photo: © ATO
Terra Divina: a meeting point between art, nature and well-being
Although much of ATO's activity extends across the national territory, it is crucial - today we can even say "it is urgent" - to know how to look again at our origins: the land we walk on, the landscape that surrounds us, the air we breathe.
Therefore, our activity and mission is related to an intimate relationship with the natural heritage, preserved but unexplored; the growing search for activities in the field of well-being and awareness; the concept of spirituality as a condition for health, according to the World Health Organization (1988).
photo: © ATO
Joining forces,
talents, resources!
We want Terra Divina to be a place of sharing, dissemination, experimentation: a space-montra of various practices that enrich us as people, supported by philosophies, thoughts and ways of living consciously, in balance with the Earth and with everyone.
Not only do we want Divine Earth to be a propeller of CONSCIOUSNESS TOURISM, we want it to be a place of good social and environmental practices: caring for the Earth and all Beings. After all, sustainability should not be treated as a mere ephemeral program - we want Terra Divina to be an inspiration and teaching for all who pass through it, in a broad plan that in the future will include not only PURIFICATION RETREATS (currently already in dynamization) but also ARTIST RESIDENCES and the development of PERMACULTURE practices.
video: © ATO
The beginning:
digging our hands in the earth
In December 2019 we acquired the first plot of land near the village of Ourondo, thus marking the official address of Terra Divina. The intervention so far on the land has been structured in the least intrusive way possible: we want to preserve the local fauna and flora, develop the land using natural materials and fulfill a healthy balance between occupied space and wild space.
There is a small stone house in the center of the site, which will be restored in the future to serve as our work base and house all the technical needs related to the events held at Terra Divina.
photo: © ATO
In December 2020 we have added new plots, counting now tih 3 ha of terrain. Still, we want this territory to remain open as it has always been as a wild space: without walls or borders, naturally bordered by the river beach of the Alagoa site, the pine slopes, the M512 municipal road, the Grande Rota do Zêzere (GR33) and the pedestrian paths that connect the landscape directly to the streets of the village of Ourondo.
Terra Divina will always be a place with open doors - in fact, a place without doors - as a dwelling place and a place of passage for all human and animal creatures that pass through it, respecting an essential code of conduct for the respect of the landscape, the preservation of the ecosystem and the care of the ecological footprint.
photo: © ATO
A long work-in-progress
In its purest state, the Divine Land is finished - it has always been a natural place in itself. There we hold spiritual purification retreats in huts erected in a proper place.
The efforts of the members and volunteers are slowly enriching the complementary constructions of Terra Divina, trying to erect the structures needed in the future to make Terra Divina a place prepared for longer stays and for the organization of the complex events planned for the future.
TERRA DIVINA —