WE LOVE
OUR LAND
It all starts with our land.
Without healthy land, we don't have healthy trees. Without healthy trees we don't have nutritious olives and then no high quality olive oil. So the health and vitality of our land is key.
Healthy land includes the soil, the water, the animals that exist in a harmonious eco-system. We are careful to support and not interfere with the sophistication of nature.
Our goal
We came to this land in 2017 and fell in love with it immediately. It was wild and beautiful in its rawness.
Looking at it closer, it was obvious that no one had worked the land in the past 10 years. That meant nature took over. There were a number of dead trees, overgrown shrubs where we could barely tell what they were. Many of these were splendid olive trees that were overgrown by other species.
Our goal was to keep this rawness and let nature thrive, while at the same time bringing the individual gems back to their splendor. This meant clearing away tons of rubble, some of the overgrown branches and creating sanctuaries for animals to thrive.
Topography & History
The land is nestled on a small mountain range (called Serra), which creates a protected little valley. This means it's a bit secluded and protected.
In the surrounding area are many roman ruins, reminiscing of the time when the romans were here. The Moors and Arabs also invaded these lands in the 800's.
The name our farm was given is Herdade dos Alfanges. Herdade means farm in the Alentejo and Alfanges describes an Arab sword and hints at the likelihood that there may have been a battle here.
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