Vale das Lobas
Holistic Retreat CentreWhere Nature Heals
Vision
A Sustainable, Peaceful and Healthy World
The Earth is our mother and we must take care of her. We must come together to transcend duality and unite in a vision of Global Peace. The time is now, and we are the ones we have been waiting for.
Mission
Reconnect Humanity with Nature
The Muxagata valley was once well managed and provided an abundance of food and materials, and gave livelihoods to a large population. In 1970s, many families migrated overseas in search of better opportunities. But now the tide is turning, and many want to return to a life in connetion with the land.
Vale das Lobas offers a sustainable model for rural regeneration, based on a holistic approach to restore health, revitalize community and regenerate biodiversity, that could be successfully applied in many regions that have suffered similarly from depopulation.
HEALING LAND
The pressure placed upon eco-systems by intensive monoculture industrial agri-business, is stimulating a mass awakening. We are poisoning ourselves and our planet under the guise of growing food.
A new approach is emerging that combines ancestral tradition with innovation. It has been called by various names, including Regenerative Agriculture, Permaculture, Biodynamics and Agro-Ecology. The awareness of the microbiome, in animal, plant and soil biology, and the newly emerging science of mycology are adding exciting new layers.
We call this Natural Farming, and it has many forms, both ancient and modern. In the spirit of discovery, we will regenerate and recover the rich biodiversity of our beautiful Earth, by working in harmony with her nature.
HEALING SPACE
Healthy spaces are crafted from natural materials, locally sourced, and built with intelligent designs that utilise passive solar gain. This includes renders and mortars that breathe and respond naturally to changes in humidity, like lime mortars and earth plasters; good natural insulation, like hemp, straw or cork; walling materials like granite and compressed earth blocks (CEB), with a high thermal mass for maintaining an ambient temperature, and minimising the need for heating or cooling appliances.
We call this Natural Building, and it is the future for creating homes that are fit for healthy living.
HEALING BEINGS
Healthy beings thrive in healthy eco-systems. Disease arises when the natural flow of vital energy that sustains life is disrupted. Symptoms are indications, which when properly perceived and understood, will guide the physician to the cause. The suppression of symptoms is not the role of medicine. It is time to work towards restoring health, for all beings, and for our planet.
We call the system that can cure disease at the level of causation, Natural Medicine.
All of our global ancestors shared the same vision: that Nature is alive and conscious. There is a new vision gradually emerging, that re-embraces Animism. In this retelling of an ancient story, we will finally remember what we have temporarily forgotten, that we are part of Nature.
Once the world was complete, and the gods were marvelling at their creation, a discussion began concerning humankind. These creatures, unlike all others, had the power of free will. They had the potential to take care of the Earth, as kind and loving benefactors, and spread harmony and love throughout the world. Or they could become tyrannical, self-important, and destructive in their hunger to demonstrate their power over each other and all other creatures.
Surely both aspects would always be present? There will be golden ages, where humankind embraces the light, and dark ages, when they are tormented in ignorance. This must be so! It is the nature of free will. Humankind must grow from infancy, to eventually embody its true adult nature, through all the painful stages of development. And the completion of this cycle is by no means assured. Humankind must make the critical choices alone. The gods knew that they could not intervene in this. “But perhaps we can assist” suggested the sky god, “give the support of a loving parent.”
“The knowledge of how to maintain balance and harmony must be planted somewhere, so that those who are willing to seek it can become guides to others,” said the ocean goddess. “Perhaps deep in my ocean womb, so they feel drawn to return to me.” “No, that is too remote,” said the mountains. “The top of my highest peaks would be better. Those who come there will carry their far visions back to the valleys, and share them with others.”
“These are all good suggestions,” said the moon, “but we have to remember one thing. Every human has the whole of creation within her. The world is a reflection of her nature. She can create heaven or hell on Earth.” They pondered a long time. “We must put the truth in the one place that is accessible to all, but where they hardly ever think to look. This way, the discovery will be gradual, and when completed, it will be irreversible.”
And so, it was decided. The key to self-realisation would be hidden within the human heart.
“But Man is part of Nature, and his war against Nature is inevitably a war against himself.”
Rachel Carson
SACRED EARTH
Sacred Earth is a community initiative, formed to gather investments for regenerative projects for the New Earth, including Vale das Lobas. Any like-minded individual or organisation can join this investment community and buy shares in Sacred Earth.
