Milan's journey, cultivating life in the Mediterranean.

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This week I’m highlighting Milan and his journey into syntropic farming, along with a recipe from our wild orange harvest — orange and poppy seed cake 🍊

I thought it would be fun to start sharing other people’s stories too. There are so many amazing folks out there quietly changing the world from their own backyards, and I’d love to give them a spotlight.

Hope you enjoy today’s post — and as always, feel free to email back if you’d like to have a chat.

— Jax

Milan’s journey, cultivating life in the Mediterranean

4 years ago still in the midst of Covid craziness, I began to think for myself of an approach to resilience in case of such emergencies, somehow started thinking a bit more like a prepper - funny thing to think about when I had 0 understanding of growing food or much practical skills at all. I wouldn't even be able to tell you that tomatoes grew over the Summer.

Something rather cringe to think of myself but cringing is usually a good sign of growth, of how far you've come.

Anyways, going through my Permaculture journey with a month long PDC really got me enthused in self-sufficiency. Later down the line, after a year or plus learning and making all the mistakes, I'd realized that it didn't work the way I wanted it to work, especially in the depleted soils of Andalucia. I simply wasn't satisfied with the messiness and chaos permaculture generally brought to the table when it came to plantations and the amount of inputs - very scarce in my area, as biomass is scarce.

By then I just knew I had to find another method and t sure had to be a regenerative way of doing it- don't want to make the soil even worse than it already was, my interest was in a resilient and systematic approach.

And it came to me watching a short Youtube documentary "Life in syntropy" - a real headstart into most people's journey into syntropic ag.

From there on I grew quite obsessed, literally for this approach and sought online and dove really deep into it. Obviously at some point, the theory and difficult to apply in the Mediterranean when most of the content I was watching was from Australia and Brazil. A couple months down the line I ended up doing an in person course with Felipe Amato, later hiring him for consultancy and learned and still learning about the plants and techniques used in such an unforeseeable climate the Mediterranean is.

That tells you a bit more about my story, but what I really want to talk about in this newsletter is the cultivation of life through this approach. Producing food and regenerating dryland isn't just a practical goal or a solution to climate change - really its about reconnecting with the land we're so distant from - I was so distant from even though I've always lived in the countryside - it's about letting Life explore its full potential. Because we can see how effectively producing the most amount of "food" possible is ending at right now, not only do we get poisoned by big ag but we destroy our way towards true abundance. When we reconnect and learn to respect the land that gives you , we can get to a whole new paradigm understanding that food for us, for our animals needs to be tied in with producing food for the soil that gives.

What I really want to explore in this newsletter is the cultivation of life through the lens of syntropic agriculture. I'll list up the fundamental principles quickly for you if you haven't heard of it.

*Maximising photosynthesis with plants of different light requirements, the goal is to create a dense, diverse stratified hedge with our crops in it.

*Disturbance, by pruning hard we invigorate the whole of the system and we cycle biomass that will improve soil fertility and moisture retention.

*Succession, by understanding how we're moving in succession we can move towards more demanding crops and support species.

Producing food and regenerating dryland isn't just a practical goal or a solution to climate change. Too often, regenerative practices are viewed through a narrow lens — focused on fixing specific problems. But truly, this is a holistic approach. It's not about listing benefits; it's about seeing the big picture.

Ultimately, it’s about reconnecting with the land—a connection so many of us have lost. Even though I’ve always lived in the countryside, I was still distant from the land. This journey is about letting Life fully express its potential. And I definitely don't want to sound too up in the air when saying

that; production of food is our main goal still, but there's something deep about producing food in such a way, wherein we know we've bettered the land through the production.

We can see where the pursuit of maximum food production has led us. Not only are we poisoned by big ag, but we also undermine the path to true abundance. When we learn to respect and reconnect with the land that gives to us, we begin to understand that food is intrinsically linked to feeding the soil as well.

Syntropic agriculture teaches us just that. It shows us how to create fertility by mimicking natural processes.

Syntropic agriculture shows us how we can generate life and abundance at every level, moving from scarcity to resilience. It reveals how true sustainability is achieved by cycling biomass and producing our own inputs, rather than relying on external resources. By embracing these natural processes, we can build resilience and create a thriving system.

And how fascinating is it that life came to be through sunlight, moisture, air, and soil? I don’t believe that’s a coincidence — it speaks of a clearly intelligent, self-regulating, and autonomous universe. The real question becomes: where can we go if we choose to follow nature’s path, rather than carving out a new path with greed and arrogance.

As human beings, we’ve become so adaptable that we’ve learned to survive in ways that don’t truly serve us. And our well-being suffers because of it. The food industry is the prime example of that.

This is the invitation : let's welcome a different relationship with the land, one rooted in reciprocity and resilience. Syntropic agriculture isn’t just a method—it's a shift in paradigm. It teaches us patience, humility, to observe, and to co-create with the intelligence of nature rather than impose our whims on it.

As we relearn how to live in harmony with the systems that sustain life, we open the door to true regeneration—not just of ecosystems, but of ourselves. The path forward is about trust, humility, and participation in something much greater than us.

Poppy seed and Wild orange cake

🌿 From the Wild Orange trees: Orange & Poppy Seed Dream Cake 🌿
A zesty, fluffy bake that’s become a quiet favourite around here—bright citrus, a gentle crunch from poppy seeds, and a creamy, tangy frosting to top it off. Perfect with a cuppa under the trees or shared around after a long day's work in the garden.

Check out our video on instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKofxcZz86k/