Francisco Monteiro and David de Brito

What It Means To Be Local

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Madeleine Shaw So many things in our lives are "cycles", Madeleine Shaw ties many of them together

part of a series on Local (lo·cal) | Resident/Native
Mar 27, 2026

70:29

Local is a lifeline. We sat down with a regenerative farmer healing Alentejo’s soil and a third-generation coffee roaster still roasting at the same Lisbon address since 1950.

Francisco Monteiro, third-generation owner of A Flor da Selva, took us inside one of Lisbon’s last surviving artisanal coffee roasters. Since 1950, they’ve been roasting by hand, over wood fire, at the same address in Santos — surviving a revolution, the fall of nearly every small roaster in the city, and even a metro being built beneath their building. David de Brito (alongside Anna de Brito and Thomas Sterchi) shared the story of Terramay, a 560-hectare regenerative farm in Alentejo on a mission to heal the soil, restore biodiversity, and fight desertification — with no chemicals, no GMOs, and a deep respect for the land. Farming, for David, is stewardship: of knowledge, landscape, and the food we’ll eat for generations to come. Terramay recently opened riverside restaurant Raya, so you can now taste their regenerative passion firsthand.

About the speaker

Francisco Faria Monteiro steers A Flor da Selva Lda., a third-generation artisanal family coffee roaster. Its tradition of locally-distributed, wood-roasted coffee beans sourced from all over the world continues to this day in the Madragoa (Santos) neighborhood of Lisbon.

David de Brito is the Co-Founder and General Manager of Terramay, which means “Mother Earth.” His Co-Founders, Anna de Brito and Thomas Sterchi, embraced the ambitious vision of creating a center for regenerative agriculture, sustainable gastronomy and honest food. Terramay is "sustainable with a purpose," producing food with the highest standards, respecting Nature’s elements, promoting soil health, fighting desertification and heightening food awareness. Located on the banks of the Alqueva River with views over rolling hills of Alentejo and the Spanish Extremadura.