ABOUT
Our VISION
Reconnect with nature and the true inner self
MALAMA
What is Malama Retreat Portugal?
A place to take a break from society, decelerate, reflect and renew.
A place to feel, grow and heal.
A place to be.
To find out more about MALAMA
Our stories
Susanne & Nico
We are a French – Austrian couple with three children living in Portugal since September 2017,
where we have the great opportunity to create our little paradise on a 7,7 ha plot of land in Alentejo.
It all started as a dream when we were 20 … the vision of living in a warm country, growing our own vegetables, barefoot in the nature, living mostly outdoor, creating an eco friendly life space…
We took a chance when we were almost 30 by moving to Greece, but after a year life brought us back to Austria.
Our dream was still there, somewhere silently waiting to be heard again, felt again, dreamt again and eventually LIVED.
Another ten years later we realised our inner call “It’s now or never!” – and we really didn’t like the idea of “never”.
So we decided to move!
Giving up our old life meant a big change for all of us.
We started our new life with our plot of land, a tent, a container full of stuff and our car – well crazy, very exciting, sometimes quite challenging, mostly very fulfilling and every day new.
When we left Austria we didn’t know that we were going to rebuild an old ruin with earth, clay and sand with our own hands, mainly with material from our land.
We didn’t know we were capable of building a roof on our own.
We didn’t know we were going to install water and electricity on our own.
We didn’t know we were going to create an outdoor kitchen of cob and rammed earth.
We didn’t know we were going to create a really cosy environment for our visitors.
We didn’t know we were going to discover the amazing benefits of the beautiful plant Cistus Ladanifer which is actually growing in tons on our land!
We didn’t know how home schooling worked.
We didn’t know how many and how surprising challenges we would have to face…
But we knew that we had found our path and believed in it. And we took the first step. That’s enough. Always.
Looking back at the last years it’s so overwhelming to realise what we experienced, what we learnt and what we achieved. How intensively we lived, laughed, loved, struggled, carried on. How we learnt and grew every day. How this way of living means self-empowerment.
We feel so grateful waking up in the glimmering morning dawn and watching a sky full of stars every night. Hearing crickets, birds, frogs and the beautiful music of nature. Being surrounded by old trees, wonderfully smelling bushes, silver grasses, colourful flowers and especially – so many helping hands from friends and family.
That’s why we would like to share our place, our experience, our skills and our freedom with all of you, through this website and through our workshops, retreats or simply our location.
Feel free to contact us!
Steffi & Cedric
Travelling the world together gave us a lot of insight about many countries and cultures, us as a couple and ourselves. Feelings of freedom, independency , adventure and joy were our companions, always in astonishment about all the facets and miracles of our world.
In several Ashrams and Meditation Centres we deepened our understanding and practice of Yoga and Meditation and got to know precious techniques and tools, feeling a strong urge to integrate them into our lives.
Back to Germany, still overwhelmed, transformed and fulfilled of all the experiences, everyday life caught us, with all its challenges of a growing family, and our visions and longings moved into the background again.
Years later, in an intense process of questioning our lifestyle and life itself, we came to the conclusion, that there was no other choice than a complete change. For us and – most important – for our children. For our hidden but urging longings, of how life should feel and be. For our values, our souls´ purposes, our truth!
Leaving Germany released various feelings of melancholy and insecurity – but also excitement for the new! A huge weight dropped the day we started in our camper with our remaining possessions, leaving behind old boundaries and limitations of the past. And suddenly we felt free. There was no other aim than the way itself, no expectations, no plan at all. Just feeling into a new way of life, with all its possibilities.
After some months of travelling through Portugal we `coincidentally` found MALAMA. Soon we felt a strong connection to Nico and Susanne and everything they manifested in the last 5 years. Grateful to be here, just to be.. And we knew that we came to stay. We realised, that this place was offering everything we were looking for deep inside or hearts. Warm-hearted and likeminded people, a life not only close but within nature, happy children and a huge potential to make our visions come true.
Together.