It has been 2 weeks since the end of the Wild Earth Retreat in the South of Portugal, and I am still struggling to put into words what that experience meant to me. All I can feel is deep gratitude for each moment there.

I feel so incredibly lucky that I got to meet Emilia Cianci from The Way of the Soul this year. Emilia is the kindest woman, so wise beyond her years, with the biggest heart in her chest. I am so grateful we got to meet through Instagram and then in person in Monchique for the retreat, surrounded by our elders, the Cork Oaks, who embraced us during that week while we explored together, among many things, how to rekindle a way of life more in reciprocity with the Land. Thank you once again Emilia for your openness, trust and kindness, it touched my heart ❤️🙏

I also feel so fortunate to have met the most amazing group of people, so kind, fun and loving, and so incredibly enthusiastic about learning the ancient art of fishskin tanning as well as leather sewing! Our time together was filled with laughs, giggles, cries and sharings. We all came from different places and had different backgrounds & life stories, and yet the group was so loving and inclusive and everyone was so comfortable to be themselves. I felt the profound power of sisterhood and the caring embrace of the mountains, supporting us on this journey.

My body was nourished with the most delicious food (thank you Gregor!), my mind stimulated by the most amazing conversations, and my spirit enriched with yet another confirmation that there is indeed another way to live on this Earth based on respect, reciprocity and kinship with the other-than-human community and the Land. There is hope 🌿

Thank you all for everything. I hope someday this will be the norm and not the exception. See you soon ❤️

Wonderful photos by Rosh Jagarnauth, Emilia Cianci, Medina Trevathan, Sea Lua, Ketna & myself

Would you like to learn how to tan your own sheepskin? Click here!