Crowd dances in front of a stage at Entrudanças 2026, where musicians perform under purple lighting and hanging decorations.

SoilTribes at Entrudanças: Connecting Soil, Culture and Community in Castro Verde

Soil is where food begins, where biodiversity grows, where memories are rooted, and where communities shape their relationship with the land.

This connection came to life at Entrudanças, where SoilTribes joined the festival as part of the project’s Consortium meeting and the 5th Community of Practice Meet-Up. Held in Entradas, Castro Verde, the festival brought soil literacy closer to people through culture, dialogue, movement, and shared experience.

Organized by Associação PédeXumbo, with the Câmara Municipal de Castro Verde and the Junta de Freguesia de Entradas, Entrudanças is an annual festival that brings together dance, music, workshops, concerts, local traditions, gastronomy, artistic work, and community participation. The 2026 edition took place from 13 to 15 February and was dedicated to the theme “Dança com Voz”, highlighting dance as a form of expression, communication, and connection.

For SoilTribes, this context reflected the project’s own vision: to foster “Back to Earth” narratives that reconnect society with soil through science, technology, arts, and community-driven action.

Rather than discussing soil only through scientific or policy-oriented spaces, the festival created an opportunity to explore soil as part of culture, identity, local life, and collective well-being.

By joining the festival, the SoilTribes consortium strengthened collaboration among partners and continued building momentum around the project’s shared mission. The 5th Community of Practice Meet-Up also provided a space for exchange, reflection, and connection among members of the SoilTribes community.

Rooted in action, through community

Entrudanças showed how cultural spaces can become powerful spaces for awareness, dialogue, and action. It reminded us that soil health is not separate from community life. It is part of how we gather, celebrate, learn, grow, and imagine the future.

The participation of SoilTribes in Entrudanças reflects the project’s broader ambition to bring soil closer to citizens and citizens closer to soil.

Watch the festival moments

A video featuring moments from Entrudanças is now available on YouTube, capturing the festival’s atmosphere and the energy of the community that gathered in Entradas.