We are Joost and Reem, a Dutch-Lebanese couple, an ecologist and a herbalist, living with our two children at La Llamera, an old farm in northern Spain.
At Anima Natura, we share knowledge, curiosity, and wonder, guiding others back onto their trail into the wild. We offer journeys, workshops, and experiences to reconnect with the land, with others, and with yourself.
Wild journeys
Immerse yourself in the wild, following the tracks of wolf, bear, and other creatures. Through storytelling, sensory engagement, and animal tracking, these journeys challenge the body and awaken the senses. They are for those ready to step fully into the wilderness and reconnect with the natural world.
Family journeys
Family adventures to explore, learn, and grow together. From mountain walks and nights under the stars to bushcraft, herbal excursions, and sensory exercises, these journeys create lasting memories. A new, season-inspired program is offered each season. Children and adults alike reconnect with nature, curiosity, and each other.
Herbal journeys
Discover the world of medicinal plants through hands-on, season-inspired workshops, courses, and retreats. Learn how to connect with herbs, and yourself, whether you are just beginning or already familiar with plants. Explore their uses, awaken your senses, and let the subtle wisdom of nature guide you.
For millenia, people have lived as part of the land.
The land provided food and shelter, belonging and memories. For millenia, people have lived in kinship with other species, connected to all living things by our senses of smell, hearing, seeing, tasting and feeling. Somewhere along the way, many of us have learned to live without listening to them.
We believe that we can restore those bonds.
The knowledge and skills are still present in our bodies. Our hearts, heads and hands are the same as they were millenia ago, they are archives of Deep Knowledge, they remind us of an Old Way. We instinctively love the smell of fresh forest soil, the sound of laughter, the looks of embers glowing in a small fire.
We take people on journeys, walks and workshops.
For those who feel at home in the modern world, yet long for something older and wilder. We navigate by fresh animal trails and old rituals. We sleep out and forage. You will learn to go from watching to seeing, from hearing to understanding. Experience how connecting to the land again, enables you to connect to others again, and ultimately to yourself.
This is Anima Natura.
Anima is the breath of life that connects all beings. Even in a broken world, it reminds us that within us lies a doorway back to ourselves, the earth, and all that lives.
