Myrica Faial Permaculture Farm

On the westernmost tip of the island of Faial, five kilometres from what was one of the most significant phenomena in the history of volcanology - the Capelinhos Volcano - is the Myrica Faial Permaculture Farm, the project started by Julien Floro and Sofia Gigante in 2017.

Sofia, who was born in Torres Vedras and has a degree in Marine Biology, and Julien, who was born in Loulé and has a master's degree in Marine Conservation and Biodiversity, left behind an academic career that took them from Africa to South America to live in Faial and start this project: "We considered buying land in the Algarve, but it was very expensive and farming there is more difficult," explains Julien, on why they bought these seven hectares. "We chose Capelo because the rest of the island is too saturated with the meat and dairy industry."

It took the couple six months to clear the forest that had taken over the land since the Capelinhos eruption in 1958, cutting down dying trees but keeping the endemic species.

Organic since 2018, Myrica Farm has applied principles of regenerative agriculture and permaculture that go far beyond the certification criteria. The land has almost three meters of sand and very little rock, and the big challenge is to ensure the supply of organic matter, which they achieve with wood chips, manure and the application of dried vetiver, a herbaceous plant used in the perfumery industry and which, at Myrica Farm, marks the landscape, both in green corridors along the fields and in dry, golden blankets over the plantations.

All the buildings on the farm were built by hand, from the greenhouses to the chicken coop, from pallets, lime, sand, and wood shavings, inspired by the ecological production of hemp houses. "Our greenhouses are built to withstand hurricanes. We use everything we can in the constructions," he says, pointing to some washing machine doors as windows in the property's tank.

They practice bio-intensive agriculture in living soil, without digging, always focusing on soil regeneration, respecting the food web of the trophic network, conserving energy in production, rescuing water, protecting from the wind and ensuring good sun exposure. "We want to improve soil sustainability. The future lies not in producing more, but in producing better." Julien and Sofia intend to diversify production even further, raising pigs in addition to the ducks, chickens and goats that already live on the farm. Further down the line, they want to create an Azorean Gastro Lab, a community kitchen concept.

Every year, they produce more than 50 different species of fruit and vegetables, such as kale, lamb’s lettuce, spring onions, radishes, parsnips, sweet potatoes, onions, beets, lettuces, corn, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and many other products. As for fruit, they grow watermelon, bananas, cherimoya, citrus fruits, plums, apples, papayas, mangoes, and pitayas. 

Every Saturday, they sell loose products at the Horta Municipal Market, and they are only available in paper packaging. "We want our products to be as fresh as possible, so we focus on selling them in the Faial, Pico and São Jorge triangle."