Project Eden
Mediterranean Food Forest & Permaculture Research Station in the making: Sa Medada, Jerzu, Sardinia
Plant a SeedA Living Laboratory
in Ancient Sardinia
Project Eden is the flagship programme of the Terra Humana Foundation: an integrated and permanent initiative for renaturation, social agriculture, education, research, culture, and human regeneration. All activities are carried out without profit motive, exclusively in the interest of the community and the common good.
Its goal is to promote harmony between humans, nature, and technology, and to create sustainable, community-oriented models that serve the physical, mental, and spiritual well-being of people and the environment.
At its heart, Project Eden is a living demonstration that humans and nature can co-exist and co-create: that restoring the land and restoring humanity are one and the same act.
Key Facts
- LocationLocalità Sa Medada, Jerzu (NU), Ogliastra, Sardinia, Italy
- StatusActive: Phase 1
- Elevation247–341 m above sea level
- ClimateMediterranean, nearly frost-free south-facing slope
- StartJanuary 2025
- ApproachHolistic Permaculture + Syntropic Agroforestry
Sa Medada: a South-Facing
Hillside in the Ogliastra
The land rises from 247 to 341 metres on a sun-drenched, south-facing slope near Jerzu: sheltered from the wind, nearly frost-free, and flanked by two seasonal watercourses. Dozens of olive trees, some of them centuries old, shape the terraced hillside.
This rare microclimate is already being used to trial banana, mango, avocado, cherimoya, papaya, and moringa alongside citrus and ancient olives: the beginnings of a Mediterranean food forest on the existing terraces; swales to hold rainwater in the slope are planned.
A forest full of fruit,
in belts across the land
This is our goal for Sa Medada: a dense, many-layered food forest spreading in belts across the whole slope. Mango, avocado, cherimoya and guava form the canopy, with citrus, papaya and bananas below, passion fruit and moringa in between, and the old olive trees in their midst.
Many of these species are already growing on Sa Medada as trials. The slider shows where the journey leads.
The vision is an AI rendering based on real images of Sa Medada. It is neither a photograph nor a planting plan.
We understand the land
before we plant it
Together with Pearl River Eco Design we survey Sa Medada down to the metre. From LiDAR laser data, drone and satellite imagery, we build precise 3D terrain models and AI-assisted analyses: the solid foundation of any good permaculture plan.
Permaculture and syntropic agroforestry follow one simple rule: design with the land, not against it. Where does water flow? Where does moisture gather, where does erosion threaten? How does the sun travel across the slope? These maps answer exactly those questions: turning intuition into a reliable basis for swales, terraces, paths, and the placement of every single plant layer.
Water & Earthworks
Wetness and altitude maps reveal where swales and keyline systems can hold rainwater in the slope instead of letting it run off.
Sun & Microclimate
Solar aspect maps expose the warmest, most sheltered pockets, ideal for frost-sensitive tropical species.
Slope & Access
Slope and ruggedness data determine paths, terraces, and where the land can actually be worked and planted.
Planting Plan
The CAD design translates the entire analysis into concrete planting rows that follow the contour lines.
Our planning maps for Sa Medada
Terrain analysis, 3D cartography & water simulation: Pearl River Eco Design
The slope
in three dimensions
From official laser data (LiDAR, one-metre grid) we have rebuilt Sa Medada as a model you can explore. Turn the slope, switch the maps, let the sun move and make it rain. Every view says what is measured, what is calculated and what is drawn.
The whole slope, from every side.
The model only loads after you click (about 6 MB).
The valley in 1977
The official aerial photo of 1977/78, laid onto the official terrain model. A look back at the slope, two generations before Project Eden began.
The land today
The site view by Pearl River Eco Design, placed on the laser terrain model. The project land rises from 247 to 341 metres. The house stands at about 289 metres and opens with its terraces to the south. House and roads are drawn from the plan.
The sun through the year
The position of the sun for every day and every hour, calculated with the real mountain horizon around the slope. This shows which terraces still get light in winter and where the mountains cast shadow early.
The path of the water
A rain shower, simulated on the terrain model. The water gathers in the streams on both sides. What falls on the access road stays on the road and runs down to the valley road; this is how heavy rain kept washing the road out. The model shows where the water must be slowed down and held in the slope.
Sources
- LiDAR terrain model 1 m: Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Sicurezza Energetica, Piano Straordinario di Telerilevamento (PST-A 2008/2010), via Regione Autonoma della Sardegna; adapted, CC BY 4.0
- Mountain horizon from the 10 m terrain model of Regione Autonoma della Sardegna; adapted, CC BY 4.0
- Aerial photos 1977/78 and 2004: Regione Autonoma della Sardegna; adapted, CC BY 4.0
- Site view and analysis maps: © Pearl River Eco Design, used with permission
- Vegetation and tree crowns 2008: derived from the surface model of Regione Autonoma della Sardegna, CC BY-SA 3.0 IT; the derived vegetation layer is shared under the same licence
- Sun and water: our own model calculation. House and roads drawn from the plan, building height assumed.
Eight Dimensions of Renewal
Project Eden is being developed across eight interconnected activity areas: each one a thread in the larger tapestry of ecological and human restoration.
Permaculture & Soil Regeneration
Agroforestry systems, reforestation, biodiversity protection, and the regeneration of degraded soils, restoring the land layer by layer.
Tropical Plant Research
Cultivating and studying tropical and subtropical species adaptable to the Mediterranean climate, with a focus on medicinal and edible plants.
Permaculture Academy
Ecological education, training, and research, including a planned Permaculture Academy with Permaculture Diploma programmes.
Scientific Research
Applied research in water purification and reuse, renewable energies, natural building materials, and sustainable construction systems.
Media & Documentation
A media centre producing podcasts, films, documentaries, and educational materials on ecological and human regeneration.
Meeting & Dialogue Spaces
A conference and assembly hall for the foundation: places for encounter, seminars, shared learning, and collective vision.
Solidarity Hospitality
Non-profit accommodation for volunteers, researchers, and visitors engaged in educational, therapeutic, artistic, or cooperative programmes.
Culture, Art & Science
Cultural, artistic, and scientific events on health, renaturation, education, and the evolution of human consciousness.
From the Land
Plant a Seed in Sardinia
Your donation is earmarked for Project Eden: for the land, the seeds and the people tending them. Around 15 % covers, transparently disclosed, the Foundation’s administration and structure.
The forest is just beginning, be among the founding donors who lay the first stone.
Examples of what your donation enables
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Donations are restricted to Project Eden and received by Fondazione Terra Humana ETS (incl. a 15% administration share, D.M. 9 June 2022 · Art. 13 CTS). When a funding goal is reached, the bar automatically advances to the next stage.
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Find Us
Località Sa Medada, SNC, 08044 Jerzu (NU), Sardinia, Italy