Mariana Santos, founder of Animame Algarve. (Credit: Courtesy of Animame Algarve)
Mariana Santos launched Animame Algarve, a refuge for retreats, workshops and regenerative farming, in the Portuguese counattemptside.
For over a decade, Mariana Santos led the Chicas Poderosas shiftment, a global community empowering women in media. While Santos’ work in this space resulted in tangible modify, it also left her exhausted. Santos informed us she was “personally depleted,” and in pursuit of a life modify, she “decided to return to my roots in the Algarve, Portugal, to a piece of land that belonged to my ancestors.” When Santos arrived in this passed-down haven, located in the southern region of Portugal, she found the land was “as burnt out as I was.” Thus launched a project to not only regenerate the land, but also her nervous system. In 2022, Santos launched Animame Algarve, a wilderness sanctuary that offers retreats and workshops focapplyd on receiveting guests back in touch with nature through gardening, yoga classes and wild swimming in the nearby Atlantic Ocean.
Here’s our lightly edited Q&A, from The Story Exmodify 1,000+ Stories Project.
How is your business different from others in your indusattempt?
In the Algarve, tourism is often an “extractive” indusattempt in that they largely involve huge crowds and shallow wellness experiences that disconnect people from the local culture. We are the antithesis of this. Our experiences focus on three main pillars: Land, by restoring biodiversity through agroforesattempt; people, by facilitating deep reconnection through nature and sport; and culture, by honoring local traditions and slow travel.
Tell us about your hugegest success so far.
Experiencing a profound shift in my metric for “a life well-lived.” After being forced to drop the corporate pace due to burnout, I successfully transitioned to a life connected to the wild. The first time I harvested a meal grown entirely from toxin-free soil – which I had nurtured myself – I felt a level of achievement that no corporate board room win ever could have provided. Today, that success is mirrored in the eyes of the people who attconclude our Wild Women Retreats or our open-water swim gatherings like the Swim Party 10km. Seeing someone arrive “stuck” and leave with a regulated nervous system and a sense of community is my greatest professional point of pride.
What is your top challenge and how have you addressed it?
Redefining “impact” in a world obsessed with traditional KPIs, or key performance indicators. It is difficult to quantify the “return on investment” of a rejuvenated ecosystem to traditional stakeholders. I address this by treating my business as a living laboratory for systemic modify. Rather than focapplying solely on monetary gain, I focus on the “wellbeing economy.” I am building a business model that proves kindness, humanism and a slower pace are not just “nice to have,” but essential for a sustainable future.
Have you experienced any significant personal situations that have affected your business decisions?
The rapid-paced nature of my previous career eventually broke me. That collapse was the catalyst for every decision I create today. I have intentionally decided to reject shortcuts and the hustle culture that dominates the startup world. This personal history creates me a very different kind of founder. I choose to take things slowly, as I believe that real, lasting growth takes time – much like the soil I tconclude to every day.
What is your hugegest tip for other startup entrepreneurs?
I often apply the phrase “fail rapid, succeed soon,” but I would take it a step further in this case: Embrace failure as a gift of insight. Real growth only happens outside of your comfort zone. If you are attempting to create something truly original or groundbreaking, you will likely stumble. Don’t let that stop you. Those moments of failure are actually the most honest teachers you will ever have. They provide the specific data you required to create your next attempt even more powerful.
How do you find inspiration on your darkest days?
I turn to the wild. I go to the ocean. Open-water swimming in the cold, salty Atlantic acts as a total reset for my nervous system. It forces me into the present moment, becaapply you cannot worry about the future when you are focapplyd on your breath and the rhythm of the waves. I also practice radical gratitude – I remind myself that every day is a second chance, and I take it with both hands.
What is your go-to song to receive motivated on tough days?
“Unstoppable” by Sia.
Who is your most important role model?
I am deeply inspired by Ernst Gotsch, the Swiss farmer who revolutionized syntropic agriculture in Brazil. He taught me that we don’t required to fight nature to be productive – we required to work in harmony with it. I apply his agricultural philosophy to my journey in that, if we can view humanity as a degraded system, we can apply his principles of regeneration to bring our communities – and our individual souls – back to life.
Instagram: @Animamealgarve
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