The estate

1. 1. First

   What it was

   The estate depended on the Monte Café company. In the 1990s it was cut loose from the company's structure, having been judged economically insignificant. What remained were unharvested coffee plots, untended paths and buildings without use.

2. 2. Then

   What was done

   Work began with the soil: composting the estate's own biomass and sowing fertiliser plants, with the ground kept permanently covered. Only then was the layered agroforest built — shade trees above, cocoa and coffee beneath, spices and garden in the lower storey.

3. 3. Today

   What it is today

   Thirty-nine point four hectares under State concession, with a mature agroforestry ecosystem and installed infrastructure: access, water, power and support buildings. Environmental indicators without a dated baseline and third-party verification appear on the impact panel as “not yet measured”.

4. 4. Next

   What it will be

   Thirty units on about 25% of the land. The remaining 75.1% stays unbuilt, soil sealing remains below 3%, no unit exceeds two storeys and maximum height is 7.5 metres. No land is sold: what is subscribed is a share, carrying a right of use; the land itself remains undivided.

An estate that became forest, and that opens to teach how it is done.