OUR STORY
THE BEGINNINGS OF ECO APARTMENTS
Monte da Cunca were originally farm houses and animal shelters, the earliest records for which date back to 1876. They had been abandoned and left to ruin for thirty years before they were bought by us in 2002. In 2005 we began the major restoration project and people came to help from all over the world to generously offer their different skills and ideas. Many of them were artists who contributed their creativity and artwork and even though there was much hard work, there was a beautiful energy as people came together and enjoyed music, nature, life on the beach and rich cultural exchange. Many love stories have their beginnings in the fresh sea air and beautiful light here.
In 2008 the restoration project was finished, the guest houses were ready and we began welcoming our first guests.
OUR LOCATION
The accommodations are located in the heart of the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park, which is on the South West Coast of the Algarve.
The apartments are located next to the EN 268 national road, making the village of Carrapateira (1KM away), Bordeira Beach (1KM away) and Amado Beach (3 KM away) all easily accessible.
OUR SUSTAINABLE APPROACH
ORGANIC PRODUCTS AND
LOCAL SUPPLIERS
The cleaning products we use as well as the soap provided for you, are organic and sourced from Ecox, a Portuguese company which makes its products out of old vegetable oils, and from a local lady who makes amazing soaps!! I make the soaps that come with the accommodation, based on organic extra virgin olive oil (which I buy from a friend in northern Portugal) enriched with a mixture of warm and very aromatic essential oils.
Most of pillowcases and duvet covers which will be provided for you have been sewn by us out of organic cotton. The towels are made in Portugal and have been bought here at a small local shop. We wash the bed linen and towels in our farm with biological products and we don’t use bleach!! Instead we use sodium bi-carbonate to keep the bed linen white.
NATURAL RESOURCES
WATER & SOLAR ENERGY
The water is pumped out from our well and heated up using solar panels made by the owner (who is an engineer of alternative energy). Water is an extremely valuable resource that should be available for everyone for free.
While you are here we invite you to drink the water from the tap which comes from our well and is periodically controlled you can drink it without problem and avoid buying plastic, also we provide filter Alkaline water .
The bin bags in the accommodation are biodegradable.
TRADITIONAL PORTUGUESE ARCHITECTURE
FOR A PERFECT ROOM CLIMATE
This accommodation is not only for the summer but also perfect for the winter. Since the building is designed and built in the traditional Portuguese way with stone and clay, it stays warm and dry during the winter. We also have underfloor heating and warm showers which are either heated with our solar panels or with electricity when it is too cloudy. This makes the accommodation perfect for people who are hiking the Rota Vicente during the winter.
OUR BIG PROJECT: REFORESTING THE LAND
In 2010 we started our project to reforest the hills on our land. We have now already planted 35,000 local trees: pine trees, medronho and cork trees. Faced with the climate that gets drier every year, many of them have grown and now we can see the hills covered with these trees, the birds have returned and have found a home among the trees, the soil has improved a lot and you can find mushrooms now!!!
