Storm Kristin in Portugal

Passeite's winter 25/26 has been messy already. Right after harvest in North we already had some floodings of out lands due to bad river cleaning management in front of our farm. But besides saving some sheep out of the river we had things decently covered.

We actually started clearing a piece of land with invasive species to do a replantation of olive trees which were there in the first place. But it kept raining and raining so we could not enter the waterlogged lands.

On the 27th of January some of our friends are getting anxious, a larger storm is coming from the Atlantic and she had a name Kristin. We even got a sms with red weather warning. Now, we are used to quite some things over here so we weren't that afraid but just to be cautious we took some measurements like moving cars and tractors to clear areas in case trees would fall and loose bits and pieces were tidied up.

Since we were already half flooding we took the sheep to higher ground, which is our big barn at the back. The barn been there for 30 years, is secured with steel storm cables and seemed the best place. We fenced them up, gave them dry feet and went to bed. Around 4 am I am awake as it's feeling off and between 5 and 6 am the storm hit us hard. Around 6.30 I am worried for the dogs as they not in their usual safe space. I take the flashlight and go to the back barn, the walk already shocking, compost toilet on the ground, olive trees blown away and when I arrive at the back barn the sight was devastating. Everything gone in just one hour. But I panic over the animals as they are under the debris. Miraculously all alive. Could still not found the dogs, Galega refuged in the brick tool-shed within the barn which was blocked by wooden beams and Picual disappeared so I feared for him the most. But just as daylight entered the village he showed up from the other side of the village, unharmed and wet. He never gets wet, he hates water, so he has a story to tell...

After bringing the kids to friends and family our main job was to free the sheep as we were afraid the structure would collapse more. Me, my mum and Gui started and I asked for help from our former intern/friend Andre and he immediately came. We spend three days just on dismounting the shed while rain and floods continued. Then we needed to focus on the trees hanging over electrical lines or sheds and houses and keeping the rivers flowing so our olive orchard would not stay wet. But those attempts failed with next storm Leonardo right over Kristin.

In a week we lost 10 years of work and dedication. Something hard to get back from.

You can't replace nature. But she is resilient and we will try within our power to continue, not for us, but for future generations. Because If we give up, the heritage and landscape will change for good.

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