ALENTEJO  |  2025  |  South-Central Alentejo, PO 







































Alentejo


In May 2025 we spent time in the south-central Alentejo region of Portugal.

Contact with a resident helped us identify specific subjects to photograph and these were complemented by a practice of spending time in the landscape exploring and meeting people.

A blend of established small and large farms were evident, with much of the land used for livestock, olives, vineyards and cork forests. Much of the larger olive production sites are internationally owned and controlled (by Aggraria, for example), although there are smaller localised and often artisan producers. The rural economy was greatly supplemented, as in many parts of contemporary Europe, by tourism. For example, we photographed the owner of a country estate, Castelo Ventoso, which centres around a former Jesuit palace now converted to a luxury holiday rental dwelling. We also met American tourists on a cycling and wine-tasting tour of the region.

Rural industries photographed included a vineyard and associated winery, a cork factory and a traditional shepherd’s bell maker. We encountered several regenerative initiatives, such as young people developing a small-scale independent agroforestry business east of Evora. A major centre of regenerative agroforestry, including a well-established educational programme, is at Herdade do Freixo do Meio. This is overseen by Alfredo Cunhal Sendim and has been operating since 1996. It promotes syntropic agroforestry techniques and attracts an international range of students. Another interesting project involves architectural students from the University of Linz working on restoring traditional village buildings as part of their master’s programme. The University’s BASEhabitat programme has been working with the ‘Estação Cooperativa’ initiative to reactivate existing buildings in the village of Casa Branca since 2022.