The Team
Who We Are
DARA COLWELL
Dara is a writer and teacher from California who has made Europe her home for 20 years. She teaches storytelling classes at university and has always worked in creative, collaborative, and international settings. She is a skilled communicator and people person with a big heart, who likes to dig deep. But she also loves to laugh—what would life be without humour? She also likes cooking, gardening, guiding people, being her real, messy self, hugging trees, and is interested in what it means to be human.
DENNIS BERLIPS
Dennis worked in the hospitality industry in Amsterdam for 30+ years. Like most Dutch natives, he is direct and outspoken, a confident speaker who is interested in unravelling the world and understanding how it works. Yes, that means he’s a philosopher! He is an artist and lover of beauty, plants, and gardening, and highly practical—you’ll see his skills on display around the quinta. He is unafraid to embrace life and encourages whoever he meets to do the same. He will engage you in life-changing conversations, and help you question and unlearn your conditioning.
TOGETHER...
We’re both middle-aged but young at heart. While the stereotype that you slow down as you age is true, we see this as a positive. Less is more: we do less chasing, wasting time, and play fewer emotional games; this leaves us being able to listen more, make better decisions, and lead a more effortless life.
We value working hard (because you're inspired), creativity, meeting new people, communication, and reciprocity. We are interested in things like flowers, herbs, permaculture, rewilding, self-reflection, sound healing, and "living the questions." (read Rilke) We strive to live a conscious life.
We enjoy bringing together like-minded people to share their vision, and we love creating beauty. In the past, we worked at festivals doing theatre, serving food and creating inviting and intimate spaces.
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