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Casa Verde is an extraordinary rural haven
ideal for anybody interested in permaculture
or in developing a centre for
yoga or mediation retreats
Or simply for anybody who likes
uninterrupted privacy and peace
The house is 216㎡ over two stories
with another 100㎡ footprint of old stone ruins
There is a new off grid retreat cabin of 16㎡
with a covered outside pavilion area of 25㎡
Plus an old stone outbuilding of 20㎡
currently being used as a tool shed
a new 14㎡ wood shed
Three hectares of land
offer diverse growing opportunities
from wet fertile terraced valleys to dry sunny hillsides.
Two small continuously flowing water sources
provide ample year round irrigation.
The contours of the land
offer several places for secluded practice
With the possibility of several more cabins that
are not overlooking or overlooked by other structures
The main house is nearly 100 years old
with significant recent modernisation
including mains water and electricity.
The upstairs has a newly raised roof
with insulated wood-panelled ceilings inside
and new suspended concrete floors throughout
Many of the old small rooms
are opened up and windows enlarged
The house has 1m thick stone walls
which provide incredible thermal stability
The inside of the house is always significantly
cooler in the summer months
and warmer in the winter.
- The living room is a very spacious 31㎡.
It was 3 rooms of the old house.
A good sized living room and 2 small bedroom
that we knocked into one large space with the new nigh ceiling.
Two southwest facing windows
flood the room with light from late morning until sunset
and a half glass front door onto the drive lets in more light.
A wood burner provides all the winter heat that we need.
- Bedroom 1 currently serves as my music studio.
It is a good sized treble room of 20㎡.
It has a northwest window which gets the late afternoon light until sunset.
- Bedroom 2 is currently a study/ library.
It has been used as a small single for guests at 7㎡.
It is the only room with the old wooden ceiling remaining
as it was our storage room during renovations.
It was also our first bedroom here so comfortably takes a double bed if needed.
It has a southeast facing window onto the quiet valley at the back of the house.
- The kitchen is a lovely long light room of 25㎡ (9.6x2.6m).
It is also three rooms from the old house knocked into one.
It has four windows onto the valley plus the half glass back door
as well as a new long window on the northeast wall so it is light all day.
The kitchen floor has new terracotta tiles and the dining room section is wooden.
- The back door leads out to a small Juliette balcony overlooking the valley
and our small morning coffee patio (13㎡) where we grow the kitchen herbs.
- Down the stone steps leads to the large 50㎡ middle patio.
The downstairs had major construction work
to convert the old quarters into modern rooms.
We dug into the bedrock to add drainage pipes in a thick layer of gravel
which allows any ground water to flow under the house.
Then new concrete floors were poured over waterproof membranes.
The back walls, which are half underground, were tanked throughout.
This has been very successful with no signs of mould showing since
which is extremely unusual in Portugal’s humid climate.
We access the downstairs by going out and down the steps.
We left a wooden panel in the new floors of the living room
in case we decided to fit an inside stair case but we found that
we enjoy the traditional inside-outside living of this area
as well as the larger open rooms.
The lower back door opens into a large entrance hallway of 12㎡.
This was the old olive pressing room
which we have as our cloakroom and storage room.
Plenty of space for a commercial fridge and freezer
a dryer and lots of shelving.
Both bedrooms lead off the hallway.
- Bedroom 3. The large master bedroom
is underneath the living room so the same size at 30㎡.
It has a southwest facing window
receiving light from late morning until sunset.
- Bedroom 4. A double guest bedroom (12㎡) is the old wine cellar.
When we arrived it was cut directly into the bedrock; which looked amazing.
We eventually decided to tank it, build new block walls
and cut a window into the front of the house to bring extra light in.
I call it the cave and it’s my favourite room for quiet inner work.
-The large 8㎡ Bathroom is accessed separately from the middle patio.
It has a newly constructed walk in shower, toilet and sink
plus handmade wooden units
with plenty of space for a washing machine and storage.
The water is heated by a calor gas boiler.
- More stone steps lead down
to a 20㎡ stone outbuilding currently used as a tool shed
plus our lower patio also 50㎡ which has a large 18㎡ polytunnel.
As well as lots of summer veg and flowers
we also have a bath in the poly tunnel because.. why not..?
- Below this again there are ruins of old outbuildings
covering approximately another 100㎡ suitable for development.
- The 16㎡ Cabin is tucked away out of view
in one of our wooded valleys.
a stilted structure so does not require planning permission.
It is a simple off grid dwelling with an entire south facing wall
of windows, a desk, double bed and shelving.
At the back is a small covered access area
leading to a compost toilet and our ‘nature shower’
with water piped from the stream.
Down a few steps there is a 25㎡ outside covered sitting pavilion
with wooden seats and tables.
You can find more info on our cabin page here www.casaverde.space
Recent zoning changes prevent any new urban developments in this area
thus ensuring that this land will remain as peaceful as it is now for the foreseeable future.
The Land - is very diverse with lots of microclimates suitable for all kinds of cultivation.
Around the house we built two gardens of raised beds for organic fruit and veg production.
Below the outbuilding ruins there is a further terrace
with several very large mature citrus trees.
There are roughly 30 mature olive trees mostly around the gardens.
The land has many mature Cork Oaks and Madronha trees which fruit abundantly.
We have planted many other fruit trees including lemon, lime, peach, apricot,
quince, pear, cherry, fig, mulberry, pomegranate, persimmon, almond and tamarillo.
There is an old track within our land which leads to the river at the bottom of the valley.
You can walk there in 10 minutes without going onto the road at all.
This is the only permanently flowing water in the region
and is a wonderful nature haven.
The river is deep enough to swim in parts, paddle in others and also fish for trout.
It has a full canopy of native trees with kingfishers and heron passing by.
The forest trails along the river and criss crossing the hills are very well maintained.
One can walk in silence for many hours without encountering another human
you are more likely to meet deer, wild boar or mongoose.
There are many well kept river beaches in this area
including the stunning quartite gorge at Fragas de São Simão
The house is approached
from a small but well maintained single track road
with plenty of parking space at the front.
Once here you will see only forested hills.
There are only two other inhabited houses in our village
both over 1km away. So the feeling is very rural and quiet.
The nearest village is just 5 minutes drive offering most amenities
including a post office, chemist, primary school and the local town hall
There are 4 good sized market towns
within 20 minutes drive in different directions
all of which have all the normal amenities of
supermarkets, schools, banks, swimming pool etc.
The UNESCO world heritage medieval cities of Coimbra and Tomar
are both only 40 minutes drive away.
Lisbon and Porto International airports are both less than 2 hours drive
both have good rail and bus connection to several nearby towns.
Our story.
After many years of searching we were delighted to find a place that met all our needs.
I fell in love with the land before we even entered the house.
Its contours and flow inspire so many possibilities for growing internally as well as externally.
Our interests lie in the meetings of land and spiritual practices.
We are both broadly experienced meditations practitioners
and have maintained this land as an intoxicant free zone for the last 8 years.
In the garden we enjoy exploring organic, regenerative, syntropic and biodynamic growing.
There is a small stream that flows through the valley year round.
With permission from a neighbour I harvest water from higher up the hill
which gives me piped water at a good pressure for irrigating the veg and ornamental gardens during the summer.
There is also a small spring in the valley which was collected into a tank by the previous owner as well as an old mina.
Our first priority upon arrival was to clear the eucalyptus very carefully.
We were delighted to find that the native cork oak forest was waiting quietly underneath for its chance to regenerate
along with a myriad of native flowering plants including many rare orchids.
As a result we now have many hundreds of smaller Cork Oaks returning to join the mature trees.
We kept one hillside of Eucalyptus for building and fire wood.
We did much of the construction and regenerative work in the first year or so after arrival and hosted many work-away helpers.
Busy beavers until the main house was habitable and we were settled with the garden producing food.
Shortly afterwards Covid hit and progress paused.
Partly through loss of income as I was commuting to work in theatre in London
but also because we took this as a time to rest, breathe in and listen to the land.
It was an interesting time for us.
Grateful to pass this difficult period in such a safe quiet place and to learn what was most important for us.
We learned that the peace of this valley is its most precious treasure.
Our original plans of developing the outbuildings into accommodation blocks to host larger meditation retreats shifted.
We built the first cabin as a test for a different way to inhabit and share the land.
Smaller quieter footprints allowing for deeper softer work.
Since then a more general shift in our life
and work has lead us to the decision
that it is time for us to downsize
and return closer to elderly relatives.
Our hope is that we can pass this special gem on
to someone who sees as much beauty and potential here as we do
rather than it becoming an occasional weekend getaway
or holiday home.
It took us a long time to find this place
so we hope we can also find kind hearts to take care of it after us.
We’d love to hear from you.
best Paul.
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