Make It Happen Farm, on the island of São Jorge, is an accommodation space and organic farm where guests are invited to live in communion with nature.

An incessant buzz runs through every little corner of the Quinta. It could be the guests’ voices who choose Urzelina, in São Jorge, for a quiet vacation in one of its many languages, originating in many different parts of the world. However, this serene murmur is in another language, more universal but forgotten by many.
Since 2015, Miguel Sequeira has been extending this invitation to his guests at Make it Happen, an organic farm and lodge where all species are treated with the same respect and attention.
Miguel Sequeira has been perfecting his plant language since he was very young, when he would sneak into the kitchen to see what his mother had left there and choose what he could plant next. “Garlic cloves, beans, anything my mother left in the kitchen. I wanted to plant everything to watch it grow,” she recalls.
His childhood love was joined by a more mature passion for getting to know the world and traveling. Once the idea was planted, the accommodation units were born, and the organic farm grew, which, says Miguel Sequeira, is now ten times bigger than when he started.

The size translates into variety, ranging from the familiar tangerines, which are seasonal fruits, to others that, although they make their way into Azorean hypermarkets, often come from elsewhere, such as pomegranates, mangoes, and goji berries. They grow right on Azorean soil, and so many others accompany them that Miguel Sequeira has trouble naming them all.

Although there is demand, reaching large retailers is not part of the company’s plans. What is harvested is mostly consumed by the guests, and the salads are the ones that make the longest journey, albeit a short one, to restaurants and small markets, all on the island.

“We already have to import so much. It wouldn’t make sense to waste fuel and export what we need ourselves,” he argues.
Miguel Sequeira argues that the way forward should be to seek food autonomy to value the consumption of local products and tries to dispel some myths: “People still think that fruit always has to be beautiful. Sometimes, it even has wax on it to make it shine and look more appealing. None of that happens with organic production.”
The company’s mission goes beyond the services it provides. “Nowadays, people live in big cities, in conurbations and often only know simple things like spices in little packets,” says Miguel Sequeira, who is committed to changing this scenario. One of his helpers in this quest is Fiona, one of the farm’s friendliest tenants. “Many people confess that they’ve never seen a donkey in their lives, only in cartoons,” he says, amused.

Miguel Sequeira says the secret to harvesting so much and getting all these species to live harmoniously lies in respecting the land.

“Our land is very fertile because we know how to manage it. We rotate our crops, we have our own compost, we have a rainwater reserve that we harvest in the winter to use in the summer,” he says, adding that the accommodation also follows strict rules, particularly about the choice of cleaning products and energy consumption, criteria that have earned them the Green Key, an internationally recognized environmental award.

Miguel Sequeira recognizes one thing in common among the various nationalities who stay at the Quinta: the growing concern for sustainability issues. “We can’t underestimate the knowledge they bring. When they come to the Azores, they are looking for truth,” he says. He is concerned about proposals such as a return to glyphosate, which he describes as a step backward. “Our great image as a tourist destination is that we know how to preserve nature. That’s what makes us different and what makes people come to us,” he says.
Looking to the future, the growth that Miguel Sequeira describes goes beyond the material. He dreams of achieving zero waste and full autonomy, from food to energy.

One of the most recent projects that Miguel Sequeira hopes to see grow is the creation of a maintenance circuit within the agroforest, which is currently creating a space with the capacity to regulate itself since the species planted support each other. “The idea is to create a sports circuit for walking, cycling, and exercising among the trees,” he explains.

To complement a healthy body, they also plan to contribute to a healthy mind by creating a sensory path inviting people to walk barefoot and feel different textures, from earth, grass, wood, sand, and stone from lava flows. “You get the feeling of what it’s like to walk barefoot, to have a forest under your feet, to sit in the nooks and crannies, to listen to the silence of the trees, until you reach the sea, which is so close,” he describes.


Along with sharing knowledge, Miguel Sequeira guarantees that learning is always part of his plans, and he is trying to positively contribute to the Azores and the world.
“A few days ago I read a very interesting sentence on a farm that said that the land was not given by the parents but lent by the children. I believe that, we have to give something equal to or better than what we receive,” he says.
The farm continues to buzz with nature. It’s understood now, without the need for lessons or homework. After all, the key to deciphering it was as simple as stopping and listening.

From Made in the Azores, in Açoriano Oriental, Paula Gouveia, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.

A few other images of this unique place in São Jorge, Azores