Today we want to talk and tell you about one of the discoveries of our founder, Estefanía Grandío. Cucumbi Farm, a place where she went to enjoy with her family, where she found comfort, peace, and sustainability all in one place.
Cucumbi Farm is located in the heart of Alentejo, in a small village called Barrancão near Santa Susana. This address is designed as a country house, a restored farm transformed into an elegant, simple, and organic guesthouse.
We spoke with the masterminds behind this dream place, where they tell us a little more about its operation and its priority for the environment and well-being.
Cucumbi is designed with a rustic and soft environment. How did the idea of creating a 100% sustainable space as a guest house come about?
- This property belonged to my father and his wife, and for a long time they struggled to keep it organic as their professions consumed most of their time. Isabel, my father's wife, is a musician, a lover of plant-based food, and as a fervent advocate of conscious consumption, she passed on her passion to us. In her time they started selling organic eggs and vegetables next to a Bed and Breakfast with only 5 rooms. After 16 years in Barrancão they decided to move to the Alentejo coast and it was then that my husband Tozé and I decided to buy their property. He always wanted to be a farmer and in 2018 he was able to fulfil his dream and from that moment on he convinced me to embark on this project together with our friend Fernando Oliveira and with the incredible aesthetics and work of Sofia Albuquerque Cucumbi was born...and from there we knew where we were headed.
It has a natural and minimalist décor, with white omnipresent and touches of wood, all carefully selected to create that soft and intimate atmosphere. Could you share with us what is your favorite room or space and why?
- The kitchen in the main house is my favorite place because I could say that my love of Cucumbi blossomed there. It was the first place where Sofia and I started to dream and plan a total change and from the very first moment I realised that it would be amazing. Everything starts there and you can feel it!
With the desire to maintain environmentally friendly practices, how did you manage to make the space and location so eco-friendly, what changes and practices do you carry out on a day-to-day basis to make it so sustainable while still being attractive?
- I already knew Sofia Albuquerque, she did an amazing job on my mother's house in the previous years and we became friends. The moment we decided to embark on this project I knew she had to be the one to do the interior design. As well as loving her aesthetic her inner world flows around nature, she is extremely sensitive to the environment and always finds a way to give the right "temperature" to her projects and it was the perfect match for us.
Being an organic farm we were already walking on a path with nature as our helmsman and it felt obvious to go further on that path with Cucumbi: we have to be very careful with all the products and solutions we use and adopt on the land, with the animals, cleaning products, installations, washing systems, ecological pits, avoiding as much as possible plastic... in order not to disturb our environment.
Because being ecological is a trend nowadays it is easier to find solutions that are both functional and beautiful.
Could you explain how the water filtration system works and what benefits you have noticed since then?
- This question I don't quite understand....
Indeed we have a water filter in the restaurant to have that option to our guests, but along with that and more important for us is the ongoing project we are doing on our land since 2020 with Terra Crua using an approach of agriculture and nature with permaculture and regenerative design: First they mapped our land with a drone and after processing all the information they were able to draw better roads, forests, lakes and ponds with the intention to capture as much water as possible in the soils in order to let nature help us to heal and improve, flora and fauna trying as much as possible to capture water during the rainy season in strategic places previously made with them.
Lastly, which of The New Society's garments do you think would be ideal for a few days at Cucumbi?
- The beautiful dresses, jumpers, trousers...everything suits Cucumbi both for its beauty and comfort and above all the values and vision of the New Society are in perfect harmony with ours and it is wonderful to meet good projects with good people, with good proposals and actions.
Thank you very much for sharing with us the story of how an idea like Cucumbi became a reality.
Don't hesitate to visit it!
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