Do you ever feel like:
🔻 Low energy and wanting to eat better, but unsure where to start?
🔻 You’d love to cook vibrant and simple meals, but feel uninspired?
🔻 Do you need a pause in nature to slow down and reconnect with yourself?
🔻You sense that what you eat affects more than your weight — but you're not sure where gut health actually starts?
Then Senses is for you!
SHOWCOOKINGS
Join Rhys & Kerstin and learn to cook with foraged ingredients, seasonal produce, and creativity — straight from the land to your plate.
NATURE IMMERSION, SILENCE & RECONNECTION
Slow, conscious days surrounded by olive trees — where food becomes ritual.
GUT HEALTH FOCUS
Discover how fermentation, whole foods, and what you feed your gut can truly transform how you feel.
LOCAL FLAVORS EXPLORATION
Visit a sustainable farm and enjoy a local wine tasting with a producer.
What’s Included in the SENSES Experience
WHAT TO EXPECT
A Three-Day Journey Into Nature, Food & Connection
Over three days, you'll slow down into a different rhythm — cooking with ingredients grown and foraged from the land around you, exploring how gut-friendly foods can change the way you feel, and reconnecting with nature and with yourself.
You'll get your hands in the soil and in the kitchen learning to ferment, to cook with intention, and to understand why what you eat matters far more than you think.
Note:
All sessions are offered in both English and Portuguese, so whether you're coming from Lisbon or London, you'll feel right at home.
THIS RETREAT IS FOR YOU IF
1
You want to reconnect with food in a meaningful way
You're tired of eating on autopilot. You want to understand where your food comes from and feel the difference real ingredients make.
2
You’re longing for a deep experience in nature
Trade screens and noise for olive trees, birdsong, and meals under open sky. This is your permission to stop.
3
You want to nourish your body & mind with vibrant food
No experience needed. You'll learn simple, gut-friendly recipes that nourish your body from the inside out — and that you'll actually want to make at home.
Where You'll Be Staying
Casa Koya offers five carefully designed rooms — three are ensuite, and two are shared bathroom options.
Every room is a blend of comfort, calm, and minimalism. You’ll find top-quality linens, natural light, and the peace that comes from disconnecting from screens and reconnecting with yourself.
You can choose between:
-
Double ensuite garden view
A day in the life while on retreat
8:00 — Wake up slowly, with a mindful start in nature
9:00 — Fresh juice and time for yourself
9:15 — Prepare and savour breakfast together
11:00 — Workshop on fermentation and gut health
12:00 — Live demos and sensory awakening
13:30 — Lunch
16:30 — Visit to local farm and wine tasting with organic cheese pairing
18:30 — Free time in nature
19:30 — SENSES Dinner: awaken your senses
20:30 — Bonfire under the stars – moment of connection
22:00 — Rest time
Rebeca — Your Host & Longevity Nurse
I am a nurse with nearly two decades of experience, thirteen of those in emergency medicine. That background taught me something I now bring to every guest at Casa Koya: true wellness starts with how you eat, how you rest, and how you slow down.
I found this place almost by accident, and for a personal necessity. This quiet corner of the Alentejo with twenty-five centenary olive trees and the kind of stillness that makes you question "how long it's been since you truly stopped?". I knew it had to become something meaningful.
As your host, I'll make sure your stay feels like a genuine pause. But don't be surprised if we end up talking about gut health, nutrition, and what your plate can actually do for your body. It's what I'm passionate about, and it's woven into everything we do here. Together with Rhys and Kerstin, we believe that the best food nourishes from the inside out.
When I'm not at Casa Koya, I live in Cascais with my dog Blue, helping people build healthier, longer lives as a Longevity Nurse Specialist.
Meet Your Hosts
Rhys & Kerstin — Your Chefs & Foragers
Rhys once set out to become a professional chef, but the rigid pressure of restaurant kitchens felt disconnected from what food truly means to him. For Rhys, cooking is a journey, from understanding where ingredients grow and when to harvest them, to creating dishes that are as nourishing as they are exciting.
A published author on conscious living, trained coach, and passionate forager, he brings curiosity and creativity to every meal at Casa Koya.
Kerstin starts that journey from the ground up — literally. As a vegan passionate about regenerative agriculture, she uses permaculture and syntropic agroforestry to grow nutrient-dense vegetables, fruits, and herbs right here in the Alentejo. She believes this is where all truly healthy cooking begins, and you'll taste the difference.
As your chefs, they'll feed you in a way that connects you to the land, the seasons, and to your own body. Expect conversations about what's growing in the garden, what was foraged that morning, and why it all matters for your gut and your wellbeing. You might even join Kerstin on a foraging walk through the countryside — with her beloved dog Chocolate leading the way.
What Our Guests Are Saying
Catarina Canteiro
“An excellent house to spend time with family and friends 😍 I want to come back and absorb all the good energies that the house transmits to me. It is a place where we find the calm we need to find ourselves and allow us to rest our body and mind.”
Diogo Ferrinho
"We truly enjoyed our stay here. The host accommodate our needs and made sure our stay was amazing. The house is beautiful, the surroundings are beautiful and make you truly connect with nature. Plus you can expect the most beautiful sunset looking through the beautiful pool."
Maria João Campos
"At Casa Koya I felt at home. A beautiful, comfortable space to enjoy a few special days. Rebeca is a spectacular hostess, who knows how to welcome and pamper her guests. Green spaces, outdoors, the sounds of nature, the pool. I will definitely come back and recommend it so much"
