Awakening EdenThe Living Library

Work with Benjy · regenerative land design & project guidance

Bring your project vision to life.

Regenerative land consultations, whole-property design and hands-on project guidance—from syntropic food forests, orchard renewal and productive gardens to living soil, water-wise landscapes, paths and natural fencing. We can also explore biopools and water filtration with qualified specialists.

Begin with a video call or invite us to walk the land. We listen to your vision, observe and feel the place, then sketch possibilities. Together we choose a next step shaped by your goals, the land and the season—from one focused plan to whole-property design and project coordination.

Begin with a conversation. Grow from there.

Benjy smiling among tall leafy vegetables in a mulched garden
Meet Benjy · practical care, curiosity and a love of living landscapes.
Tell Benjy about your land WhatsApp Benjy Explore ways to work together

Based in Portugal · online clarity wherever you are · on-site visits by arrangement.

Projects & possibilities

More life, from the soil up.

Regenerating soil, retaining water, growing abundance and nurturing diversity—the foundations of lush, living ecosystems.

Climbing vegetables, raised beds and mulched paths at Casa Oasis
Food forests & gardensEdible abundance, protected soil and diverse planting.
Handcrafted natural timber railings beside garden access
Paths & natural fencingUseful access and beautiful structures made for the place.
Existing pool beside a house with new mulch around the edge
Water & living edgesPlanting around an existing pool; water systems planned with specialists.
Young trees establishing on a mulched hillside with irrigation lines
Orchards & regenerationEstablishing trees, soil cover and care for future seasons.

See your whole property as a living system.

Connect water, access, gardens, orchards, homes and habitat in one thoughtful plan. We begin with your vision and the realities of the land, then shape practical steps you can grow into.

Find your starting point
Illustrated whole-property concept connecting a home, growing spaces, orchards and wild habitat
Illustrative design concept · every real plan begins with your land.
Benjy outdoors with tools in a wooded landscape
Close attention. Practical care. A love for living places.

Meet the person behind the work

Hello, I’m Benjy.

I love helping people see what a piece of land could become—and find a first step they can actually take.

Working and learning across Australia, Colombia and Portugal has shaped my approach: observe carefully, work with living systems and keep learning from the place. Food forests, soil, trees and the people who care for them belong in the same conversation.

My practical experience spans community gardens, ecological restoration, construction and project management, from operating machinery and shaping access to building beds, planting food forests and coordinating the people who make a plan real. I also enjoy sharing what works through hands-on workshops and regenerative leadership.

Sofia and I created Awakening Eden to connect practical regeneration with learning, wellbeing and community. My aim is to leave the land and the people caring for it more capable, connected and alive.

Meet Benjy & Sofia · our journey

Your vision, rooted in the real place

What would you love to create?

A magical food forest, a flourishing family garden, a cared-for orchard or a whole landscape that works together. We begin with what matters to you—and what the land can support.

Food forests & permaculture gardens

Layered edible planting, abundant growing beds, herbs, flowers, shade and habitat. Species and care matched to your climate, soil and available water.

Orchards, soil & water

Care for existing trees, compost, mulch, soil cover and biomass systems. Improve infiltration and Mediterranean drought resilience by reading the landscape before deciding on earthworks or new infrastructure.

Biopools & water systems

Explore natural swimming spaces, rainwater use and water filtration as part of the whole landscape. We coordinate with qualified specialists for technical design, installation, water quality and maintenance where needed.

Paths, fences & beautiful outdoor spaces

Useful pathways, natural fencing, timber edges, trellises and places to gather. Make everyday movement and garden care part of the design.

The whole property & its people

Connect homes, access, growing areas and future phases. Plan the sequence, budget and people needed for a family quinta, retreat, school or community project.

Permaculture, syntropic thinking and regenerative practice guide the work: living roots, protected soil, useful diversity and relationships that grow stronger over time.

Exploring a home, kit, dome or shared living place? Discover Homes & Living Places →

Clear ways to work together

Find the right starting point.

You can begin with one focused conversation, develop one important part of the land, design the whole property, or keep me beside the project through implementation. Each level has a clear outcome.

Online clarity · a conversation with direction

Land + Project Clarity Session

Bring your vision, goals and questions to a 75-minute video call. We look at your photos and ideas together, then turn the conversation into priorities and a concise written action plan. Follow-up questions by email or WhatsApp are included for seven days.

Flagship€111Launch price, reviewed after the first clients

What you receive

  • 75-minute video call focused on your vision and questions.
  • Concise written action plan within three working days.
  • One round of follow-up questions within seven days.
What’s included & how it works

What you send before we meet

  • The short “tell me about your land” questions by email or WhatsApp
  • A Google Maps pin, or an existing site plan
  • Up to 10 useful photos
  • One walking video, 10 minutes or less
  • Your main challenge, and what you hope this place could become

What you receive

  • My full review of your material before we speak—the call starts already informed
  • 75 minutes together on video
  • The strongest leverage points named plainly—and the ones that can wait
  • Practical direction on soil, water, planting, orchards, biomass, access and sequencing
  • A concise written action plan within three working days
  • One annotated map or concept sketch where it helps
  • Immediate actions, next-season priorities, and what to leave alone
  • One round of follow-up questions by email or WhatsApp within seven days

The aim: I know what matters first, what I can start this week, and what I can stop spending money and energy on.

To be clear: any drawing here is an explanatory concept sketch—not a measured design, a construction drawing or a masterplan.

Start the €111 Clarity Session Book the €111 Clarity Session Send your location and main question. Benjy will reply personally with the simple next steps.

Online · your first property overview

Property Vision + Concept Plan

Bring your ideas, photographs, a map and any sketches. We connect your goals into a clear first picture of what your land could become.

Individually scopedLet’s talkQuote agreed before we begin

What you receive

  • A property overview with suggested zones and relationships.
  • A concept sketch with coloured areas, simple notes and a legend.
  • An initial action plan to clarify priorities and your next steps.

This first concept sets the direction. Detailed area design, planting quantities, materials and ongoing project management can follow as separately agreed work.

Explore a concept for your land

One area · taken all the way to a plan you can build

Focused Regenerative Roadmap

For when you need more than direction, but not yet a whole-property design. We take one defined area or one real challenge and carry it through to a sequence you can act on.

From€450From €650 on site, plus travel. Final price after we look at size and complexity.

What you receive

  • A concept plan for one defined area or challenge.
  • A 90-day action map and first-year sequence.
  • Planting direction, materials guidance and a review call.
What’s included & how it works

Typical focus

  • Regenerating a neglected orchard
  • Establishing a food forest
  • Soil and biomass restoration
  • A garden or productive growing area
  • Water resilience, water-wise planning and fire-smart priorities before the next dry summer
  • A retreat, community or demonstration area
  • The first phase of a new quinta

What you receive

  • Detailed intake and review of your site material
  • One longer online workshop, or an on-site land walk
  • A concept plan for the agreed area
  • A 90-day action map and a first-year sequence
  • Plant functions, guilds and palettes suited to your conditions
  • Materials, sourcing and implementation priorities
  • A review call once you have lived with the plan
  • An honest answer about whether a full masterplan is actually necessary

The aim: I have a coherent roadmap for this part of the land, and I know how to move from ideas into the ground.

Begins with a free 15–20 minute fit call, so we both know the scope is right before anything is booked.

See if the Focused Roadmap fits WhatsApp Benjy · Focused Roadmap Share the area or challenge you want to solve. The first 15–20 minute fit conversation is free.

Whole property · phased over years

Whole-Property Regenerative Design & Action Plan

For a whole quinta, farm, retreat or community project, where water, access, buildings, orchards, food production, habitat and future phases all have to work together rather than fight each other.

From€1,500Scoped after a site conversation

What you receive

  • A connected property concept and regenerative strategy.
  • Phased priorities for years one, three and five.
  • Two review conversations to refine the direction.
What’s included & how it works

How we read the land

  • Whole-property vision, needs and constraints
  • Site visit wherever practical
  • Pattern analysis: slope, sun, wind, water, vegetation, access, current use
  • Functional zones and how they relate to each other
  • Water movement, storage and drought resilience
  • Habitat, shade, biodiversity and fire-aware priorities

What you receive

  • A soil, biomass and fertility strategy
  • Orchard, food forest and productive area concepts
  • Access and workflow design
  • Site-suited plant palettes: what to plant together, where and for which role
  • Planting layouts, spacing, quantities and seasonal care schedules scoped to the agreed design brief
  • A phased implementation roadmap—what happens in year one, three, five
  • Concept drawings and an integrated property map
  • Two review conversations as the plan settles
  • Recommendations for specialists, contractors and collaborators

The aim: I can see how the whole property fits together, what belongs where, and how to develop it in sensible phases over several years.

This is a concept masterplan. It does not include licensed engineering, surveying, permitting or construction drawings. Where those are needed I will say so clearly and help you find the right professionals. Begins with a free 15–20 minute fit call.

Start a Whole-Property conversation Chat about a Whole-Property Design Tell Benjy where the property is and what you hope it can become. No commitment is expected from the first conversation.

Implementation & project management

Bring the plan into life

For farms, retreats, landholdings and community projects, we can carry the regenerative direction from the first whole-property concept into coordinated phases on the ground.

Individually scopedLet’s talkSupport matched to your project and phases

What you receive

  • A support plan matched to your agreed project scope.
  • Seasonal guidance, sourcing and contractor coordination as needed.
  • Online follow-up or on-site implementation by arrangement.
Explore practical support & coordination
  • Phased priorities, realistic budgets and a clear order of work
  • Monthly guidance as questions come up
  • Seasonal reviews—what worked, and what the land is telling us now
  • Plant and material sourcing
  • Irrigation planning and coordination around the agreed planting strategy, with technical specialists where required
  • Project coordination, talking with contractors and your team, so the regenerative intent is not lost in translation
  • Planting and implementation days on the ground
  • Pathways, natural fencing, trellises, growing beds and practical landscape coordination
  • Biopool projects with specialist partners: beautiful swimming spaces designed for biological filtration without routine chlorine dosing, with water-quality monitoring and maintenance built into the scope
  • Water supply and filtration options explored with qualified specialists, based on your source, intended use and ongoing care
  • Workshops and practical demonstrations for your people
  • Adapting the design as the system responds

Priced by scope. Every property moves at its own pace, so this is agreed together rather than packaged.

Discuss project support
Garden establishment examples & indicative budgets

Eden Sanctuary Gardens

Choose a garden pathway. Then make it your own.

We mix design, planting, guidance and hands-on support around your land and goals: food forests, productive gardens, orchard renewal, water-aware planting and whole-property direction.

Backyard Eden

A compact edible garden or young food forest with a clear first phase.

€3,500–€6,000Indicative establishment range

Family Abundance Garden

Productive beds, fruit, perennial planting and welcoming daily harvests.

€5,000–€10,000+Indicative establishment range

Edible Oasis

A generous garden that brings food, shade, water and beauty closer to home.

€5,000–€12,000Indicative establishment range

Syntropic Eden

Layered food-forest rows, biomass, productive planting and ongoing care.

€7,500–€15,000+Indicative establishment range

Eden Market Garden

A productive, diverse growing system with resilient soil and workflow.

€10,000–€25,000+Indicative establishment range

Regenerative Acre

Orchard renewal, agroforestry and layered systems across a larger living landscape.

€12,000–€30,000+Indicative establishment range

Eden Sanctuary

A land-based retreat, learning landscape or whole-property regenerative vision.

Custom scopeBuilt around the land, people and phases

These are indicative establishment ranges, separate from design and support fees. Materials, irrigation, access, travel, tax, major infrastructure and extensive earthworks are scoped clearly for the individual place.

WhatsApp Benjy your project or vision
Buying land, or supporting property clients?

Rural buyers + agents

Buying rural land? Understand it before you overwhelm it.

A beautiful quinta can hold enormous possibility, but it can also come with deferred maintenance, tired soils, complicated water, neglected trees and a hundred competing ideas. Before spending heavily, it helps to understand what the land is already telling you.

For buyers

Before You Buy

A regenerative property potential assessment for the land, water, trees, agricultural possibilities, resilience, constraints and important questions to ask.

Assess a property with me →

For new land stewards

Your First Regenerative Roadmap

Protect what is valuable, address urgent water or erosion issues, establish cover and biomass, recover trees and choose what not to do yet.

Create my first land plan →

For agents, architects, eco-builders + developers

Add the regenerative land layer

You help people find, design or build the place. I can help your clients understand the water, contours, soil, orchards and regenerative potential, then move from overwhelm to 3–5 priorities, a whole-property concept or implementation support.

Explore partnerships + referrals →

A useful partnership can begin very simply.

You help people find or create the place. I help them understand and regenerate the land.

Awakening Eden can work as a referral partner or complementary package for rural-property clients, eco-home projects, retreats and developments: from a land diagnostic and clear action plan through water-wise and fire-smart design, orchard revival, food forests, syntropic systems and project guidance.

See partnerships + referralsWhatsApp Benjy · Explore a Partnership

Regenerative assessment does not replace valuation, legal due diligence, structural inspection, licensed engineering, surveying or other qualified professional advice.

Share your vision → agree the scope → plan together → grow and adapt. We decide the next step with your capacity, budget and the seasons in mind.

Real places · practical work · growing relationships

From an idea to hands in the soil.

Explore the gardens, orchard care and natural structures behind the work. Each place has its own conditions, people and pace.

01 · Moinhos, Algarve

An orchard becomes a place to grow.

At this retreat, Benjy managed and improved the permaculture gardens, working with the existing citrus orchard, productive beds, soil cover and local biomass. The story is one of ongoing care, observation and seasonal work.

Citrus trees and productive beds at Moinhos
Gardens within an established orchardFood growing, useful paths and existing trees considered together.
Follow the Moinhos process in photographs
The existing citrus orchard at an early documented project stage, with open ground between established trees
1 · Read what is already hereEstablished fruit trees, access, water and open ground set the starting context.
Local logs and branches arranged in open growing trenches before soil and mulch are added
2 · Return local biomassWhere appropriate, woody material can support moisture buffering and soil-building.

Documented moments from the Moinhos project, photographed in different parts of the property over time. They show a working process, not a guaranteed or measured outcome for another site.

A dated terrace sequence

Terrace ground being shaped within an olive orchard at the start of the project
Project start · 16 FebruaryShaping the terrace and beginning with the land as it is.
Young trees in pots laid out on the shaped terrace
Trees arrive · 20 FebruaryYoung trees laid out and ready to take root.
Woody biomass spread around young trees on the terrace
Building soil + biomass · 25 FebruaryReturning woody biomass and organic matter to protect and feed the soil.
Planted terrace beds covered with mulch among existing trees
Planted + mulched · 2 MarchTrees planted, soil covered and the young system settling into the landscape.

02 · Casa Oasis

Abundance close to home.

Productive beds, climbing vegetables and mulched paths show how a garden can become part of everyday life. These photographs bring the practical details into view: how we reach a bed, support a climber and keep the ground protected.

Curved growing beds with climbing arches
Paths and climbing structuresA photographed detail from Benjy’s project collection.

03 · Oliveira do Hospital · natural garden craft

Beds, pathways and fences that belong.

A beautiful landscape needs practical structure. Benjy’s garden work includes handcrafted timber edges, deep growing beds and natural railings that help people move through and care for the place.

A deep growing bed edged with natural timber on a terrace
Room for roots and everyday careA completed bed structure, ready for the next growing phase.

04 · Whole-landscape work · establishment in progress

Connect the garden to the whole place.

Young orchard planting and new beds around an existing pool show different parts of the work as they establish. Planning connects planting, access, water, buildings and the care a place will need over time.

Young trees planted on a sloping orchard site above mature woodland
Planting for the next seasonSmall trees need patient tending, soil cover and time to become part of a resilient landscape.

The photographs show different places and moments in the work. Proposed designs are shown separately below.

A design example · proposed, not yet built

A plan you can see, understand and use.

We turn the possibilities into a clear visual direction, planting relationships and phased actions you can actually use. The detail grows with the scope: from one focused area to a whole-property plan.

Luisa + Sim · Tábua, Oliveira do Hospital

Proposed food-forest gardens beside the levada

A food forest begins with relationships: existing trees, useful water, living soil and the people who will care for it. Here, the direction is a series of productive food-forest gardens, with an acid-loving berry row and a planted edge supplied by the levada.

The levada supply can be turned on and off. The proposed edge trench will be set out on contour after checking levels, soil, drainage and a safe overflow route. Plant choices and preparation for the berry row will follow the site’s actual growing conditions.

The next step is a detailed planting and action plan: what belongs together, where each plant goes, the support species and biomass needed, and a clear sequence from preparation to planting and ongoing care.

Proposed design · not yet built Proposed curved food-forest gardens beside the switchable levada on Luisa and Sim's land near Tábua
A concept helps everyone see the direction before final levels, species and technical details are confirmed.
Sample sheet 01

Read the place

Existing trees, contours, access, levada supply, water movement and the family’s priorities.

Sample sheet 02

Plant with purpose

Food-forest rows, berry area, productive plants, support species, groundcover, spacing and quantities agreed for the site.

Sample sheet 03

Bring it to life

Confirm levels and soil → prepare water and access → establish cover and support planting → plant productive layers → mulch and irrigate.

Sample sheet 04

Care through the seasons

Water checks, establishment care, pruning and biomass, replacements, observation and next-phase decisions.

This is an example of the design package we can develop together. Final species, quantities, dimensions and technical water details are confirmed through the agreed site assessment.

WhatsApp Benjy About Your PlanSee whole-property design details

Workshops · planting days · learning together

Learn it with your hands in the soil

Gather your family, team or community for hands-on learning around your own land: food forests, orchard care, soil, biomass and planting. Workshops can sit alongside a design or implementation project, with Sofia’s movement and wellbeing work woven in where it fits.

Property observationFood forestsOrchard restorationSoil buildingCompost + biomassMediterranean regenerationWater observationPlanting days
Benjy teaching beside a hugelkultur diagram, with a cat in his arms
Benjy sharing a practical lesson on growing with woody biomass.

Ask about a workshop or planting day → · Explore wellbeing with Sofia →

People gathered around newly planted syntropic beds
A photographed community gathering around young planting.

Events + community

Regeneration grows through relationship

Community days, project visits, shared meals, circles and future regenerative experiences can make space to slow down, participate and reconnect.

Join the Awakening Eden communitySee workshops + events

Free learning, at your own pace

Step into the Living Library.

Films, books, guides and inspiring projects to help you understand living systems, find your next question and put ideas into practice.

Explore the Living Library
Explore regenerative projects & learning networks

Regenerative action · people and places to explore

Find your people. Learn. Join in.

We do not need to build everything alone. These independent projects and learning spaces offer ways to discover work already happening, connect with practitioners and turn inspiration into action. Explore their current opportunities directly; being listed here does not imply a formal partnership with Awakening Eden.

On the ground in Portugal

Across Europe

Watch, learn and share

Know a land steward, school, association, municipality or funder ready to act together? Start a conversation with us →

Creating a shared project? Explore partnerships or discover our future village vision.

A bigger vision · still being grown

Could your project become part of a regenerative village future?

For the past six to eight years, we have studied ecovillages and practical ways to bring land, homes, food, water, livelihoods and community into healthier relationship. Our Awakening Eden village is a future vision, not a built place. If you have land, experience, skills or a shared dream that belongs in this conversation, we would love to hear from you.

Explore the village visionMessage us about the village

Your place · your vision · the next living step

Let’s talk about your vision.

Take 2–3 minutes to prepare an email you can review and send from your own email app. Nothing is sent automatically. You do not need perfect measurements or a finished vision. Share what you know now, the goals you have in mind and the support that would help. You can begin online, even if you are still looking for land.

No pressure · no automated sales sequence · Benjy reads each land story personally.

Step 1 of 3 · Your land

Your land

Start with the place itself. Approximate answers are completely fine. Still looking for land? Share the area you have in mind.

Your vision

What are you hoping to create, and what kind of support feels useful?

How should Benjy reach you?

Just enough to reply personally. Your details are not added to a marketing list.

Your details are used only to respond to this enquiry. No automatic newsletter signup.