໑ A playful discovery of self-sufficient farm life ໑

Experience off the grid farm culture. Immerse yourself in wild Greek nature while learning about permaculture, regenerative and self-sufficient living practices. For a complete balance of body and soul, bathe in clean spring water, dance, sing, walk through forests, and enjoy our African drumming circle in a beautiful community of humans, animals and nature.

Hosted by Chenny and Steven in their farm in northern Peloponnese

About the location “Liveloula” in Seliana

Our Permaculture inspired farm Liveloula – Greek for dragonfly –  is an organically growing project with a focus on peaceful, ecological and self sustainable living.

We are located at 750m, halfway up the lush mountains of the Northern Peloponnese, just outside the village of Seliana. The valley we live in is rich in clean waters, diversely vegetated and surrounded by beautiful wild forests. 

An almost timeless place, that invites you to breathe in the fresh air of conifers, slow down, listen to the sounds of undisturbed nature, enjoy healing spring water and fresh organic foods.

Our team of certified and recognized teachers and guides welcomes you to join in and explore the many aspects of Holistic Natural Living. 

Body, Mind, Community and Nature will be honored and celebrated in a relaxed and fun atmosphere.

This workshop is for you, if you are…

… In need of a deep breath, a week away from everything.

… Curious about the new/old ways people across the world are choosing for their lives, away from toxic cities and away from a stressful lifestyle.

 … Interested in growing healthy, organic food, preparing home made natural remedies, and learning about natural building techniques from people who have more than ten years experience. 

… Excited to jump under ice cold waterfalls, explore forests, dance, stretch, sing and drum.

… Hungry for daily fresh wholesome organic meals with ingredients straight from the garden.

… Ready to live a week in a community with amazing humans, animals and nature.

If the answer is yes to just one of the above, this holistic week is for you!

We are excited to have you with us in Liveloula for this special week.

I´m in! Take me to the registration page!

We welcome people of all ages, colors, sexes, genders and walks of life. 

A diverse group reflects a healthy community of unique beings.  
We are inviting a group of 6 up to 12 people. That gives us a lot of time to really focus on your individual experience, to give you all the attention you deserve and answer all your questions.

About the workshops:

Day Schedule:

07.45 –  08.30 Breakfast

08.45 –  09.45 Meet ‘n greet, guided meditation/body-energy work, yoga, dance, warm up, gratefulness circle

10.00 – 13.00 Morning program

13.15 – 14.00 Lunch

14.00 – 15.00 Break/ Siesta

15.00 – 18.00 Afternoon program

19.00 – 20.00 Dinner

20.30 – 22.00 Relax / evening activity

Week Schedule

Day 1 Landing

• 15.00 – 18.00 Arrival 

• 19.00 – 20.00 Dinner

• 20.30 – 22.00 Introduction hosts and getting to know each other 

Day 2 Seeding

• Morning practice: Embodied Presence

• Getting to know the place
  • Guided tour of Liveloula farm and surroundings 
  • Introduction into reading landscapes 

• Evening: Permaculture game

Day 3 Sprouting

• Morning practice: Grounding Exercise

• How to grow vegetables in a permaculture way
  • Observation of location and soil: Getting to know the condition of soil samples at different places in and around Liveloula, soil building
  • Learn about native plants and pioneer plants
  • Introduction into the world of composting: Sourcing local materials and setting up a compost pile

• Evening: free flow

Day 4 Growing

• Morning practice: Forest Bathing

• Excursion Day
  • Forest hike to the village Perithori including lunch in a typical greek mountain Taverna 

• Evening: Drum Circle 

Day 5 Flowering

• Morning practice: Dance Movement 

• Natural Pharmacy
  • Introduction into making healing oils and tinctures
  • Cream making 
  • Foraging local wild herbs and greens
  • Preparation of “Witch Soup” or wild flower salad

• Evening: free flow

Day 6 Fruiting

• Morning practice: tbc

• Natural Building
  • Introduction to different techniques
  • Considerations for planning a sustainable building
  • Explanation of the design of Liveloula’s structures
  • Hands on natural building like cob or plastering

• Evening: Singing Circle

Day 7 Harvesting

• Morning practice: tbc

• Livestock: Hen and Pig keeping, land rotation

• Home preservation of fresh produce
  • Jars for the pantry, canning, pickling
  • Fermentation
  • Drying with and without the solar dehydrator

• Evening: free flow

Day 8 Goodbyes

• Morning practice: Gratitude & Sharing Circle

• Last questions and answers

• Time to say goodbye to place, people and creatures

Food

We love food and we are all about food!

We mostly eat what our gardens and surrounding nature produce and source organic to cover the rest of our needs.

For the duration of the retreat, we hire a talented and experienced chef to assure the highest quality of meals.

Primarily we follow a vegetarian and seasonal diet and sometimes have eggs from our own happy chicken.

Alcohol can only be consumed outside of our land during the retreat. 

Smoking is allowed in designated smoking areas. 

Should you have any intolerance, allergies or special dietary preferences, please inform us in the registration.  If you have a diet that involves meat, please inform us about it as to arrange for it from a trusted local source. We are half an hour drive away from the nearest shop so please consider your personal needs before driving up.

Accommodation

໑ You are lucky to be the first guests to stay in our brand new Sibly Bell canvas tents or in our newly built, extra luxurious Mongolian Yurt.
໑ We provide new and clean mattresses, pillows and sleeping bags for yurt and tents.

໑ Single or double “glamping” in a three meter canvas tent. (Included in the price)

໑ Dormitory with maximum 4 people in a five meter canvas tent (19m2). (Included in the price.)

໑ Our yurt can be booked for up to four people and can also be booked as double or single at a surcharge. 

Our newly built Yurt (30m2) feels more like a fully equipped studio, than like a tent. It has two single beds that can be made into a queen size double. It has electricity, and its own bathroom with solar hot water. 

໑ Communal Liveloula spaces include a roofed hangout space, a pergola outside hangout space, a kitchen, a small outside pool, outside showers, compost toilets and a lot of gardens and food forests.

໑ For electricity we are fully solar charged, that means moderate use of electricity is available for charging phones, tablets etc.

໑ Enjoy beautiful cold water outdoor showers for everyday use and a solar hot water shower in the kitchen for exceptional use.

Meet our Facilitators: 

Chenny

Chenny was born in The Netherlands, but always had a love for Greece. She was part of an independent midwife practice, but after 10 years her direction in life changed and for a few years she was travelling, worked as a snowboard teacher and took care of a ski chalet. Then, together with Steven she found her place in Greece and built up Liveloula. What unites all these seemingly different paths in her life is her strong desire to be independent, love for nature, physiological perspective on the body, passion for good and healthy food and being involved with people in her daily life. She loves to dance, play with her seeds and baby plants, collect flowers and plants to make wonderful potions and meals.

Steven left a job in HVAC after 5 years and after a short stay in a Buddhist monastery he reschooled to become a gardener. After visiting a dozen of Eco projects as a volunteer for 2 years he and Chenny found the perfect plot of land to fulfill their dream of living a self sufficient lifestyle in a homestead.

10 years into the project he has mastered skills in landscaping, soil care, natural building, garden design and is building on his skills in food forest design and management.

He holds certifications in Naturopathy, Shinrin Yoku, Sustainable business Management and Mindfulness coaching

Bijan

This is Bijan. He started working in restaurants 19 years ago while still going to school and followed his dream to become a professional chef after a short university-intermezzo. 2011 he moved to Berlin.. There he deepened his passion for cooking in a variety of restaurants – from a fancy Michelin-Star place to a small underground Taiwanese restaurant. 

In July 2021 he finally listened to nature’s call and found Seliana at the same time that Seliana found him. He never looked back and is happy and excited to be a part of this workshop and to offer you his love and experience with food.

Leo

Leo had been teaching embodiment and yoga for over 35 years. His work is a synthesis of his training and teaching experience in psychotherapy (Psychosynthesis), movement therapy (Rolfing Movement) and bodywork (Body Mind Centering). In the last few years he has been running mentoring programs internationally for therapists, bodyworkers and yoga teachers. His work centers around embodied relating and often takes place in nature.

Niko

Nikos is our Drum Circle facilitator. He is involved in the research, study and promotion of the West African Drums (djembe) since 2000. He began his studies at Athens, at the “Takis Percussion” school (Τα κρουστά της Τάκη) with Lefteris Grigoriou as his teacher, next to whom he specialized in doundoun and djembe and joined in a significant number of concerts and began teaching himself. Since then he has been teaching systematically in cities such as Athens and Thessaloniki. He took part in various training seminars in Greece as well as in Mali and Burkina Faso of West Africa. Nikos participated in several educational and cultural exchange trips to West Africa and drummed on the side of distinguished musicians such as Ponda o Braian, Drissa Conne and Reiner Polak.

Juli
Juli loves dancing, singing and living in nature. Seven years ago, she left her full time job as Culture TV director and producer in Berlin, to grow personally and learn about Off the grid living and permaculture. The last three and a half years she visited with her van different projects in Europe to find her way to Seliana. She supports our retreat with her organization skills and is your contact for booking and any other questions. 

Your investment:
Super Early Bird price for May retreat until March 18th: €795

Early Bird price for May retreat until April 28th:  €830

Normal Price price: €880

Extra fee for staying in the yurt with private bathroom:
Single booking for the entire yurt: €350
Double booking, per person: €150
A group of four people, per person: €70

What is included?

Included in this price are: 8 days of workshops, 7 nights accommodation in glamping tents with bedding, 3 organic freshly prepared meals per normal day, one meal on arrival and departure day, transfer from and to Akrata train station, lots of fun, relaxation and an amazing living and hands on learning experience.

I´m in! Take me to the registration page!

Getting there and away:
To Seliana, the nearest Airport is Athens. From there take the train or bus to Akrata (ca three hours) and arrange your pick up with Juli. 

For more information on the project, visit us at www.Liveloula.eu or on Facebook as Liveloula

For any questions, please reach out to Juli.
Contact: 

Phone/Messenger +49 179 4 900 100

Telegram: @julifox 

Email: happy@julifox.de

Sign me up!

Looking forward to seeing you soon in Liveloula!