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Building a Farm That Owns Itself, and Gives Back to People and Planet
At Scave, we're working to address two of the most pressing crises of our time. Man-made global warming and desertification are accelerating the abandonment and slow death of rural areas. At the same time, a growing mental health crisis is affecting young people across developed societies. We believe these two problems can speak to each other and that nature-based work is part of the answer. When people come to Scave to plant trees, work with their hands, and spend time outdoors, something shifts. There's a real and tangible contribution to well-being that comes from working with the land. That's why we're building a space where people can volunteer and eventually become stewards, people who take genuine care of the land and feel a sense of belonging to it. However, we also aimed to reconsider the ownership and governance structure of the farm. We're implementing a steward ownership model, both for the land and for Scave as a company. The goal is simple but radical: the land, and the company that owns it, should essentially own itself. This removes traditional investor or landowner control and ensures the farm's mission stays protected no matter what. Across 160 hectares, we're working to recover and regenerate the landscape using syntropic agriculture, planting 40 hectares with trees and dedicating two hectares to testing which species truly thrive in this dry, challenging environment. Along the way, we're building firebreaks using prickly pear cactus, a plant that barely needs water and simply won't burn.
Rooted in the Heart of Northern Portugal 🌿
Cidadelhe, Pinhel, Guarda, Portugal
Scave is located in Cidadelhe, a quiet village in the Guarda district in the north of Portugal, sitting at the confluence of two rivers, surrounded by stunning geology, quartz crystals, and wide-open views. The area is semi-arid and part of the Douro watershed, which is precisely why we chose it. This land needs care, and we're here to give it. Across 160 hectares, we're working to recover and regenerate the landscape using syntropic agriculture, planting 40 hectares with trees and dedicating two hectares to testing which species truly thrive in this dry, challenging environment. Along the way, we're building firebreaks using prickly pear cactus, a plant that barely needs water and simply won't burn. Our Ten Lives Festival regenerates a 70-hectare plot called Ramira year by year. Hands, community, and time revive this land, which is too steep for conventional machinery. Five hectares of the flatter land there are already running as agroforestry, and Ramira sits right next to a Natura 2000 nature reserve. Back in Cidadelhe, we're breathing new life into old structures. an ancient olive press factory being transformed for essential oil production, and several houses repurposed as cozy studio apartments for digital nomads, complete with food forest gardens and shared communal spaces. Cidadelhe is not a place you pass through. Cidadelha is a destination that significantly impacts your experience. The community, though small and aging, with only 25 people, most over 70, is warm, welcoming, and proud of what this land holds. We're proud to be part of it. 🌱
Rooting in Brazil: Our Syntropic Vision for the Future 🌿
Nestled on a beautiful lake near Nisia Floresta, 16 kilometers from the beach. In Rio Grande do Norte, which most of the Scave team calls home, our Brazil project is one of the most exciting chapters we're writing right now. Spanning 116 hectares across two lakes, this land is rich with potential. And in Brazil, nature moves fast; trees that take 30 years to mature in Europe reach the same size in just 20. A Forest Built for Food and Abundance Syntropic food forests, adapted to the Brazilian climate, occupy between 80 and 90 hectares of the land. Think mangoes, bananas, cashews, açai, and cacao, all growing together in a system designed to increase biodiversity, food abundance, and the health of the land itself. Wood as a Long-Term Investment The remaining 60 to 70 hectares follow a carefully planned wood succession system. We start with eucalyptus, harvested in two stages at four and eight years. Then move into teak and mahogany. But the real long game? Ironwood. A species that takes 100 years to harvest and lives for 400, slowly transforming the land back into a thriving tropical rainforest. Unlike volatile commodity crops, this wood-based model offers stable, meaningful returns over a 20-year horizon. Land That Belongs to the Community Our deepest intention for this project isn't ownership; it's stewardship. We want to give this land to the local community to care for it. That, for us, is what syntropic farming really means. 🌱