Woolly Retreat in Alentejo

#Campinho     #Alqueva       #Alentejo       #Portugal        #WoolRetreatsVioletas

@Travessa das Violetas,19 (7200-519)Campinho 

5 to 7 November 2021

Monsaraz, photo of the medieval castle tower

 

 The images in this page are a courtesy of Maria Ramalho from the Wool retreat of 2019. Please do not share this page without adding the tag #WoolRetreatsVioletas. There was no retreat in 2020 due to the pandemic.

 

 

Program

Maria Ramalho will be your hostess for this "woolly" retreat that is expected to be as fun as that of the 2019’s edition (see photos at the bottom of this page). The aim of the retreat is to promote exchanges between participants and share know-how on how to use raw wool fibers. The fibers come from ewes that pasture in the surroundings of the village (see « churra algarvia », « campaniça » sheep breeds). The small town of Campinho, where the retreat takes place, is a rural village by the Alqueva lake, near the medieval historic village of Monsaraz. The retreat welcomes participants from different nationalities in order to promote multi-cultural exchanges. Languages spoken will be Portuguese, French and English. There will be maximum eight (8) participants. For more information, please contact Maria Ramalho (ciganita67 at gmail dot com).

The program of the activities proposed during the three mornings of the retreat is shown below (time is Lisbon time, GMT, Western European Time):

1.     Friday, 5 November - 9AM a 12:30 AM

Dying experiences with Sol and Amori (see Looma.pt). Materials, tools and wool will be provided. 

Saturday, 6 November - 9AM a 12:30 AM

Spinning wool with drop spindles. Experiences with Pauline Dornat (see #1030BlackWool et paulinedornat.com) and Isabel Coelho.  Wool and spindles are available. (Note: If you already possess a spindle but do not know how to use it, please bring it with you).

3.    Sunday, 7 November - 9AM a 12:30 AM

Weaving experiences with programmable cards. Experiences with Pauline Dornat. Material and wool will be provided.

 

Fees

-        Experiences (3 mornings) : 120 euro per person. Includes the trainers fees, refreshments mid-morning, wool, material and tools. The meals at noon and evening as well as walks and visits to local textile factory are not included in the price.

 

-        Lodging (option) : 90 euro for 3 nights, from 4 November (check-in by 17:30) to 7 November (check-out by 14:30) at "A Casa das Violetas", where the woolly retreat will take place. Admission is only available to 4 participants. This fee includes access to the shared kitchen, living room and "terrasse" garden as well as bed linen, bed covers and towel. See photos here. If this interests you, pick up amongst the following options (underline the chosen room type) :

 

• Single bed, shared room with two single beds, shared WC facility

• Double bed with 1,50m width, shared WC facility

• Double bed and WC "in suite"

 

Other options for noon, afternoons and evenings:

-        Meal at local grill restaurant Monte da Açorda, Campinho for the three days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) YES/NO

-        Pomegranate tasting YES/NO

-        Walk by foot nearby the Alqueva lake YES/NO

-        Macrobiotic meal on Saturday evening YES /NO

-        Picnic (each participant brings a drink of his/her choice and also savory snacks (e.g. local cheese, sausage) and the organisers will provide fresh bread, water and fruits YES/NO

-        Visit to the factory of artisanal « Mantas » (bed-covers) in Reguengos de Monsaraz, see « Lanificios de Reguengos » YES/NO

 

 

Interested ? 

Name and surname:

E-mail :

Phone number from Portugal:

If you have a phone number from abroad, would it be possible to join you via an Internet app? Which one?

 

Please print this page in PDF format, underline and complete your options and and sent it via e-mail to Maria Ramalho

Olive oil soaps covered with felted wool for a "peeling" experience

 

Felting experiences

Pomegranate tasting

Carding experiences

At work ... wool spindles, hand carders ...