8 Day - Harmony & Life (expression in action) Retreat

Hello beautiful people. I am Fatima, Co-Founder of Friends of the Vine Retreats. My path into Plant Medicine retreats got triggered in 2019 after I broke my heart "one too many times", and the healing journey started after I decided I've had enough. That was the moment I saw I was living in this horrible cycle of falling and trying harder, just like in a hero's journey. I noticed that until then, I had been "collecting" bigger and bigger achievements to compensate me feeling unsafe, unworthy, and inadequate. Everything from learning new skills, winning competitions, getting promoted or being overly nice to people... you name it... were all to please "the world" in the hopes "everyone" would like me (more). By now, I hope that you too, reading this, also know "that stuff" doesn't work. My professional background is in Logistics Planning, Operational Management and Security. All this taught me everything I know about human behaviour, performing and getting stuff done under pressure. Although my intention was to help people (at work), I realised that the professional setting is built to help businesses instead. Over the years I got certified in many things like massage therapy, energetic healing (including reiki master) and tarot/mediumship reading in the hopes that it would come in handy at some point... and that time is NOW. Plant Medicine has boosted my own healing and inspired me to share that blessing with others. I now stand before you, prepared to guide and support you through your amazing journey of holistic healing and self-discovery. Have you suffered enough and feel it is time to change? If so, come find me when you are ready.

Stefan - Guide I’d like to say thank you for your interest in us and the possibilities of healing and growth through working with the master plants. My journey with spirituality and healing the soul began around 2012. A quick overview - 13 years military service in UK Army as an infantry soldier and later in the medical services. I started working in operating theatres as a nurse grade specialist dealing with anaesthetics, surgery, recovery, and resuscitation in 2014. Along side this in life I have passions for nature and outdoor adventure. (the world is my playground :) Early life involved alcoholism and drug addictions in the family, mixed in with profound mental & physical disabilities. This was followed by the death of my mother before I was a teenager. All of this as I’m sure you can imagine, sent me into a spiral of reckless behaviour and a continuous anger at myself and the world around me for many years to come. Although I had come to terms with my past, I went on to experience the impact of multiple war zones and spinal injuries resulting from this. After all of this I looked at a different approach to life. Although I was grateful for life, the constant fire inside was burning through the world in front of me. I investigated working with different plants at this point, but I was unsure through a lack of understanding so did not dive straight in. Eventually it was my time. I wanted peace, happiness, and love, I saw all of this in the world, but did I see it in me? Could I love wholly myself and others, is it ok for me to be happy when (insert reason/ excuse here)? With a healthy caution towards Psychedelics, I started to look at Yoga mainly for the physical attributes, I needed to heal my body so I could continue my adventures, immerse myself in the world, my playground. It turns out things went so much deeper, after practicing traditional yoga, spending time in ashrams and allowing myself to become aligned with eastern culture, the trauma and brutality of my life started to unfold, and I could feel fully. I had solid glimpses of bliss, true happiness, and love. It was years of practice to get to this point. Now I felt truly comfortable in my own skin, but still wanted to experience more and work with the master plants to see if I had truly done the work or just fooled myself. “So I might have it, but do I believe Im done healing, it seems like the work isn’t quite done”. Also, I wanted to open a door fully to spirituality. This is when I felt it was time to meet Ayahuasca, the process is not easy but worth it. The limiting beliefs and self doubts have gone, the love is whole, the happiness is sustainable & awesome. The door is well and truly open, and peace is abundant. I have developed a connection with the master plants far beyond what I could have imagined. It is a great privilege to be a part of this process and I have so much gratitude for all beings. We are here to walk with you on this path when you are ready.

Hello! I am Joao, Co- Founder of Friends of the Vine Retreats. I’m Portuguese, born and raised! I have extensive knowledge of the country: beautiful places to eat, awesome sites to visit, and explore. Though I haven't traveled abroad much, I’m yet to see my entire country; but I have seen a lot of it and love it dearly. I am always on hand to give advice for the best places to visit. I’m a graduate Industrial Designer with a passion for working and expressing with ceramics. After studying, I started creating art with cold ceramics while having to support myself with a traditional job in industrial design. As the lead designer at a natural cork production facility, I was in the driving seat of concept through to manufacturing of products. (On your travels in Portugal, look out for all the natural cork products, I may have had a hand in a lot of them). I would imagine, develop and finish a project utilising 3D software & CNC machining. While also the operations floor manager, I was always happy to provide tourists and locals an in depth tour of the factory. Fatima and I found each other outside the retreat space over a coffee and developed a fond connection. Over time this grew into a mutual respect and romantic feelings for each other. As this went on, I started to spend some time at the retreat with Fatima and naturally liked to help out with some of the work in the background. Before this, like some of you, I ended up working the regular shift patterns at the cork factory, generally feeling stuck, depressed and exploited. I did not feel a way to express what resided within. During points in my life, I struggled with my relationship to certain substances, either alcohol or Something that only distracted me and blinded me to parts of life I needed to face. This didn’t really become too apparent to me until spending time seeing people like yourselves going through your own process. The time spent around guests was fulfilling and I was always happy to see their progress over a short time (just a weekend). During this was an opportunity to start growing as a person myself. Later on in the year, I joined the team formally as a volunteer. I felt the call to be part of something bigger than myself. I consider myself a relaxed person most of the time, but always hard working and take what we do here seriously. I am a very creative person (always was) and try to express myself through the things I imagine or stuff I see during my journeys using ceramics. I hope that one day I can help you create your art, your expression, either with ceramics or paintings. Since volunteering, I feel I have truly found a place I can be fully present and express what resides within. Now myself, Fatima & Stefan are continuing the beautiful work we have done to co-found Friends of the Vine Retreats. From the time at our previous retreat centre and my own work within the ceremonies, I have really connected deeply with my creative expression and incorporated this with our collective desire to support you in your growth. Now, I lead the artistic components of our 8 day Harmony & Life (expression in action) retreat. I am here to support you through your journey, providing for your physical needs and helping to connect to your inner expression.