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CAN YOU INTRODUCE YOUR SELF?
My name is Esmee, and I’m a photographer and creative person with a big love for storytelling, aesthetics and food. After graduating from the Dutch Photo Academy in Amsterdam, I spent a few years traveling and gathering inspiration that now shapes my work and life. In Portugal I created a farmstay where art, nature and hospitality come together. Living close to the land made me fall in love with growing food and spending more time outside turned cooking into a new creative passion. These days I spend my time hosting retreats, photographing, working in the garden and cooking with whatever the farm gives us.
“Why not just look?” That small conversation made us dream even more, and around nine months later we decided to actually look for land. It all happened very naturally.
How did you start Helder Farm Studios?
I always dreamed of living abroad. When Laurens and I met, we realised we both wanted a life closer to nature. We started imagining living on a piece of land in Portugal where we could build something together and also host people and creative events. That idea slowly turned into what is now Helder Farm Studios.
What feeling do you hope to create for guests when they visit?
We hope people can really reconnect with themselves. Life is so busy, everyone is always in a rush. We want Helder to feel like a place where you can slow down, breathe, enjoy nature and feel inspired again. A little reset.
How did your passion for slow living begin?
I think it started when I travelled through Australia at 17. I spent about 2.5 years there, part of it in a 4x4 Toyota Landcruiser with a rooftop tent. I loved the outdoor adventure of driving wherever we wanted to go and working on farms along the way. I worked on different farms,and even though it wasn’t always amazing, I loved living so close to nature. I think that’s where the seed for slow living was planted.
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Why Portugal?
I had visited Portugal a few times before meeting Laurens, but he had been here often for surf trips and always said he wanted a small place here one day. We had only known each other for a few months when I told him, “Why not just look?” That small conversation made us dream even more, and around nine months later we decided to actually look for land. It all happened very naturally.
Do you ever miss the city life?
Not really. When I’m back in the city, I do really enjoy it, the restaurants, museums, my friends and family. But after a few days I’ve had enough. I’m always happy to go back to the farm. I like that my home is located in nature and that I can visit the busy city life when I want to or feel like it.
All-time favourite breakfast?
A yoghurt bowl with homemade granola and fresh fruit. Or fresh eggs from our chickens with cottage cheese and avocado. I love both.
One tip to make a simple weekday meal feel special?
Use seasonal veggies and keep it simple. You don’t need complicated recipes. Just take the time to cook something nourishing for yourself. It shouldn’t feel like you have to do it, but try to make it a moment to enjoy.
If you could set a dream table anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Oeh, a hard question — there are so many beautiful places in the world. But I think it would be a long table in the middle of a sunflower field somewhere in France. Surrounded by yellow fields, good food and friends… that would be a dream.