Water and Electricity

We are most fortunate that the water from the Barragem, (which is a major supply of water for Portimao and Lagos) runs through our property. A tunnel through the mountain opens into a control station on our property, from which we are able to get our water for the garden. We have two means of obtaining this water. There is an old gravity feed through canals which supplies water to our lower garden. Our Portuguese gardener loves this,.as that is the system which he is used to, and he makes good old fashioned ditches which supplies water to the plants.

We also have a pump at the control station, and this pump supplies water to the rest of the garden, primarily through a computerized 16 station irrigation system.

In spite of the fact that Southern Europe is experiencing a severe draught this year, there is still sufficient water in our barragem to supply all the water that we need We have a 100 meter deep borehole, from which we obtain the water for drinking, as this water is a better quality than the barragem water. The water from the borehole is pumped into a storage tank from which it is then pumped to the main house.

Our main water supply

We now proceed to the guest accommodation area. The main guest house has four rooms, 3 double and 1 single. All with private bath and individual heaters. All the guest rooms are also fitted with a Clysmatic (Gravity colonic unit).

Moinhos Velhos means "The Old Mills". In days before the Barragem was built this was an operating water mill, and all the neighboring farmers would bring their produce to be milled here. Apparently this goes back many hundreds of years. We have converted half the mill ruin into two single rooms. The other half of the mill belongs to our neighbor.

The Garden
The garden of course is completely organic with many fruit trees.
We are self-sufficient with oranges for our juices for most of the season.In the summer we also have melons and watermelons, strawberries, grapes etc.We have a full time gardener and all the vegetables for the soups comes from our garden.

Programs

The first few years as predicted were a struggle. Anne Karine and Frank did everything, the meditation and yoga, the therapies, maintenance, gardening etc. We had a cleaning lady who came in only twice a week, and we had to pick her up from the local village. Anne Karine kept her job as an administrative superintendent on a gas rig in the North Sea, and all of her salary went into covering operating expenses and expansion. Initially we offered many different programs, Fasting, Touch For Health, Yoga, B&B, but we soon came to realize that the one field in which we were unique was our fasting and detox programs. Nobody anywhere in the world offered the package that we did, so we decided to concentrate on this. As we became better known, and particularly after a few articles in international magazines and popular papers (Marie Clair, Russian Cosmopolitan, The Sunday Times (where we were rated the best spa in the world for yoga) our programs were filling up, and as we soon we had a waiting list we had to expand the programs and employ more staff.

Here is an article written by Judy Fox, (who later went on to became a Sivananda Yoga teacher, TTC India) and published in the Wawe magazine.

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Judith Fox heads off to the Algarve to try and lose weight

Each day we began with meditation and yoga and my body began to respond more easily to the postures asked of it.

Last summer, I went, with some apprehension to Moinhos Velhos. This was a health retreat offering a fasting and detoxification programs over a two-week period in a beautiful setting the Algarve. It also promised the opportunity for physical, mental and spiritual renewal.

I chose it, firstly to spend a healthy fortnight in the sun and secondly because I was desperate to lose weight. I liked the look of the simplicity it offered and I had been in nearly every spa and health resort money could buy.

I was also very apprehensive. I made several calls to Moinhos Velhos asking questions such as "I am not going to be surrounded by tree-huggers am I?" or "You can guarantee I am going to lose weight, can't you?"

On arrival at Moinhos Velhos my worst fears were confirmed. Within minutes Rebecca, one of the therapists who worked there, gave me a welcome hug. I was rooted to the spot.

My enjoyment of the beauty of the surroundings was a little tempered by the first meeting with some of the other guests to arrive that evening. In a conversation with four of the party of the eventual ten that usually make up a programme, I found myself talking to a New York cop from the Bronx, a homeopath from Chichester and two computer programmers. They were fun but not my types. In a telephone call home my husband gave me the perfect solution. If it's as bad as all that - get out of there and book into the five star hotel down the road.

We started the fast the next morning and for the next four days my body and mind rebelled. There were times when I found myself arguing the benefits of a good red meat diet with a group of people mainly committed to vegetarianism and there were times when I couldn't be bothered to even talk to anyone.

Until now my life had been a hectic one. I have never coped with a quiet lifestyle. I'm always in search of something new to keep me entertained. On my first day I wondered how I was going to cope with all this peace and quiet and healthy attitudes.

Then, here's the interesting thing, by day five I began to feel a change in me. In a phone call to my husband I heard myself answering his question of "how's the weight loss going?" with "Oh I've no idea, but it's not really about that - it's about detoxing your system and allowing yourself the chance to develop spiritual side.

I had realized how nice the people were and spent hours trying to learn more about the rubbish I'd put into my body. I took to going on solitary walks around the beautiful lake close by. I would find myself trying to meditate to gain more of the peace I had found inside.

Each day we began with meditation and yoga and my body began to respond more easily to the postures asked of it. The holistic treatments given were bringing forward all my past emotions and negative thoughts. I found myself crying and laughing - sometimes together! All the while I was growing spiritually and mentally.

The team of staff at the retreat were a wonderfully rounded group of people who gave their time to us whenever required. Their knowledge was immense and there didn't seem to be a question I couldn't get an answer to.

In the evenings, we made our own entertainment, sometimes set in the tipi in the grounds. I vaguely remember doing a party piece to entertain the others, as we all did. It was a nice feeling to be able to give some pleasure by making a fool of myself. Not something I'd done in the past.

The weeks passed too quickly, all of the sudden we were on day twelve and expected to begin eating again. Oh yes, the fasting - apart from the odd initial hunger pang in the first few days, no one had a problem at all with the fasting. The organic fruit and vegetable juices during the day, together with the broth in the evening left us feeling quite happy. We did, however, wind each other up on regular intervals with what food we could have eaten given the choice.

On the day we left Moinhos Velhos, I went round hugging everybody as if my life depended on it. These friends I made, both guests and therapists, are now an important part of my life. I felt and looked better than I had in years and it showed.

I hadn't thought about the weight side much, but putting on my old clothes I realized that I had indeed lost several kilos. This was a turning point for me, after innumerable problems with digestion and a build up of old toxins and steroids given for back problems years ago.

I left Moinhos Velhos on June 16th nine pounds lighter than the 12stone 9lbs when I had arrived. Today, as I write this, on October 7th, without dieting but with an eye to healthier eating habits and a digestive system that works perfectly - my weight is 9 stone 11lbs.

I don't eat red meat anymore, I choose not to eat dairy and avoid many of the intolerance foods that came to light. More importantly my diet is vegetarian 99% of the time! I didn't believe that was possible!

In truth it isn't about weight loss. What I found there was an understanding about nutrition, a chance to cleanse my body and allow it to help itself heal and for me a new opportunity to gain spiritual growth.

The retreats have up to 10 people at a time and last a fortnight each.

"The weeks passed too quickly, all of the sudden we were on day twelve and expected to begin eating again".

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Our clients come from all over the world. but the majority still comes from the UK. About 25 % of the clients are repeats, 20-25 % are from referrals and the rest comes from the Internet.

For 2007 we offer 16 fasting programs begining in February

We take a maximum of 12 people in each program, but we usually have less as the majority of clients prefer to pay extra for single accommodation. Our prices range from €2445.00 for a shared room to € 3440.00 for a single cottage for the 2 weeks fasting programs. We also offer 1 week and 10 days programs for the ones who can not do a two week program, but we do not encourage this. Most clients who come for one week or ten days state that they wish they had come for 2 weeks.

Legalities
Moinhos Velhos is owned by Kurt Frank Jardinagem Paisagistaca Lda, a registered Portuguese Limited company. The shares of this company are owned equally between Anne Karine Moss and Kurt Frank Jensen.

. All of our programs operate under the umbrella of Moinhos Velhos Associacio, a registered non profit association for the propagation of Yoga, Holistic Health, Fasting, Organic Gardening etc.