Landscape rehabilitation

Did you have a favorite tree when you were a child? A walnut tree in your grandmother's garden, with a swing hanging from its arm-like branch? A lonely oak guarding the meadows and fields, which once housed a mailbox for secret correspondence? Even if we don't have our own memories, we are rediscovering more and more of the properties of trees that somehow make our everyday lives more livable. Trees are not only a shady shelter, but also serve as a home for countless living creatures, providing food, wood, and an important role in nourishing the soil. And if a single tree can perform so many "tasks", imagine the importance of entire forest strips, groves, hedges, and woodlands!

Dombfalva will gain its final face over many years, through a process based on permaculture. The first version of our plan was completed by the end of 2020. At that time, we managed to place all those functions on the then 4-hectare area that could become a scene for community events, coexistence, and learning in the long term, either permanently or periodically.

The main elements of the Hill Village layout will be perennials (trees, shrubs, herbs, etc.) and the buildings placed between them. Some of these have already been completed and are fully functional for our activities, such as the summer kitchen, the stage, the covered guest area, the cellar, and the willow hut. You can read more about these on the locations page. Others are in the process of being implemented (e.g., the creation of groves and hedges), and still others still need to be preceded by an exciting planning phase (e.g., the hill houses or additional buildings).

We will create the permaculture community space little by little, testing the possibilities offered by the location and with careful attention. The first seedlings were planted at the end of 2020, followed by the planting of hundreds of native trees and shrubs at the end of 2021. In accordance with the plan, in 2022, we created a swale system in the eastern part of the area to improve water management, so that the topography and vegetation would strengthen each other, and we planted about 1,000 more small and large trees here. We also created a landscape-style fruit tree row consisting of traditional varieties. In the spring of 2025, as a continuation of our cooperation with the 10 Million Trees Foundation, we planted another 7,000+ seedlings on our area, which had expanded to 6 hectares by then. At that time, a larger-scale swale system was also created, which greatly reduced the harmful effects of flash floods by slowing down the flow of water so that we could utilize it in the landscape.

The tree saplings and shrubs arriving in Dombfalvá were all selected from native species, respecting the natural features of the landscape. The vast majority of the saplings are planted in designated tree sites at a very young age, in order to minimize tree death in the first years. This - apart from sowing seeds - most closely mimics the process of natural forest regeneration. The saplings are planted in mixed patches surrounded by game netting; in their early years, the blackberries and tall herbaceous plants towering above them will protect them from direct sunlight, creating a more favorable microclimate for the growing trees. In this way, we promote the development of natural habitat islands that do not require maintenance in the long term, but rather individual trees isolated from their environment. In accordance with the principles of permaculture, these can not only provide the small community of Dombfalva with fruits, medicinal teas, other crops and shady spaces, but also become an increasingly diverse and balanced mini-ecosystem with birds, mammals and insects gradually settling in from neighboring habitats. A hedgerow, forest strip, group of trees has a positive effect on the microclimate in large areas of the landscape, protects the soil and helps pollination.