March was one of the busiest months at Chumbaria that we’ve ever had, with the final push to get phase 1 completed. Some dear friends donated a lot of furniture, which we unloaded in a torrential downpour! A friend visited and wrote these kind words about our project ‘Quinta da Chumbaria has to be experienced. The layers of the horizon draw you in. The love for and relentless commitment to the buildings and the land glows even in the heaviest downpour. Photos and videos capture only a fraction of a moment yet providing a glimpse into this warmest of hearts in the middle of Portugal’. Thanks Marcus! We also had a lovely day with more lovely friends who came for a sneak peek at the houses. Their feedback was all positive which was such a boost for us as we get nearer to being ready for guests.
Finally we got to move furniture into the houses, a lot of it was destined for landfill, but thanks to our great upholsterer, it’s been saved and looks amazing. The architectural photographer came and took photos and we spent a lot of time tidying up inside and out for our official open afternoon to celebrate the completion of phase 1 of our restoration project. We had a great time and want to say a big thank you to everyone that helped us get ready and to all the people who came from near and far to celebrate with us. We were delighted with all the positive comments and praise from everyone. We especially loved the amazing speech the President made, congratulating us on our achievement and pledging his continued support of our project. We are very grateful to both him and the President of our Freguesia for their belief in what we’re doing. In the course of the afternoon we had over 120 visit Chumbaria and we were very happy that our fantastic team of builders came to share the afternoon with us. Despite facing many hurdles along the way, we do have some very magical moments at Chumbaria and this was definitely one of them.
March was a very special month for us and came with a great sense of achievement. We finally got to share the before and after photos of the first two houses, in our not so abandoned village Chumbaria. It has undoubtedly been a labour of love, blood, sweat and tears, but we did it! We have two beautiful, luxurious and unique houses. Thanks to the hempcrete insulation they’re cool and dry in the sun and warm and toasty in the rain. From the bottom of our hearts we thank everyone, from both Portugal and all around the world who have helped in our project to bring this beautiful village back to life.
