A long weekend on a family farm in the Alentejo.
Three days to slow right down and work with your hands. We'll gather on a family farm near Estremoz, spend our days shaping clay, walking the hills, and doing yoga, and eat food that mostly comes off the farm itself.
You don't need any experience with clay or yoga. You just need to want a quiet few days away from everything.
The farm has only recently opened its doors, so this is one of the first small groups to stay. It all takes place at the beautiful Casa da Sunica.
What we'll do
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Hands in the clay
Guided hand-building sessions, no wheel.
Just your hands, the clay, and time.
You'll be working in a town that has made clay figures for three hundred years. The Bonecos de Estremoz are on UNESCO's heritage list, and they've been kept alive by the women of the town, the boniqueiras, since the 1600s. They're hand-modelled too. So this isn't a craft workshop that could happen anywhere. You'll make something of your own, by hand, in the place the clay comes from.
No experience needed.
Walking the hills
We'll walk the trails of the Serra d'Ossa nearby.
Monks farmed this land from the 12th century and built the springs and water channels that still run through it, including a tunnel that carried spring water down to the towns. There's a garden at the base of one of the climbs that they planted.
Cork oaks, marble underfoot, and long views. The pace is gentle.
Yoga
Yoga at the start and end of each day to wake the body up and wind it down. Come as you are, whatever your level.
Alentejo wine, tasted properly
We're in one of Portugal's great wine regions, so we'll sit down and taste it. Someone who knows these wines walks us through what's in the glass and where it grew.
A cacao ceremony
One evening we'll drink ceremonial cacao together and I'll hold a slower session around it. It's a gentle thing, not a heavy one. Come if you want to, sit it out if you don't.
Farm food and good company
Most of the food comes off the farm, . A small group, shared tables, easy conversation.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
Everything below is in the ticket price, whichever one you pick.
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Two nights on the farm
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All meals, mostly from the farm
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All pottery sessions, clay and materials included
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Daily yoga
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An Alentejo wine tasting
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A cacao ceremony
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Guided walks in the Serra d'Ossa
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Small group
Not included: getting there, travel insurance, anything you buy in town.
WHERE YOU'LL SLEEP, AND WHAT IT COSTS
Three ways to stay, same retreat. Everyone eats at the same table and does the same sessions.
Shared bed
€675 · €595 until 31 December A single bed in a shared room, two to a room. Six of these. The one most people take.
Private room
€895 · €815 until 31 December Your own room on the farm. Two of these, so they go first.
Campervan
€535 · €455 until 31 December Bring your own van and park it on the farm. You get the showers and the kitchen and you join everything. Four spaces.
Book before 31 December and take €80 off any of them.
A €250 deposit holds your place. The rest is due 30 days before we start. If we don't get the group together, you get everything back, deposit included. And if something changes and you can't come, you're
welcome to pass your place to a friend.
Still deciding? Write us and email at hello@almamana.com and we are happy to answer your questions.
Not included: getting there, travel insurance, anything you buy in town.
HOW THE WEEKEND RUNS
A shape, not a timetable. Nothing is compulsory.
Friday
Arrive in the afternoon and settle in. Yoga to shake the travel off, then dinner together.
Sunday
Sunday — Yoga and breakfast. A last session with the clay to finish what you started. Lunch, and then home.
Saturday
Yoga and breakfast. A long hand-building session in the morning. Lunch, then a walk up into the Serra d'Ossa. Wine before dinner, and cacao after it
The order shifts with the weather and the group.
THIS RETREAT IS FOR YOU IF...
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You want a proper pause, and something to do with your hands while you take it
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You've been curious about pottery and want to try it somewhere beautiful
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You like the idea of walking, making, and eating well, without a packed schedule
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You want a small group rather than a crowd
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You'd rather be on a working farm than in a hotel
No experience with clay, hiking or yoga is needed. Just come as you are.
And probably not for you if you want a packed schedule, a spa, or room service. This is a farm
and the days are slow. If this is your vibe, join us.
Still deciding? Write us and email at hello@almamana.com and we are happy to answer your questions.
Not included: getting there, travel insurance, anything you buy in town.