Agroforestry as a tool to restore Puglia’s degraded landscapes
What happens when one realizes that justice must be served not only for people, but also for nature itself? The answer is REGEN: an ambitious association on a mission to regenerate land and return to nature the space humans have claimed for themselves.
Rooted in Southern Italy’s Puglia region, an area dominated by vast olive groves and vineyards, REGEN’s diverse agroforestry systems stand out as outliers, challenging a landscape shaped by large-scale, conventional farming. As a result of these intensive practices, little to no space has been left for biodiversity or wildlife, and many parts of the region have been pushed to the brink of ecological degradation.
From land degradation to land resilience
While officially founded in 2019, REGEN has been active in the field since 2017 and its work is now led by Giuseppe Sannicandro, a permaculturist from Puglia whose passion for ethics and ecology inspired a bold shift in life. Moving away from a human-centric worldview, Giuseppe embraced a deep ecology perspective, one that places all living beings, not just humans, as equally important in the web of life. After becoming a permaculture practitioner, he began supporting others in achieving their restoration goals and teaching in permaculture courses. Eventually, his path led him to create REGEN, right in his home region. With a deep belief in humanity’s power to heal ecosystems, REGEN is transforming degraded farmland into vibrant, biodiverse habitats. Its actions are inspired by the vision of a planet where ecological balance is restored and humans come back to their role as inhabitants of nature, not its owners.
In a region dominated by monoculture, and despite the scepticism from nearby traditionally managed farms, REGEN stands as a living example of what is possible when biodiversity takes centre stage.
Giuseppe Sannicandro in one of REGEN’s agroforestry systems in Bitonto, Italy, July 2025
Embracing ecological succession: diversity, resilience and thoughtful design
Today, REGEN manages around 6 hectares of previously degraded farmland in the Puglia countryside. Once dominated by a monoculture of almond trees and marked by unhealthy, degraded soil, the land has slowly been brought back to life and productivity. Following agroecological principles, particularly the syntropic farming principles developed by Ernst Götsch, the team began transforming the site into a living agroforestry ecosystem, plant by plant. Every tree, bush, and plant has been carefully introduced to mimic natural ecological succession. The result? A multi-layered, biodiverse landscape with over 150 plant species, including fruit trees like almond, peach, fig, apricot, and mulberry, as well as medicinal plants, greens, and shrubs.
But the journey hasn’t been easy. In 2023, disaster struck: a devastating wildfire wiped out 85% of the 7,000 plants already in the ground. Undeterred, the team came back stronger. By 2025, thanks to their hard work and support from reforestation and land regeneration initiatives like Treedom, 3Bee and 17 tons, the project had rebounded with over 15,000 plants in the soil.
Agroforestry system in REGEN’s land in Bitonto, Italy, July 2025
Through consistent pruning, organic matter input, and smart irrigation, the team is creating lush, productive landscapes where biodiversity thrives and regenerative production enables the long-term goal of financial self-sufficiency.
After a few years of managing the land with a regenerative mindset, the differences are already visible: organic matter has returned to the topsoil, and trees and plants are now growing strong and healthy!
REGEN’s three pillars: Agroforestry, Education, and Project Design
To move toward its vision, and with the guidance of the Fais-le Toi-même organization, REGEN has clearly defined three core pillars that sustain the association: Agroforestry, Education, and Project Design & Consultancy.
1. Agroforestry pillar: restoring ecosystems and growing resilience
At the heart of REGEN’s work is the regeneration of degraded land through agroforestry, an approach that integrates trees, crops, and soil-building techniques to mimic natural ecosystems. The long-term mission is to scale the work up to 30 hectares in Puglia, and replicate it in other regions.
2. Education pillar: sharing knowledge and inspiring action
REGEN is not only focused on restoring land, it is equally dedicated to sharing knowledge and practices. From Permaculture Design Courses (PDCs) to workshops on bioconstruction, mycology, and water management, the project is training a new generation of land stewards.
The project also runs a volunteer program and welcomes participants via initiatives like the European Solidarity Corps, Erasmus+ for Young Entrepreneurs, and the Ecosystem Restoration Communities volunteer programme.
Volunteers helping with planting efforts on REGEN’s land
Volunteers live and work on-site, enriching the space with a mix of languages, cultures, and shared purpose. They gain hands-on experience in a living regeneration project, engaging in activities that shift with the seasons, from planting and pruning to composting and harvesting, all contributing to the revival of the land. So far, over 3,000 students have taken part in REGEN courses, and more than 50 volunteers have contributed to the land’s regeneration! And there is more to come: REGEN is developing a dynamic internship programme that integrates fieldwork, regenerative design, strategic communication, and business planning, a powerful blend designed to equip the regenerators of tomorrow with a well-rounded skillset.
3. Project Design & Consultancy pillar: spreading regeneration
REGEN’s impact stretches far beyond Italy. The team has designed and implemented over 150 projects across Europe, Africa, and Brazil, from small private properties to large-scale operations. Through its consultancy and design services, REGEN helps others design agroecological systems, plan agroforestry layouts, choose species and manage water and soil fertility.
Participants attending a course held at REGEN
A vision for a collective regenerative future
REGEN is not working in isolation but collaborates with similar initiatives in the Mediterranean, such as The Southern Lights in Greece and Regenerative Farming Greece. In 2023, REGEN also joined Ecosystem Restoration Communities, connecting with land restorers from around the world who are united by a shared vision: a future built on action, continuous learning, and collective movement-building.
According to Giuseppe, regeneration is the way forward, a path that ensures justice for all living beings sharing this planet. REGEN envisions a world where those practicing regenerative farming and ecological restoration are recognized as essential stewards of the land. Their work extends far beyond food production; they are caretakers of carbon cycles, biodiversity, and healthy soils. For this, they deserve not only recognition but also fair compensation for the ecosystem services they provide and the ecological resilience they help to build.
The association sees regenerative projects as living oases and centers of knowledge for sustainable land management. In an era of deep ecological uncertainty, this knowledge is becoming ever more vital to share. That is why REGEN is investing not only in landscapes but also in people: through education, collaboration and thoughtful design, REGEN is planting the seeds of a collective, regenerative future.
Learn more about restoration taking place at ERC Regen
Volunteer blogger Beatrice Zampieri is a nature conservationist from Italy, keen to inspire others by writing about and sharing positive environmental initiatives.