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Dario Cortese

Applying the principles of agroecology to resilient, small-scale farming

As a farmer, consultant and educator, I partner with commercial farms, communities, and self-sufficiency projects to design, implement, and teach resilient market gardening and successional agroforestry across Italy, the UK and beyond.

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Areas of Practice

Translating ecological observation into practical action.

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Advisory & Project Support

Education & Field Training

Conversations & Outreach

Partnering with commercial farms, private estates, and community projects to design and implement resilient no-dig market gardens and successional agroforestry systems.

Practical, hands-on courses covering soil microbiology, homemade inoculants, and the biological realities of managing a regenerative system from the ground up.

Host of the Pionieri podcast. Open, unsponsored conversations with the practitioners and pioneers shaping the future of our localized food systems.

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My Farms

The true test of any regenerative system is its resilience and yield over time.

In 2023, I co-founded OrtoForesta in Florence—a regenerative agroforestry market garden integrating successional tree planting with high-yield vegetable production.

Prior to this, in 2019, I established Living Soil Garden, a biointensive no-dig market garden in the UK.

These spaces have served as my living laboratories.

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Collaborations & Projects

Beyond my own living laboratories, I partner with commercial farms, private estates, and community projects to adapt these regenerative principles to their specific scale and context.

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