PEOPLE BEHIND CASA NACURA
Meet Bindu
Born and raised in Porto, Portugal, Bindu graduated from University as an Elementary School Teacher in 2008. Bindu has always been a lover of travelling but had never considered the idea of living abroad until she was offered a job proposal in East Timor in the beginning of 2009. Making a commitment that she would also use this opportunity to work on herself, full of fears and hopes, she transferred to the Timorese capital. There she met an amazing soul that introduced her to Reiki. From the very beginning she felt fascinated by this incredible technique, that would become her first step in her path towards self healing. Soon after, she became a Reiki Practitioner and continued moving forwards on her path. Moved by the desire to share and teach this simple, yet very potent technique, Bindu eventually achieved the level of Master in the end of 2010. Reiki changed her life in ways that she could have never imagined and since then she has taught Reiki in Nepal, Peru, Brazil, Italy and Portugal.
Reiki opened the doors of perception for Bindu and introduced her to the fascinating world of holistic healing. Fueled by her natural curiosity and learning desire, but also from a strong sense of mission, Bindu traveled through Southeast Asia and South America discovering, practicing and learning different conscious opening and healing therapies. From these travels she has brought meditations and visualizations, sacred chants, healing rites with nature and many other treasures. Bindu also had numerous opportunities to learn and explore the Sacred Feminine and the Sisterhood among Women. Nowadays, a big part of her work is dedicated to Women.
In 2017 she embraced Theta Healing, which she has been studying and practicing ever since, and in 2018 she finished her studies in Herbalism and Bach Flowers, with the Accademia di Arti Erboristiche (academy for herbal professionals) in Rome, Italy.
Bindu's unique approach to Healing comes from the combination of the all the techniques she studied and learned around the world, mixed with her love and reverence for Mother Earth, together with the experience gained through her own healing path. She has been guiding and supporting people overcome life crisis and living a more fulfilled life for several years.
Nowadays, Bindu is owner, care-keeper and inhabitant of Val Fontes, home of Casa Nacura project, where she lives a simple life among the song of the birds and the perfume of the wild herbs. Nature, Yoga, Gratitude and Meditation play an important role in her everyday life. Bindu lives by her Principles of Truth and Love, and she openly shares her light with all those who cross her path.
If you want to know more, check out her personal website www.anandbindu.com
Meet Davide
Davide was born in Sorrento, a neat and quiet town in south of Italy characterized by the blue of the sea and the yellow of the many lemons. He left the safe shores of home in his early 19, when he enrolled in an Oenology course in Pisa, part of the Agronomy University. He soon realized though how modern and large scale agriculture was unsustainable and harmful for the planet, and eventually he abandoned his studies to follow a path more aligned with his heart. A few months later he packed a few clothes and many dreams and went off to Argentina. He had a one-way ticket, little money and many fears, but somehow he knew he was going in the right direction. He ended up working for a whole season in an organic farm and winery which opened up a new world to him, a world he was eager to explore. Since then, he couldn't stop traveling anymore: Ireland, Spain, Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Brazil, Peru.
He lived, loved and tasted cultures and people from all over the world. He opened his mind, widened his sight, found his true self when he was completely lost. Preparing food had begun as a necessity to stay cheap, but had soon become a passion. He cooked in countless stranger's kitchens, fed huge groups of people, organized feasts around the fire in the middle of the desert, he crossed limits and showed skills he didn't even know he had. And his cooking style steadily evolved, it became more elastic, adaptable, but at the same time more refined. He learnt how to improvise, how to combine different and unusual ingredients, how to be creative. Every kitchen was, for him, a personal playground. His choice to become vegetarian ended up leading him to study about nutrition and food as medicine. He now specializes in natural, whole meal, plant based cuisine and his strongest asset in the kitchen is his mastery of herbs and spices.
A few years ago, he came across Permaculture and just knew he had to learn more about it. In 2016, he finished a Permaculture Design Course and went on to study Agroforestry and Regenerative Agriculture. Nowadays, he's guardian and care keeper of Val Fontes, home of Casa Nacura project, where he cooks and organizes seminars, workshops and events on natural, whole meal, plant-based kitchen and gives nutritional advice to those who want to have a healthier lifestyle.
Meet Bianca
Bianca was born in San Guiliano del Sannio, a little town in the mountains of Molise, Italy, where she lived the first few years of her life, wondering in the woods and chasing foxes. When her previous owners could no longer have her, she was adopted by Bindu and Davide and soon became an important part of the family. Together, they've travelled to many places in Europe, walked many forests and climbed many mountains. Bianca became their teacher in the art of being present, of enjoying life to the fullest and of being in Harmony with Mother Nature. Eventually, they all settled down in the South of Portugal.
Nowadays, she's a fierce guardian of Val Fontes, home of Casa Nacura, where she chases lizards away and lives by her principles of always having a good blanket or a good pillow to lye down on.