Ervas Finas

“Sustainable Edible Gardens.” Here is the purpose of Ervas Finas, a company created in 2005 in the village of Fonteita, within the municipality of Vila Real. The mentor is Graça Saraiva who, since the 1990s, has accumulated experience and knowledge to add flavour to the dishes of chefs and other restaurants, always with an emphasis on sustainability, a word she prefers to see “deconstructed”, to make room for actions that all of us we must have daily, to contribute to the balance of the terrestrial ecosystem.

"I usually say that my background in Animal Science Engineering from the last century." The words are from Graça Saraiva who, in 1993, completed her degree at the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD). Despite choosing an internship in food technology and having directed industries in this area located in Montalegre and Chaves, she decided to head to Santarém, to take a course in Organic Agriculture promoted by AGROBIO. “I immediately wanted to put into practice what I learned as a free time occupation, on my grandparents' farm, with my collection of aromatic herbs”, in Trás-os-Montes. The research and collection of edible herbs and spices were done thanks to Graça Saraiva's love of cooking.

Creating Ervas Finas happened in a blink of an eye. We were in 2005, when she founded the company, with the “huge desire to go to the land”. She buys a pine forest and creates her “biodiversity garden” in it, an ecosystem that allows it to supply hotels and restaurants with its production. “I started with hampers and delivering them door to door, and one of these hampers ended up in the hands of chef Rui Paula, who never let me go. Quickly, I connected to the world of hotels and restaurants, with my edible flowers and baby vegetables, micro-greens… Everything was new around here!”.

Along with the disclosure, Graça Saraiva builds her “edible garden”, in which she installs an experimental kitchen, to receive her customers and their teams. This is where the concept is implemented “from seed to plate”, taking her garden made up of aromatic herbs, vegetables and flowers to chefs in restaurants in Portugal, but also Spain, both countries being the stage of multiple gastronomic events in which she actively participates. Along the way, she took the course in Landscape Architecture at UTAD, "which allows me to approach the ecosystem in a more structured way and create awareness to then intervene in a more organized way" - in fact, "if this training had existed when I was at the university, I would have chosen it, because we don't focus only on one element, but we see everything as a system, which is very interesting" - and continued to buy books - "a vast bibliography based on agroforestry, agriculture more naturalized…” – but also “sharing this passion of mine with people”. “For three years now, I've been taking on more of the creative and development role.” The proof is in the implementation of “sustainable edible gardens” in hotel units across the country, an action which, today, adds to the activity of training in Tourism of Portugal for sustainability, while at the same time concentrating her knowledge on creativity and education. "Right now, there are two types of actions that are more important: the pedagogical, with training programs, and the playful, focused on sensory experiences." The explanation is in line with the famous phrase on her website: "the idea is that you don't leave this garden the same way you entered."

In other words, through experience, Graça Saraiva helps to increase awareness of a series of fundamental themes for life, such as the importance of water and diversity, and indigenous flora, for example. “Often, those who come here recognize the old practice and travel to the grandparents' village. It is a journey through time and territories that they recognize, awakened by sensory stimuli, so it is not normal for someone to leave here as they entered." But, after all, what is sustainability? “First, we have to change this sustainability buzzword and show concrete actions in favour of humanity. Show which actions lead us to sustainability, such as taking advantage of leftovers, not generating waste, using water, simplifying food preparation, not using disposables, using local products... It is up to each one of us, in our space, to do small actions, so that each one makes our life more sustainable.”

As for the fine herbs, the best thing is to visit Graça Saraiva, get to know her garden and get to know, live, the potential of her products, take them home and repeat the experience.