Our story

In January 2013 in Terras de Mondalva®, Medronhalva® Lda is created as a company dedicated mainly to the cultivation of the strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) as well as other Mediterranean species, with a view to enhance their ecological, economic, social and cultural value.
Gradually and naturally, other synergies have been created around this unique culture. A set of exclusive, high quality services and products are available to be enjoyed by all those who seek us.

Our Misson

Specializing in the production of Arbutus berries and other endogenous resources, Medronhalva® Lda., valuing the interpersonal relations  with all those involved, strives to achieve a rigorous quality of its products and services in order to satisfy the customer’s every expectation.
Fields of activity include organic farming, beekeeping, forestry, recreational fishing, tourism, environmental efficiency and sustainability, energy and biodiversity, strongly based on scientific research & development, innovation, social responsibility and the valorisation of Mediterranean endogenous resources, all set in the unique landscape of the Alva river valley.

The Region

Terras de Mondalva® is located in the the ‘Beiras’ region, in central Portugal, described by the geographer and historian Orlando Ribeiro as “(…) a vast plateau surrounded by mountains”, “(…) a platform whose crests encompass a wide plane, below which the Mondego (river) and its tributaries (Dão, Alva and Ceira) open their furrows”.

The Alva River, which springs in Serra da Estrela (near Vale do Rossim) and flows into the Mondego River (in Foz do Alva, near Porto da Raiva), supports along its 106 km, important natural riverine ecosystems associated with a strong and regular Human presence that, over the millennia has shaped one of the most exuberant valleys in the whole country: the Alva Valley.
At a few kilometers from its mouth, the most downstream section of the Alva follows a sinuous bed, crossing small shaley hills generally covered with pine and alochtonous eucalyptus forest, reflecting the great social, economic and landscape transformation that this whole region suffered in the last decades. Nevertheless, this las segment of the Alva River, as well as some of its main tributaries (streams and creeks), in the municipality of Penacova, still anchor relics of native riverine vegetation in communion with several buildings and hydraulic engineering works built over time to make the most of this watercourse: milling flour, fishing, agriculture and gold exploration.

Our cultures

Having looked carefully at the surrounding environment and the region’s natural resources, Medronhalva‘s main focus is on the strawberry tree, which is its main culture, translated into the concepts of organic farming, environmental sustainability and social responsibility.
The strawberry tree and the arbutus berry are exploited here in total balance with nature, whether by grooming and managing existing natural and spontaneous strawberry tree groves or by orderly planting specimens obtained by growing seeds locally collected at Terras de Mondalva®. In addition to the dominant strawberry tree, Mediterranean olive and grapevine crops are also cultivated.