In Casa de Meio, a farming community on the island of Santo Antão in Cabo Verde, agroecology has emerged as a collective process to build resilience. In a territory marked by chronic drought, limited access to land and youth migration, new pathways have been opened through a combination of youth organisation, access to land and water, renewable energy and farmer-led experimentation. The experience shows how agroecology can strengthen local food systems, create opportunities for young people, and reconnect production, education and ecological restoration – even in highly vulnerable semi-arid contexts.
In Casa de Meio, in the municipality of Porto Novo, the wind blows almost constantly. The dry soil cracks underfoot, and there are hardly any plants. Yet along a rocky and seemingly barren streambed, vegetable gardens, cultivated plots and emerging agroforestry systems appear. These signs of agricultural life did not grow out of abundance, but from scarcity and from a history shaped by social emergency, recurring droughts and a collective capacity to transform vulnerability into resilience.
The story of Casa de Meio is deeply connected to the climate crisis that has shaped Cabo Verde throughout the 20th century. After independence in 1975, the urgent need to secure minimum incomes for rural populations led to the creation of the High Labour Intensity Public Works programme (FAIMO in its Portuguese acronym). This governmental emergency programme provided temporary employment in public works – such as building dams, roads and terraces – offering essential income to families chronically affected by drought. This mechanism turned into a driver of local agricultural development, and in 1994, the experience that would become Casa de Meio began.
A few kilometres from the city of Porto Novo, there were two groundwater wells, one of them inactive. Twenty-two families from Ribeira das Patas, wanting to escape the harsh living conditions in the island’s mountainous areas, accepted the challenge of settling here and cultivating a vast, windswept, arid plain using this water.
Remaining on the land
The beginning was difficult. The soils were poor and stony, worked by hand with hoes and sheer physical effort. Walls had to be built, paths opened, water infrastructure installed, and perhaps most challenging of all, scarce resources had to be managed collectively, especially water and energy. In the early days, families lived in containers; houses came later. The settlement of Casa de Meio was born from collective effort around a shared goal: to remain on the land.
From the start, agriculture was mainly family-based. Small plots, manual labour and practical agricultural knowledge passed from parents to children. This system ensured household food supply and some surplus for local markets, but remained vulnerable to climate change, water scarcity and the fluctuating prices of agricultural inputs, especially in an island context highly dependent on imports.
Thirty years later, Casa de Meio is a small settlement consisting largely of young families. The intergenerational dimension has become central to the community’s survival. In previous generations, young people had grown up in the fields alongside their parents, absorbing knowledge about traditional practices while confronting the physical demands of agricultural work from an early age. At the same time, uncertainty about the future was increasing. As family plots became fully occupied and access to land and housing became more limited, migration to urban centres, other islands or abroad became a real option.
One key lesson from this period is clear: without access to land, water and decent farming conditions, rural youth will leave farming, regardless of their cultural ties to agriculture.
Growing a collective youth force
It was in this context that collaboration between the community, the local municipality and civil society organisations opened new possibilities. In 2012, under the name Cultivá Bô Tchôn (‘Cultivate Your Land’), an agricultural and environmental experimentation and demonstration centre was established, with the support of the Portuguese Association for the Heritage Defence of Mértola. It introduced new knowledge and skills to community members, especially youth: on renewable energy for water pumping, agroecological practices focused on soil conservation, and strategies for climate adaptation.
For the first time, young people organised themselves as a collective force
Beyond offering a set of tools and techniques, this centre became a space for practical learning and experimentation. Not everything worked from the start. Some crops failed due to poor adaptation to local soil and climate conditions, and collective management of equipment required time, dialogue and conflict resolution. Still, the process was crucial in helping young farmers recognise agroecology as a real opportunity for the future in their territory.
Out of this process emerged the group that is now known as the Association of Young Farmers of Casa de Meio (AJACM). For the first time, young people organised themselves as a collective force, able to formulate proposals, negotiate support and manage shared resources.
In 2017, the Young Farmers of Casa de Meio proposed an initiative through which 47 young people were enabled to access land as well as agricultural infrastructure, including water supply systems, solar-powered pumps and a food processing centre. The aim was clear: to create concrete conditions for self-employment in agriculture and to make the sector more attractive to younger generations, strengthening the link between production, processing and markets.
A living laboratory
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 exposed deep vulnerabilities in Cabo Verde’s food systems. Restrictions on movement and rising prices of imported food hit the most externally dependent territories particularly hard. In Santo Antão, and especially in Casa de Meio, the diversity of agricultural production and the proximity between production and consumption proved decisive. Food autonomy shifted from an abstract concept to a lived condition of resilience.
From 2021 onwards, Casa de Meio increasingly became a living laboratory for agroecological transition. Projects developed in partnership with local and international organisations helped consolidate practices adapted to semi-arid conditions, strengthening the links between agricultural production, ecological conservation and climate resilience.
Knowledge exchange through initiatives and projects such as ‘Agroecological Solutions for Resilient Agriculture in West Africa’ (CIRAWA) encouraged young farmers to invest in organic compost production, biofertilisers and pelleted animal feed; to diversify crops suited to local conditions; and to develop agroforestry systems. These practices are shared with neighbouring farmers, and AJACM provides technical support, seedlings from community nurseries and machinery for field management.
More recently, windbreaks have been planted around the community perimeter to reduce evaporation, increase biodiversity and improve organic matter and fodder production. A new community space for post-harvest handling and storage of vegetables has also been established, further strengthening the integration between production, processing and the sustainable management of shared resources.
Open-air classrooms
But agroecology in Casa de Meio goes beyond farming. The educational dimension has become an integral part of the youth association’s daily work. Schools regularly visit the fields and nurseries, turning productive spaces into open-air classrooms. For many children, these activities represent their first conscious experience of caring for the land as a shared good. As part of efforts to conserve endemic flora, native species are grown locally and planted together with school communities, restoring biodiversity and building a tangible connection between ecological conservation and agricultural systems.
For many children, these activities represent their first conscious experience of caring for the land
Learning also extends to the farmers themselves. Training sessions in agroforestry systems, rural economy, biopesticide production and the construction of greenhouses using reused materials happen in the form of regular gatherings of farmers from across the island. Mistakes, successes and doubts are shared. Young people test new ideas. Trust is built. Learning happens collectively.
Between children learning to plant and farmers continuously learning to observe, experiment and cooperate, Casa de Meio is weaving knowledge rooted in the territory: knowledge that connects people, soil and community, and sustains hope for a shared future.
Today, farmers in Casa de Meio recognise that many challenges remain: water scarcity, climate change, dependence on external inputs, labour shortages and markets that undervalue local production. Yet there is a shared vision for the future. Continuous training, the combination of traditional and scientific knowledge, and the strengthening of local organisations are seen as key pathways forward.
In Casa de Meio, agroecology is no longer just a set of techniques. It has become a living pedagogy and a collective process of building resilience, in which young people take the lead. In a territory marked by climate uncertainty, one conviction stands out: caring for the land today is the best guarantee for tomorrow.
Authors: Amilton Ary Lopes (34) is from the island of Santo Antão. He is a biologist and regional agroecology technician at the Association for the Defence of the Heritage of Mértola (ADPM), Cabo Verde delegation. David Monteiro Fonseca (40) is from the community of Casa de Meio. He is an agronomist and a farmer, and currently serves as president of the AJACM (Association of Young Farmers of Casa de Meio). Miguel Carvalho Ribeiro (32) is a biologist and an agroecology consultant on regenerative agriculture, sustainable forest management and ecosystem restoration. Contact: adpmcirawa@gmail.com
This article is part of Issue 4-2026: Youth leading the way in agroecology.
