural techniques.
GLASSHOUSE
This airy glasshouse, built using reclaimed doors from an old palace in Sintra, is a multifunctional space for working, learning and socialising.
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ZEN HOUSE
This building provides a quiet moment to meditate, eat in silence or just enjoy a break from activity.
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FIRE CIRCLE
The fire circle sits at the core of our community, and is a space for celebration and socialising at the end of each day.
APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY
We make use of technology according to our needs, the impacts, costs and outcomes. Pictured here is our cob oven, which is essential to our summer programme and gets fired once a week for breadmaking.