Quinta Vale das andorinhas
Valley of swallows | Magical farm at the Dāo river
Hi there! Nice to meet you. We are Bonne (63') and Naomi (85'). In 2023 we have sold our home in the Netherlands and moved to Portugal, again. We both have lived here before. Bonne has a history of building houses, construction and working with metal etc. and is starting an early "retirement". Naomi is an artist who loves to mix writing (poetry and songs, in dutch) with designing and photography and loves to work in the garden and be surrounded by nature and (our) animals (we have multiple cats and dogs living with us). Nature is the biggest inspiration for her work.
Her business is called "Naomade" and you can find her website *here*. |
Quinta vale das andorinhas, valley of swallows.
It was left after the farm burnt down in the terrible 2017 fires. The ruïn we wish to rebuild was burnt in that same fire too. You can find the Quinta facing the Dão river in a valley in de municipality of Lajeosa do dao / district of Tondela. It's only a 20 minute drive to the beautiful city of Viseu and a 10 minute drive to the lovely river beach & the thermal spa of Sangemil. The Quinta has around 4.7 hectares of land and there are already growing all sorts of produce, many hazelnuts, 50 walnut trees, figs, olives, grapes and kiwi and we plan to make a big organic garden, with many more fruit trees. We are currently learning more about permaculture and natural gardening. We want to live in sync with nature, and will take care of the ground, what lives on it and our Quinta with respect and care and without any toxins, creating a little eco system of its own. Our goal is to stay off grid and be as self sustainable as is possible. We will not be connected to mains electricity, water or gas but will have our own water sources and solar panels. We hope to rebuild our ruin in the next two years (24'-26') and are currently living in our temporary home and a caravan. The Quinta has a serene energy. All you hear is nature. It's so very silent. You will not hear roads or any "city like" sounds. It's calm and pure and it feels like being very far away from the busy world. It's a place to recharge and be in sync with nature and yourself. In summer we have the river Dão to cool us down. There is plenty of space to be alone and rest / meditate etc. The Quinta is surrounded by official walking trails in the lovely Valley we live in. So if you love hiking you are at the right place. We are not yet able to host WOOFF-ers and people who want to do a work-away, but will in the future. We welcome people with pets as long as they will get along with our own (dogs and cats). In the near future we have one basic caravan available for guests and people who want to work with us for a short period of time! We can also welcome people who come with their own mobile home or bring a tent. We are open for questions and suggestions about a stay on our Quinta, feel free to contact us. The work will consist of helping us rebuild the house, or helping us on the farm with all kinds of garden and land cleaning chores. |