Hello, I am Victor Pires
I can still see and feel the first time that I've encountered a Syntropic agroforest organism, I couldn't understand it, but I new I wanted to be a part of it.
All of a sudden, the world made sense to me,
It's a world worth living in!
My Journey into Syntropic Agroforestry
Hello, I am Victor Pires
I can still see and feel the first time that I've encountered a Syntropic agroforest organism, I couldn't understand it, but I new I wanted to be a part of it.
All of a sudden, the world made sense to me,
It's a world worth living in!
A bit of my story
A bit of my story
A bachelor of environmental science brought me general concepts but nothing tangible. A Master's in environmental planning allowed me to see that the environment is not really part of the decision-making process. And finally, a PhD in urban agriculture put the nail in the coffin -
"humanity has no idea about how to take natural systems into proper consideration, despite our imminent dependence on it!!"
A bachelor of environmental science brought me general concepts but nothing tangible. A Master's in environmental planning allowed me to see that the environment is not really part of the decision-making process. And finally, a PhD in urban agriculture put the nail in the coffin -
"humanity has no idea about how to take natural systems into proper consideration, despite our imminent dependence on it!!"
It sounded amazingly, awesomely, incredibly real but not quite tangible for my context. After all, I had no land to dig swales, no bamboo to build compost toilets and no skills to do wonders with the falling rain…
It sounded amazingly, awesomely, incredibly real but not quite tangible for my context. After all, I had no land to dig swales, no bamboo to build compost toilets and no skills to do wonders with the falling rain…
In 2016, out of nowhere, while managing a hydroponic farm, I came across Syntropy, soon after the release of the Life in Syntropy documentary. Although I had come across the work of Ernst Gotsch in 2005 when I was doing many Permaculture courses in my sabbatical year back in Brazil, I was not ready for it then, but now, I certainly was.
In 2016, out of nowhere, while managing a hydroponic farm, I came across Syntropy, soon after the release of the Life in Syntropy documentary. Although I had come across the work of Ernst Gotsch in 2005 when I was doing many Permaculture courses in my sabbatical year back in Brazil, I was not ready for it then, but now, I certainly was.
I soon got on the plane back home (3 times in one year in fact, oops!!) and made sure I've visited as many established syntropic farms as possible and learnt from the very best, these included - Ernst Gotsch, Patricia Vaz, Henrique Souza, Jua Pereira, Romulo Araujo, Namaste Messerschmitt, Fabiana Penereiro and many others.
I soon got on the plane back home (3 times in one year in fact, oops!!) and made sure I've visited as many established syntropic farms as possible and learnt from the very best, these included - Ernst Gotsch, Patricia Vaz, Henrique Souza, Jua Pereira, Romulo Araujo, Namaste Messerschmitt, Fabiana Penereiro and many others.
Such
inspiration culminated with a collaboration with Scott Hall, where we started
the first Syntropic Farm in Australia, called Gabbalah Farm, in Chillingham,
NSW.
Also, in another collaborative venture, this time with Tiago Barbosa, we brought
Syntropic Farming to Australia officially, when we ran 3 in depth courses at
St. Helena, on the hinterland of Byron Bay, NSW, ministered by Patricia Vaz and
Namaste Messerschmitt - to this date that was the best syntropic course I've ever been in!!!
Such
inspiration culminated with a collaboration with Scott Hall, where we started
the first Syntropic Farm in Australia, called Gabbalah Farm, in Chillingham,
NSW.
Also, in another collaborative venture, this time with Tiago Barbosa, we brought
Syntropic Farming to Australia officially, when we ran 3 in depth courses at
St. Helena, on the hinterland of Byron Bay, NSW, ministered by Patricia Vaz and
Namaste Messerschmitt - to this date that was the best syntropic course I've ever been in!!!
This mission has culminated in another fruitful collaboration, where my partner and I were welcomed onto a friend’s piece of land in Uki, NSW.
There, for 5 years we worked tirelessly to not only regenerate a severely degraded land, but also provide food for our subsistence and harvest much knowledge of the intricacies of playing with plants and other creatures.
This mission has culminated in another fruitful collaboration, where my partner and I were welcomed onto a friend’s piece of land in Uki, NSW.
There, for 5 years we worked tirelessly to not only regenerate a severely degraded land, but also provide food for our subsistence and harvest much knowledge of the intricacies of playing with plants and other creatures.
After years of practice, research and education, not only nature's open secret became clearer and more tangible, but I also had learnt a lot about myself, who I am, and what I am here to do!!!
With that, a new opportunity emerged. An opportunity that was there all along, but I've lacked courage, experience and understanding to take it on.
I am now ready, and I (together with my partner) have moved to Brazil, into a piece of land that my parents have owned for 25 years...
We are now writing a new story.
A story of love for the self and the land.
Where work is meaningful and life mysteries are revealed.
One day at the time...
After years of practice, research and education, not only nature's open secret became clearer and more tangible, but I also had learnt a lot about myself, who I am, and what I am here to do!!!
With that, a new opportunity emerged. An opportunity that was there all along, but I've lacked courage, experience and understanding to take it on.
I am now ready, and I (together with my partner) have moved to Brazil, into a piece of land that my parents have owned for 25 years...
We are now writing a new story.
A story of love for the self and the land.
Where work is meaningful and life mysteries are revealed.
One day at the time...
The Masterclass is how I give back
It is a living organism that has never existed before, a new creation - a Human-Nature offspring!!
Through the masterclass, I help other humans to engage deeply within themselves, their land and their climate, to give birth a healthy and prosperous agroforest organism.
The Syntropic Masterclass
is how I give back
Syntropic Agroforestry is an art, its a marriage between a human being, a piece of land and the cosmos (climate).
It is a living organism that has never existed before, a new creation - a Human-Nature offspring!!
Through the masterclass, I help other humans to engage deeply within themselves, their land and their climate, to give birth a healthy and prosperous agroforest organism.
Qualifications and Professional Experience
Formal Training
PhD in Urban Agriculture
Griffith University, Australia
Masters in Environmental Planning
Macquarie University, Australia
Bachelor of Environmental Science
Griffith University, Australia
Cert. III in Production Horticulture
TAFE, Australia
Greenhouse Technical Management
Tafe, Australia
Water Cycle Restoration
Water Stories, USA
Market Gardening
Market Garden Institute, Canada
Cert. III in Natural Areas Restoration
Tafe, Australia
Cert III in Arboriculture - climbing
Australian Institute of Arboriculture
Land Management and Design
Regrarians, Australia
Agroforestry Financial Planning
DNA Agroflorestal, Brazil
Cert. in Holistic Management
Tafe, Australia
Permaculture Design Course
Permaculture
International, Brazil
Post Grad in Biodynamic Silvopasture
Elo Institute, Brazil
Professional experiences
Pioneered Syntropic Farming in Australia
Syntropic educator since 2020
Pioneered Syntropic Online Training
Co-Founder of Gabalah Farm, the first Syntropic Farm in Australia
Founder of Livingness, our ever-expending Agroforestry lab, home, classroom
Chemical-free bush regeneration and landscaping
Manager of production and R&D at Pocket Herbs Hydroponics
Qualifications and Professional Experience
Formal Training
PhD in Urban Agriculture
Griffith University, Australia
Masters in Environmental Planning
Macquarie University, Australia
Bachelor of Environmental Science
Griffith University, Australia
Cert. III in Production Horticulture
TAFE, Australia
Greenhouse Technical Management
Tafe, Australia
Water Cycle Restoration
Water Stories, USA
Cert. III in Natural Areas Restoration
Tafe, Australia
Cert III in Arboriculture - climbing
Australian Institute of Arboriculture
Land Management and Design
Regrarians, Australia
Cert. in Holistic Management
Tafe, Australia
Permaculture Design Course
Permaculture
International, Brazil
Post Grad. in Biodynamic Silvopasture
Elo Institute, Brazil
Market Gardening
Market Garden Institute, Canada
Agroforestry Financial PlanningDNA Agroflorestal, Brazil
Professional experiences