For most of my working life, my days were measured in sprints, releases and deadlines. Today they are measured by the sun, the seasons and whether the cherry trees made it through the night.
This is the first post on this site, so it feels right to start at the beginning: who I am, why I left city life behind, and what a small piece of land in rural Portugal is teaching me.
A life in code
I was born in Kuwait, moved to Goa for my studies and stayed on to work. In 2008 I started my career as a front-end and mobile developer, building the screens and apps people tap and scroll through every day.
Over the years I grew into team lead and technical coordination roles. That meant fewer lines of code and more meetings, planning and problem-solving, keeping people and projects moving in the same direction.
Eventually work took me to Malta, where I lived for about ten years. It's a beautiful island, and it gave me a lot. But it is also small, busy and rarely quiet.
Why I left
In Malta, the pressure kept building. The stress of work followed me home, and on a crowded island there was nowhere to escape the noise. I realised I had stopped being able to switch off. I wanted peace and quiet, not just for a holiday, but as a way of living.
So I made the decision I had been circling for years. I packed up, alone, and moved to Portugal.
A new home in Aldeia do Bispo
Today I live in Aldeia do Bispo, a small village in the municipality of Penamacor, in the Castelo Branco district of central Portugal.
The first thing that struck me was the air. It is clean in a way I had forgotten air could be. The second was the food: simple, traditional, seasonal dishes that taste of the place they come from.
Why agriculture
Farming wasn't a completely random choice. One of the companies I worked for had an agricultural division, and through it I got my first look at organic farming. Later I experimented on a small garden patch, and I was hooked by the simple satisfaction of growing something myself.
The land I have now came with history. There are old olive trees, grape vines, and apple and pear trees that have been here far longer than I have. To these I have added cherry trees, blueberries and a few more fruit trees, which I hope will grow with me.
This year I built raised beds as an experiment, to see what the soil and climate would allow. The test went well: sweet corn, carrots, tomatoes and peppers all made it to my table.
What the land gives back
The biggest change has been in how I feel. My sleep is deeper than it has been in years, and I have far more energy. I eat fruit straight off the trees and vegetables grown without chemicals. My soundtrack is birdsong, and my coworkers are the farm cats.
I was curious whether science backs up what I'm feeling. It turns out there is good evidence for some of it:
Gardening is good for body and mind. A 2016 meta-analysis of 22 studies found consistent health benefits from gardening, including lower depression, anxiety and BMI, and higher life satisfaction. Mental wellbeing gained more than physical health. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5153451
Morning light helps you sleep. A 2025 study in BMC Public Health linked more morning sunlight to better, earlier and more regular sleep. A study of office workers found that those with bright morning light fell asleep faster and woke less at night. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12502225/ https://sleepreviewmag.com/sleep-health/parameters/quality/morning-daylight-exposure-tied-to-a-good-nights-sleep-2/Farm mornings are spent outside, so this one rings true for me.
Growing food changes what you eat. A Stanford review of gardening studies found that gardening tends to increase how much fruit and vegetables people eat. https://fsi.stanford.edu/node/6290
The soil itself might help, though this is early science. Researchers at the University of Bristol found that a common soil bacterium, Mycobacterium vaccae, triggered serotonin-related effects in mice. It hasn't been proven in people, so I treat it as a nice bonus rather than a reason. https://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2007/11797584419.html
None of this needs a farm. A balcony pot, a community garden or a morning walk will give you some of the same benefits.
Still learning
I spent years building things on screens. Now I'm building something slower: a relationship with a piece of land, one season at a time. I don't have all the answers yet, and that is part of the joy.
For now I'm not selling anything. This stage is about learning the land before asking more of it. One day I hope to share what grows here, starting with my grandparents' pear jam.
This Journal is where I'll share what I learn along the way: the harvests, the failures, the paperwork and the quiet moments in between. Thank you for reading.
You can also read more about my story.