This week, I’m working at Montado do Freixo do Meio. This place is incredibly diverse, and it feels like I would need a few months to fully grasp everything that is happening here.
(Please note that this text is translated by Open AI. I write my all my peas in Dutch)
My camper is parked inland in Portugal, east of Lisbon. All I hear here are birds, sheep, and frogs. I am a guest on the enormous 600-hectare estate of Alfredo Cunhal Sendim, which has been in the family for generations. Alfredo’s mission is to manage this place in a way that yields an abundance of products and services but remains in complete harmony with nature.
So, what’s happening here… Montado do Freixo do Meio is one of the first organic production companies in Portugal. Vegetables are grown and sold through a CSA model. Olives and cork are produced, and grapes for wine production. Various food forests have been planted to further explore this type of cultivation. No plowing is done anywhere, and the land is maintained by horses, sheep, pigs, and cows that live as naturally as possible.
The estate’s products are processed into their own products such as sauce, oil, cookies, and honey, and sold in their own webshop and store. Education is one of Alfredo’s main goals. About 8000 visitors come to the estate each year, and school classes are welcome in their own school building to learn about food, nature, and the prehistoric history of this area.
But actually, I’m not here for all of this. I’m here for the main focus of Montado do Freixo do Meio and the food of the future: the acorn. The oak tree is the most common tree here, with about 230 species growing on this estate. I’m assisting this week with the harvest and processing. More about that later this week.
P.S. If you’re wondering why Alfredo is pictured with this award, he won the Dutch Butchers Competition in 2006 in the category of organic cooked sausages. Not something every Portuguese (or Dutch) can say.
