Five years ago, we bought an abandoned village in the center of Portugal. It had been empty for about 40 years, and we have restored it to its former glory, into a beautiful eco-boutique resort and group accommodation.

This winter we are turning the resort back into a real living village again, with long-term residents from November until April. A village where people come to connect to nature; their own and the land around us, and to other inspiring people who get excited about growth, the art of living and co-creation. We call it “The Living Experience”.

Nadia and her four children, her mother Barbara, Dana, who is helping Nadia set up the Living Experience, Miho, Salvatore, and Peter, three long-term volunteers/residents, 4 dogs, 7 cats, and lots of chickens. 

Our land stretches 14 hectares with forest, olive and fruit trees, lots of water wells, and a small river with a seasonal waterfall and rock pool. We also have a saltwater swimming pool, jacuzzi, an outdoor gym, pizza oven, a spacious but cozy taverna, and a big communal kitchen.

2. SOME PROJECTS/WORK AND ACTIVITIES WE CAN OFFER:

This winter we are getting ourselves ready for The Living Experience. In order to do that, we have several tasks, such as:

- Winter/water proofing the communal outdoor kitchen

- Building a shelter to store a trailer under

- Expanding our outdoor gym

- And reorganizing our workshop

In addition, there are other tasks such as:

- Chopping wood for the winter months

- Chipping wood for paths, etc

- Mulching

- Mowing the roadside

- Rearranging the vegetable garden

- And harvesting olives, for example

Part of The Living Experience is to learn the ‘art of living’, together in community. Which means to communicate consciously, to build meaningful connections, to inspire and stimulate each other to grow and take care of our physical and overall well-being. Therefore, we have regular sharing circles/communication moments; you can choose to join a workout, run, or meditation, we have a weekly silent hour, and we are happy to share meals, music, stories and lots of laughter! Dana is our onsite relationship/communication coach 🙂

3. WHAT COULD YOUR DAY LOOK LIKE?

The tasks of the day are dependent on the projects that we have running that day/week and can be any of the tasks above. 

We ask for about 25–30 hours of work per week. Cooking and cleaning up/doing the dishes aren’t included in the work hours. 

Outside of that time, you are welcome to chill out, connect, join any of our activities like workouts, meditation, a run through the woods, a dip in the pool or the natural rock pond or you can take a trip to Castelo Branco, which is 25 min away. 

We have a variety of fantastic accommodations available, such as rooms, caravans, and yurts, and meals are included. Vegetarian meals are always an option, but we’re also flexible when it comes to food and not strict, so if you’d like to eat meat, that’s fine too. 

We are also happy to do movie nights, a book club, or other fun activities if you are inspired to organize them!

4. A BIT ABOUT US:

All of us love to engage in personal development and are excited about growth, conscious communication, deep connection, health, and taking good care of our body and mind. We also love caring for nature and the animals. 

We are absolutely not dogmatic; we are, after all, called Freedom Ville, but we are promoting a healthy lifestyle and making choices that support that. We don’t drink alcohol or do drugs and prefer the communal spaces to be non-smoking areas. 

We love making pacts in which we ask for help with accountability to improve ourselves. Nadia and Dana are steady accountability buddies to stimulate daily exercise and healthy food choices, among other things. We are happy to do the same for/with you!

So if you feel called to slow down, live in a conscious and natural environment, love to laugh and have fun, are handy, and get excited when you read all of the above, send us a message!