Living the Life Portugal is a family-run quinta near Figueiró dos Vinhos, where Tom, Ros and their children share their home, skills and knowledge with guests on a conscious donation basis. They put forward a nature-connected, wholefood and mindful way of living as an alternative to the conventional one.
Tom, Ros and their sons Lawrie and Wilfred host guests on a conscious donation basis at a small quinta near Figueiró dos Vinhos, in central Portugal. They left the conventional 9-to-5 in 2018, sold or gave away around 90% of their possessions and set off in a converted Iveco Daily camper van. After 13 European countries and 20,000 miles, they settled in Portugal in 2019. It felt like home at once, so they bought the quinta, in a village with only ten permanent residents, and began welcoming guests.
What started as a stopping point for vanlifers became a hosting community: over 200 guests so far, from backpackers to families. The family also helps people looking to relocate to Portugal, with guidance on finding places to live and settling into local communities.
They follow a straight-edge, wholefood lifestyle, free from drugs and alcohol, and are developing a yoga and breathwork practice, working every day to become stronger and healthier while keeping a positive outlook. Their aim is to share the space, what they know and what they have lived through, including the joys and difficulties of off-grid rural life, with everyone who visits.
The project is built around community, and they especially enjoy welcoming families with children. Longer term, the family hopes to hold a festival on the quinta and to help build a wider community network.
Our Goal
To create an open, community-oriented space on a rural quinta in central Portugal, where a family shares their home, skills and lived experience with guests on a conscious donation basis, and to encourage others to take up a nature-connected, intentional way of living.
Our Wishes
The family welcomes visitors, families with children and people curious about relocating to Portugal, and is open to collaboration and to connecting with others in the community.
