When we purchased Quinta Picapau, dense vegetation covered much of the farm. As we reclaimed access and flailed overgrown areas, hidden watercourses gradually revealed themselves. Rainfall was being carried rapidly through the property and into the stream below. One of our most valuable resources was leaving almost as quickly as it arrived.
We restored old silted water tanks and installed new distribution infrastructure. At the highest point of the property, runoff from an adjoining road had cut a channel down the hillside. Instead of allowing this to continue unchecked, we constructed a swale across the upper area. Water that had previously accelerated downhill could now be intercepted, slowed and spread, increasing the opportunity for infiltration.
“Slow it. Spread it. Sink it. Store it. The soil itself can become one of our greatest reservoirs. This is why we describe water as our primary crop.”