Mini Food Forest Training Program
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Option 1
Castro Marim/Algarve
Option 2
Mação/Santarém
Choose Your Path:
Learn, Design, and Grow
Mini Food Forests in 5 steps!
The Biggest Mini Forest Training is a hands-on learning experience based on our 3m x 3m Mini Food Forest model, which combines Agroforestry, Syntropic Agriculture and Miyawaki Method.
This model creates a high-density, fast-growing, and regenerative system that:
✅Restores biodiversity
✅Improves soil health
✅Creates resilience against extreme weather events
✅Produces food
Before and After of 7 Mini Food Forests blocks in a semi-arid context
Why Join This Training?
The challenges of climate change, degraded soils, and food security require us to rethink how we design and manage landscapes. Mini Food Forests offer a practical, easy-to-manage solution, integrating biodiversity, water management, and food production into a self-sustaining system.
This training will teach you how to design and implement thriving Mini Food Forests, while you can:
✅ Tackle real-world challenges: Climate change, degraded soils, and food security demand new approaches.
✅Learn a practical, easy-to-manage solution: Mini Food Forests integrate biodiversity, water management, and food production into a self-sustaining system.
✅Apply your knowledge anywhere: Use these techniques for personal food forest project, community projects, or ecosystem restoration.
Join us and gain the skills to design and implement thriving Food Forests!
Nature works faster than you think!
Watch this transformation:
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May 2024 at Quinta Bohemia, Algarve, Portugal
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November 2024 at Quinta Bohemia, Algarve, Portugal
What Will You Learn?
This training combines 4 live online sessions with an optional 3-day, hands-on experience at your choice of two locations: Castro Marim/Algarve or Mação/Santarém, Portugal.
You’ll learn everything you need to plan, design, and plant your own Mini Food Forests, following our 5-Step Biggest Mini Forest Method:
✅ Step 1: Observe & Plan - Learn to read your landscape through a regenerative lens
✅ Step 2: Design & Choose Your Plants - Understand the BMF 3m x 3m Model
✅ Step 3: Prepare the Soil - Practical soil preparation techniques for healthy foundations
✅ Step 4: Plant & Mulch - Learn the step-by-step planting process
✅ Step 5: Boost Biodiversity & Early Care - From adding diversity to irrigation and care—everything you need for a strong start.
✨ PLUS:
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Insights into Agroforestry, Syntropic Agriculture, and the Miyawaki Method
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Practical techniques to integrate edible species and create abundance
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A 5-step implementation guide to keep you on track
Who is This Training For?
This program is ideal for:
✅ Individuals looking to design and implement Food Forests in a wide range of conditions—from urban gardens to rural landscapes
✅ Gardeners, farmers, landscapers and anyone interested in regenerative practices
✅ People who want to grow their own food using an easy-to-manage biodiverse system
✅ Anyone eager to experience hands-on training in ecosystem regeneration and sustainable land management
Get ready to grow!
Online Sessions start on April 13th, 2026.
Online Explorer
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4 live sessions
13–16 Apr
2026
Understand the Basics
&
Build Confidence
This online module gives you the key concepts and tools you need to start creating your own Mini Food Forests!
✅ 6 hours of Theoretical Lessons with practical examples
✅ Presentation Slides
✅ Introduction to Agroforestry, Syntropic Agriculture and the Miyawaki Method
✅ List of Mini Food Forest Designs
✅ Get more comfortable for the onsite training
✅ Plants Selection & Combinations
✅ Soil Preparation Method
❌ 20 hours of Hands-on Experience with Mini Food Forests
❌ Printed Manual
❌ Plant Propagation
❌ Soil Preparation Practice
❌ Irrigation System
❌ Beneficial Microorganisms Application
❌ Mini Food Forests Implementation
❌ Tent accommodation included
❌ Lunch included
Complete Experience
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Online
Onsite
4 live sessions (13–16 Apr 2026)
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Algarve — Quinta da Fornalha (1–3 May)
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Santarém — Casa do Tempo (22–24 May)
Understand the Basics
&
Put Theory in Practice
3 days Practice
Choose your onsite location:
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This is where theory meets action! You'll practice everything you've learned and gain the confidence to create your own Mini Food Forest.
✅ 6 hours of Theoretical Lessons with practical examples
✅ Presentation Slides
✅ Introduction to Agroforestry, Syntropic Agriculture and the Miyawaki Method
✅ List of Mini Food Forest Designs
✅ Get more comfortable for the onsite training
✅ Plants Selection & Combinations
✅ Soil Preparation Method
✅ 20 hours of Hands-on Experience with Mini Food Forests
✅ Printed Manual
✅ Plants Propagation
✅ Soil Preparation Practice
✅ Irrigation System
✅ Beneficial Microorganisms Application
✅ Mini Food Forests Implementation
✅ Tent accommodation included
✅ Lunch included
Meet the Biggest Mini Forest Trainers
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We are Luís Afonso and Ana Laura Cruz, co-founders of Biggest Mini Forest, a movement dedicated to making regenerative Food Forests accessible to all.
In 2015, we started our journey with hands-on experience in Permaculture, Agroforestry, Syntropic Agriculture, and the Miyawaki Method, through which we've been learning, designing, implementing, and teaching regenerative systems across diverse climates and landscapes. Our approach is rooted in practicality, simplicity, and empowerment—helping people create thriving ecosystems, whether in their backyards or on a larger scale.
We have collaborated and worked with projects such as Reflorestar Portugal, Aldeia Gandum, Terra Sintrópica, CARES (Center for Agroecology and Regeneration for the Semi-Arid), Orchard of Flavours - Botanical Garden, CCDesert (Competence Center in the Fight Against Desertification), Agroforest - Bela Flor Respira, Regen Waves, Quinta da Fornalha and others.
Through this training, we'll guide you step by step, sharing our knowledge, insights, and passion for building resilient, abundant food forests. Start small, dream big—let’s grow together!
Training Outline
🌍Tranining Language: English, with clarifications in Portuguese, Spanish, and French if needed.
🖥️ 4 Online Sessions - Recorded Zoom Session
Dive into the Theory & Fundamentals of Mini Food Forests creation
Complete Experience
Online Sessions
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📅 Monday, 13 Apr, 2026
🕕 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM (Lisbon time)
Food Forests - basic principals & Overview of Miyawaki forests, Agroforestry & Syntropic Agriculture
📅 Tuesday, 14 Apr, 2026 (Zoom Recordings)
🕕 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM (Lisbon time)
The Biggest Mini Forest Model – Structure & Design
📅 Wednesday, 15 Apr, 2026 (Zoom Recordings)
🕕 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM (Lisbon time)
Plant Selection & Combinations + Soil Preparation
📅 Thursday, 16 Apr, 2026 (Zoom Recordings)
🕕 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM (Lisbon time)
Care & Expansion - Maintenance for long-term success
Onsite Practice
📅 Day 0 - Thursday
🕕 6:00 PM onwards (for those staying at Quinta da Fornalha)
Arrival & Check-in – Settle in & meet the group!
📅 Day 1 - Friday
🕘 9:30 - 17:00
Plant Selection & Propagation – Be Resourceful - Find & Grow the Right Plants in Your Area
📅 Day 2 - Saturday
🕘 9:30 - 17:00
Soil Preparation, Beneficial Microorganisms & Irrigation System – Build a Foundation for Success
Option 1
📅1-3 May, 2026
📍 Quinta da Fornalha, Algarve, Portugal
🍽️ Lunch Included (vegetarian) + coffee,
tea & snacks
🏡 Accommodation options:
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Camping with kitchen & shower
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Cabins and Guesthouses available for booking here
Option 2
📅 22-24 May, 2026
📍 Casa do Tempo, Santarém, Portugal
🍽️ Lunch Included (vegetarian) + coffee, tea & snacks
🏡 Accommodation options:
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Camping with kitchen & shower
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Shared room (2 beds) available for booking here
📅 Day 3 - Sunday
🕘 9:30 - 17:00
Mini Food Forest Implementation & Maintenance – Design & Plant Your First Mini Food Forest
🌱 3 Days Onsite – Hands-on Practice
Experience the Full Process of Designing and Planting a Mini Food Forest
Videos
All Videos
All Videos
Small Plot, Big Impact: How the 4m² Mini Forest Thrives after 18 months
What is the Biggest Mini Forest?
Biggest Mini Forest - Square Module Explained
Fees & Discounts
Online
Explorer
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7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
(Lisbon time)
4 Online sessions
13--16 Apr, 2026
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Early Bird - 59€ | Until Mar 31
Standard - 67€ | From Apr 1
Complete Experience
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1-3 May,2026
Castro Marim/Algarve, Portugal
or
22-24 May, 2026
Mação/Santarém,
Portugal
3 Days practice
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7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
(Lisbon time)
4 Online sessions
13--16 Apr, 2026
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Super Early Bird - 347€ | Until Feb 14
Early Bird - 397€ | Until Mar 31
Standard - 427€ | From Apr 1
Complete Experience Discounts
Groups get a 10% discount*
* Please email us at hello@biggestminiforest.com if you would like to claim the discounts! They cannot be combined!
Onsite Training Locations
Quinta da Fornalha (Castro Marim, Algarve)
For over 20 years, Quinta da Fornalha has been a hub for regenerative agriculture in the town of Castro Marim, Algarve, Portugal. With ten Mini Food Forests and experimental plots for other food forests, agroforestry, and organic orchards (oranges, olives, and carob trees), it offers a unique setting to observe biodiversity in action.
At Quinta da Fornalha, you’ll learn by doing, surrounded by a landscape designed for regeneration, experimentation, and sustainable food production.
Apart from camping area with an outdoor kitchen and showers, they have a wide variety of accommodation (learn more).
Casa do Tempo (Mação, Santarém)
Casa do Tempo is a new regenerative retreat center located in the heart of Portugal, just 2 hours north of Lisbon. This peaceful space is becoming a living example of abundance and ecological care, with six Mini Food Forest plots implemented at the beginning of last summer.
It’s a peaceful space surrounded by trees, cared for by a wonderful host who has harvested hundreds of kilos of food from the young mini food forests.
Accommodation options include comfortable double rooms or camping spaces for tents and campervans, offering flexibility for all preferences (learn more).
A beautiful setting for growth—both for forests and for people.
300+ Participants in previous events
Testimonials
Miguel Pereira
2025-07-23
The Biggest Mini Forest concept is such a cool and inspiring addition to the much needed solutions we need in the world right now! It aims at providing an actionable, customizable solution to creating self-sustaining, highly-productive and ecologically functional mini food forests, and while visiting Quinta da Fornalha we could see just that — tiny 3m by 3m square-shaped oasis that put together make a dense and diverse orchard of sorts like we had never seen before. Although most tiny forests at Quinta da Fornalha are still young (a couple years old, I think), I would highly recommend a visit since you can already see such a huge difference in greenery when comparing to the neighbouring fields! Also, sometimes they organize workshops where you can learn to plan and plant your own Biggest Mini Forest and be part of the solution for a Portugal full of forests and full of food! Quinta da Fornalha folks are great hosts and will show visitors around the project no problem. Maybe you'll even pop into the pool for a refreshing moment after exploring the brand-new forests..
Léonore Pascal
2025-07-22
Projet très inspirant qui transmet de manière ludique et accessible des connaissances de base de l’agroforesterie et la régénération. To many more Biggest Mini Forest !
Lara van Uchelen
2025-06-13
I recently attended the Mini Food Forest Training with Luis and Laura, and it was an absolutely amazing experience! Their passion and knowledge made the learning process both inspiring and practical. I walked away feeling empowered and equipped with the skills to start my own food forest. Highly recommend this training!
Francisco Garcia
2025-06-10
Mentores muito interessados em partilhar o seu conhecimento e fazerem nascer mini forests em novos locais. Grande partilha de conhecimentos.
Chirag Shamdasani
2025-06-06
A truly brilliant learning experience - very well organised and gave us a chance to see what it takes to build our own mini food forests. Inspiring and would highly recommend!
