About Us

Our Story

It all started…

Fifteen years ago, with a visualisation!

Fast forward to 2017 and the visualisation started taking shape when Kyle joined the “dream” and began helping it become reality!

Eco Dharma Village is an eco-wellness retreat nestled in the charming hills of Arcos de Valdevez in Northern Portugal. Having launched in the Spring of 2019, Eco Dharma is the culmination of Chantal’s life-long desire to create a peaceful space in nature that would serve as a sanctuary for those in need of a calm and nurturing environment to reset physically and mentally. 

The retreat takes its name and inspiration from the concept of Dharma, or what one would subscribe to as the ethos and ethics roadmaps in our lives. Fundamental to this is a deep appreciation for nature and its ability to support healing, allowing us to be more in-tune with our natural rhythm and flow. The values of Eco Dharma are very much aligned with this: we are proud advocates of sustainable and kind living.  

We seek to use the most environmentally friendly materials and products at Eco Dharma. The retreat itself has been designed with this goal in mind: our geodesic guest domes have been made from recycled material, and the furniture has been purchased from manufacturers who up-cycled materials such as wood, plastic and metal to create new pieces. The retreat is 100% free of single-use plastics. In 2020 we installed solar panels to harness solar power for our guests too. 

Eco Dharma is built on kindness for nature and all living beings. We operate a completely vegan site with delicious plant-based cuisine. We are strict about this and do not allow animal products to be consumed on site, however we do offer wonderful alternatives aligned with our ethos. This is because we truly want to embody the sanctuary aspect of our project; in fact we rescued over twenty dogs and cats since moving here, and we kept 5 dogs , who are now full residents here ,as well as 3 cats! 

In 2021 we built a 100 m2 greenhouse where we harvest the healthiest and freshest produce to our table for guests and the local community. We also planted over 100 trees since 2020, with the majority being fruit and nut trees.

The organic and biodynamic methods of farming that we utilise can ensure that our guests are receiving the highest quality plant-based-foods, free of harmful pesticides; maybe not always “perfect” looking, but pure, and as nature intended! 

For retreats at Eco Dharma we work with carefully selected teachers, healers and health ambassadors who share in the same ethos. We seek to partner with wellness practitioners who care as much about sustainable and kind living as we do, and love animals; because our team will always include our furry friends! 

Important to us: we believe that compassion should be a shared value among all guests at Eco Dharma. We look forward to hosting you for a future retreat!

  • Chantal Di Donato

    FOUNDER

    “Hello, I’m Chantal, Certified Coach, Yoga Teacher, Author, WFPB Holistic Nutritionist and Healer, and founder of Live LeanLive Lean Health Health and Eco Dharma Village. I am also the host of The Green Life Podcast and Naturopathic Doctor in training.

    As a full time Yoga teacher in London, I worked exclusively with Heartcore Fitness becoming Head of Yoga for their studios since 2018. The love for the teachers and the practice is what inspired me to work with such amazing practitioners and now , at Eco Dharma I have the space to allow teachers to host their retreats and be looked after whilst they hold the space for their group.

    My journey started at seventeen, with a two years long battle with anorexia over a decade long destructive relationship with food, which forced me to then turn my life around due to health issues at thirty. I realised I had to make a choice and connect all the dots to be healthy but mostly to love myself as I clearly was harming my body and spirit. It is an ongoing journey with ups and downs, but I am so much happier and more stable and my dreams are actually becoming reality!

    I believe medicine is on our plates and I implement both nutrition and lifestyle in my coaching practice, which as a result, translated in Eco Dharma being a space where lifestyle and nutrition are key points!

    I am a healthy vegan, food activist and author of The Live Lean Health Plan, The Live Lean Detox plan and Innocently Sweet, creator of the Live Lean inspirational Cards, contributor to OM YOGA MAGAZINE and speaker at international events and workshops.

    Visit my website and Instagram page for more details on my schedule and coaching practice.”

  • Kyle James

    Co-Founder

    “I got onboard with Chantal’s idea for the Eco Dharma project not too long after attending her 2017 retreat in Tuscany.

    The retreat had come during a transformational phase of my life. I was decompressing after breaking from a demanding corporate career and shedding old thoughts that had weighed me down. I was in search of ways to improve my wellness at a time when I had become unbalanced and was feeling the stresses of modern city living.

    The retreat started the process of helping me to mentally rejuvenate. It gave me the authentic environment I needed to re-connect with myself and I learned new ways of finding stillness in my mind that would help to ease my mental fatigue. I felt a clear boost in my physical state after a week of yoga practice, being in nature and eating organic vegetables right from the garden.

    After that I wanted to be a part of bringing that natural health experience that Chantal curated to a broader community which brought us to Portugal as we took Eco Dharma from idea to reality. One of my hopes for our retreat is that it brings in an uplifting environment for our guests, providing the authentic setting where positive growth and transformations can occur.”

  • Meet our fur babies

    Click here to meet our amazing rescues