Self-sufficient living in the abundance of nature

Driven by the dream of creating a place full of abundance, which connects us to the source of life. An oasis of scent, colour, tranquility and satisfaction. A place that not only feeds the stomach, but also the heart!

Off-grid & self-sufficient

Mae Terra is a smallholding in the beautiful and rugged Portuguese mountains. A place where we live largely self-sufficient and off-grid from a positive collaboration with nature. At the same time, Mae Terra is a place that offers space for others to develop towards a more independent, happier, and self-sufficient life through guided tours, volunteer work and Selfsufficient-Living Course; a week in which you gain experience and knowledge about all aspects of a self-sufficient life through workshops in a practical and real way.

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Our vision is self-sufficient living in and together with nature! We put this vision into practice by growing our own food and keeping animals. We do this with nature-integrated agriculture according to bio(dynamic) and permaculture principles. We also grow medicinal plants and process them into natural medicines and cosmetics. We build as much as possible with natural and/or recycled materials from the area. Harvests are partly processed into non-perishable products (eg olive oil) and exchanged for other products from the immediate vicinity or sold on our own land/local market. Living self-sufficiently means doing things ourselves, while learning we are our own vegetable growers, cheese makers, brewers, plumbers, builders, and doctors!

Our life on Mae Terra

Our life is simple and basic, and we notice that the simple things in life give us a lot of satisfaction and happiness! We are thankful that most of our lives take place on our Quinta (farm) in the middle of nature, surrounded by mountains and forests. Grateful that we breathe clean air every day and drink clean, living water, and are surrounded by like-minded neighbors and friends with whom we regularly work and have fun. At the same time, a basic life in the mountains is not always easy, it is a challenge! In addition to hard work, we playfully create our dream place.