Quinta Das Abelhas

Deborah Richmond has worked as a systemic constellation practitioner for more than 13 years, mostly with women living with chronic illness, autoimmune conditions and menopause. In 2017 she founded Quinta Das Abelhas, a centre for systemic constellation work on 10 hectares in the mountains of Fornos de Algodres, Central Portugal. Her practice follows the Bert Hellinger lineage, developed through Caroline Ward and Jan Jacob Stam, alongside training in yoga and shamanism. Sessions run online for clients anywhere in the world, and in person in a small wooden cabin on the quinta. The land is the other half of the work. It started as a pine monoculture with ruins on it. Since then biodiversity has been returning, soil and water systems are being restored, and there are pollinator habitats, grazing animals and wild bee colonies that are monitored. Decisions come from observing the land and waiting rather than from a plan imposed on it. Deborah puts humility and curiosity at the centre of that: the learning that matters comes from paying attention, not from having all the answers. Guests can stay at the quinta and combine a visit with constellation sessions, massage or the walking trails around it. There is no light pollution in the night sky, and a dolmen nearby has stood for 5,000 years. A new initiative, the Course of Curiosity, is currently being developed: a nine-hole experience in which each hole stands for a living system, including soil, water, pollinators, food growing and regeneration, and asks questions about regenerative business ideas. It is designed for schools, families, scouts and curious adults.