VALUABLE
IN EVERY SENSE
“Quinta dos Artistas” is a project of the Dornfeld-Bretterbauer family, originally from Austria.
A holiday in Madeira in an ecological, social and artistic environment, shaped by the ideals and values of our family.
“Quinta dos Artistas”, freely translated, means “the artists’ estate”.
We are cultivating this land (the terraces had been completely overgrown for 50 years) and practicing organic farming on the property.
We grow vegetables, herbs and fruit trees, and have some free-ranging chickens, goats and geese. It is intended to become a meeting place and a place to live for conscious-minded people with an affinity for nature, art and culture. In this way, we also want to realise our idea of responsible tourism.
We want to welcome guests who share and appreciate values similar to our own.
The project should be carried out with consistency, openness and a joy of life! VALUABLE IN EVERY SENSE!
My wife Christa and I are doing well.
We are thinking about our lives as we enter the final third of them. What makes us content and happy? What keeps us healthy?
We enjoy our work. Simply stopping and retiring is not an option. Christa cannot imagine life without hiking with guests in nature, and I cannot imagine it without my work in the studio. Perhaps a little more consciously and at a different pace, but simply stopping is out of the question.
At the same time, we are concerned by global warming, the careless use of resources and the increasingly polarised political situation. Creating a place where our children and grandchildren can all survive together, an “Ark of Noah”, is my romantic dream.
At the end of 2015, we were given the opportunity to purchase agricultural land totalling 12,500 m² in Madeira. In 2016, our project began to take shape, construction took place in 2017, and we opened in 2018. By now, the property has grown to more than 15,000 m².
~ Gerald and Christa Dornfeld-Bretterbauer
- Respectful and appreciative relationship between guests and hosts ⟩⟩
- Careful, responsible and conscious use of the environment and its resources ⟩⟩
- Healthy food, enjoyment and a joy of life ⟩⟩
- Culture, sensitivity, open-mindedness ⟩⟩
- Value creation should remain local and within the local community ⟩⟩
- A fulfilling and healthy working environment for employees and their families ⟩⟩
- Fair distribution of the income generated among all those involved in creating it ⟩⟩
- Farming based on the principles of organic agriculture and permaculture ⟩⟩
TOLERANCE AND RECOGNITION OF DIFFERENT BELIEFS AND WAYS OF LIFE
We respect your needs and wishes and appreciate the trust you place in us by choosing to spend your holiday here.
We know how valuable and important a holiday is to everyone. Many of our guests live under stressful and demanding circumstances. We want your days with us to be varied, relaxing, peaceful and healthy.
But we also expect you to recognise that this is beautiful work for us, but it is also demanding work. We are not able to give “full throttle” 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. There will therefore be days when we are not at our best. Things will not always turn out exactly as we would like, and sometimes our expectations may simply be different from yours.
With respect and appreciation, however, we can surely work everything out in a positive and cheerful way.
We will not create a “tourist Disney plastic world” for you. You come to us as “special” people, and we welcome you as “special” people.
TOLERANCE AND RECOGNITION OF DIFFERENT BELIEFS AND WAYS OF LIFE
There is only one race: the human race.
Interesting conversations can arise and passionate discussions are welcome. But only if both sides actually want this exchange of opinions.
If you share this attitude with us, you are in the right place. We do not need to talk about it much. We will not try to “convert” anyone, and we do not want to be “converted” ourselves. We have our preferences, and you have yours.
CAREFUL, RESPONSIBLE AND CONSCIOUS USE OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ITS RESOURCES
Every day, we learn more about what is possible.
We begin with what we know today and want to keep learning every day.
We try to save electricity without sacrificing comfort by using sophisticated timing and load-management systems. We generate a large proportion of our electricity ourselves. Our goal is energy autonomy.
Water is Madeira’s most valuable resource. We save water wherever possible. For some toilet flushing, we use water from the levada. Wastewater from showers, sinks and washing facilities is also reused for irrigation. Rainwater is collected and used for irrigation.
The fields and gardens are irrigated exclusively with levada water. (We have storage capacity for more than half a million cubic metres.)
Instead of ornamental gardens, we focus on fruit, herb and vegetable gardens.
HEALTHY FOOD, ENJOYMENT AND A JOY OF LIFE
Food is the fuel of our lives. At the same time, it brings pleasure and enjoyment.
We produce most of our own fruit, vegetables, herbs, honey and eggs on our Quinta, using organically oriented farming methods. When we cannot produce enough ourselves, we buy from small farmers in the surrounding area whom we know personally.
When we have a surplus, we try to preserve it ourselves, for example as jams, chutneys, pickled vegetables or frozen produce. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots and other vegetables suitable for storage are kept in specially designed cellars.
We always try to buy meat and fish from local sources. We consume meat and fish with the awareness that an animal has given its life for it, and therefore with respect and moderation.
We do not eat the animals that live on our Quinta.
We try to avoid food that has travelled long distances. You will not find “grapes from Chile” here in winter.
“Those who do not enjoy life become impossible to enjoy,” sang Konstantin Wecker in one of his songs.
We are neither “saints” ourselves nor do we want to force our way of life upon our guests. So if the “Nutella junkie” wants their morning dose of happiness, they can order it here too.
And if you are missing something, tell us. We will get it for you.
CULTURE, SENSITIVITY, OPEN-MINDEDNESS
CULTURE
In the broadest sense, culture refers to everything that human beings create and shape themselves, in contrast to nature, which they have neither created nor altered. Cultural achievements include all creative transformations of given materials, such as technology and the visual arts, but also intellectual creations such as music, languages, morality, religion, law, economics and science.
SENSITIVITY
Sensitivity, receptiveness, empathy, tact, care, consideration, understanding, delicacy, gentleness.
OPEN-MINDEDNESS
Open-mindedness describes the freedom of human beings from the constraints of their immediate environment and society, and emphasises their openness towards a world shaped and created by themselves, as well as their receptiveness towards other cultures.
Based on these three concepts, we see:
- our attitude towards the people around us, regardless of their culture;
- the thoughtful shaping and cultivation of our “cultural landscape”, the Quinta;
- our efforts to make our Quinta a meeting place for people and cultures of many different kinds;
- and the active encouragement of an environment that is open-minded and sensitive.
VALUE CREATION SHOULD REMAIN LOCAL
AND WITHIN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY
The money earned at the Quinta is used to develop and maintain the Quinta and to provide everyone working here with a fair and secure livelihood.
Wherever economically possible, goods, services and the results of the value created at the Quinta should remain within the immediate local and regional area.
This is also one reason why there are no shareholders at our Quinta who are not actively involved in the project. Otherwise, part of the value created would flow back to the source of the capital rather than remaining in the region.
Wherever economically possible, products, services and employees should be selected according to local criteria. The immediate surroundings of the property should benefit from and be involved in the project. We also want to revive meaningful local traditions and protect traditional cultural heritage and knowledge.
A FULFILLING AND HEALTHY WORKING ENVIRONMENT FOR EMPLOYEES AND THEIR FAMILIES
There should be no need to separate physically or mentally demanding “work” from a satisfying life.
Working conditions should make such a separation unnecessary. Work should be part of the daily rhythm and be experienced as satisfying, interesting and a positive part of everyday life.
Especially in tourism, working hours are often difficult to reconcile with family and social life. A fair distribution of necessary duties among the employees involved is essential. At the same time, guests need to understand that services may be limited at certain times or on certain days. Traditionally, and because of the nature of the tourism industry, holidays around public holidays are particularly popular. These periods should not lead to employees completely losing the opportunity to spend these special days together with their own families.
FAIR DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME GENERATED AMONG ALL THOSE INVOLVED IN CREATING IT, WITH SOCIAL CONSIDERATIONS
All statutory social benefits are paid reliably and on time by the business.
Every employee working at the Quinta contributes to its economic success and to the satisfaction of our guests.
Everyone working here should therefore also participate appropriately in the economic results. Each employee’s basic salary corresponds to their qualifications and responsibilities and therefore complies with the applicable legal framework.
