Everything is connected. The soil, the sea, the climate, human communities - they are not separate elements, but parts of the same living body.

It is urgent that we rethink our relationship with the planet - with the land that feeds us, the oceans that regulate life, and the ecosystems that sustain our existence.

To care for the land is to care for ourselves. To regenerate the soil is to regenerate futures. To protect the seas is to protect life in all its forms.

We live in a time when the global food system is distancing us more and more from the land, the seasons, and the people who produce what we eat.

We eat without thinking. We consume without asking. We accept without demanding.

The Matéria Project was born in 2016 to break this cycle.
To reconnect those who cook with those who produce or gather. To value the land and its people as living heritage. To transform the way we eat — and the way we interact with the world.

Created by João and Vânia Rodrigues, Matéria is an independent, non-profit project that maps, gives voice to, and connects small producers across Portugal who work with responsible, regenerative, and culturally rooted practices.

We believe that food is culture, ecology, politics, and identity.
And that only by truly understanding the origin of our food can we build a gastronomy that is more rooted, fair, conscious, and resilient.

  • We map and give visibility to Portuguese producers who respect the soil, the cycles, and local knowledge;
  • We promote gatherings and residencies with chefs, producers, and communities;
  • We build bridges between the land and the kitchen, tradition and innovation, Portugal and the world;
  • We create educational experiences that spark critical thinking around food, origin, and sustainability.

Matéria is a network project. It is living culture in motion. It is an invitation to nonconformity.
A commitment to the future of food.

Open to all who believe that the future of food begins now, and begins at the source.

Producers are the guardians of the land, the soil, the know-how, the traditions, the customs, and our identity.

The Matéria Project has the institutional support of the National Commission of UNESCO.

Residência is Matéria’s living laboratory.
A traveling experience that journeys across the country, exploring the gastronomic culture of each region, highlighting local products, ancestral knowledge, and the people who keep them alive.

Residência has already covered more than 12,000 km across 12 regions, involving dozens of chefs and over 60 producers.
Each stage is a moment of listening, sharing, creation, and awakening — to the disappearance of traditions, the desertification of the land, the urgency to rethink our food system.

In the second season, international chefs join the journey, bringing new voices, new cultures, and knowledge — but the same sense of urgency.
Because this is not just a Portuguese cause - it is a global one.