Introducing Mud Valley Institute, a new Bioregional Learning Center in southwestern Portugal

Mud Valley Institute is a regenerative education and action focused nonprofit organization located near Lagos, Portugal. We work to reverse the effects of desertification in our local ecosystem to assure improved soil quality, water availability, biodiversity, and local livelihoods. Mud Valley Institute is a part of a global network of ecosystem restoration communities engaged in regeneration efforts. We also support educational efforts in the areas of eco-social regeneration and ecosystem restoration.

Mud Valley Institute was created in 2010, originally to support Projecto Novas Descobertas, an educational nonprofit in the Algarve, by funding their summer camps and some of their other projects. Recently, we pivoted to become more involved in addressing some of the ecological, social, and economic challenges in our bioregion. We now:

• develop and present our own programs and training,
• support academic research,
• and offer grants to regeneration-focused institutions and organizations.

Visit Our Work to learn more about what all we do.

We are becoming a Bioregional Learning Center that empowers people with the tools, skills, and mindsets needed to be effective agents of change and regeneration in their communities. As the Bioregional Learning Center for the southwest Algarve, Mud Valley Institute supports research, education, data aggregation, and knowledge sharing that aid in these regenerative efforts. We are also a part of Ecosystem Restoration Communities, through our location at Quinta Vale da Lama, a local organic, regenerative farm.

Who do we collaborate and partner with? Quite a broad spectrum of people and organizations, including:

• Land owners and users, such as farmers and vintners, non-farming regenerators and restorers (such as reforesters), and eco/agro tourism operators and their users,
• Other regeneration-focused nonprofits, who we can share our work with or learn from, partner with, and co-create with,
• Educational institutions, including both Universities and local and regional Schools,
• Youth, through informal education and engagement (outside of official school programs) to create new advocates and leaders,
• Non-land owning advocates, such as those who are interested in getting involved and supporting regenerative education and efforts,
• Consumers, specifically, people who care about healthy, local sustainable food (which, ideally, should be everyone!), including both local residents as well as tourists,
• Government agencies, who can offer financial and capacity building support, and help with scaling and marketing.

We measure, assess, and share the results of our activities on an ongoing basis so that we can accurately convey our impact. Speaking of impact, we categorize our results into two broad categories: human- and ecosystem-focused impact. We have human-focused metrics because a key part of our mindset and approach is that the human side of regeneration is as important as the purely ecological side of the system.

Visit Our Impact to learn more about how we measure, report, and assess our efforts.

Mud Valley Institute is actively working to address the challenge of ecosystem degradation and increasing desertification in our bioregion. Through the creation of programs and training, support of scientific projects, and grants for regeneration-focused organizations, we aim to scale our impact.

We look forward to sharing our journey with you!