About us

"I was born in Zamora. My parents emigrated to Holland when I was four years old and I lived there until 1999. I studied translation and then biology and worked as a biology teacher and political advisor for the Dutch government. At Villa Matilde I run Environmental Education activities, courses and excursions for people of all ages. For four years I worked with great enthusiasm on the Iberian lynx conservation project in Andalusia. I think there are so many exciting things to do in life, but I especially enjoy nature, cooking and ceramics."

Mercedes

"I was born in Delft (Holland). I started my professional life as a sports teacher, but since 1994 I have worked as a physiotherapist. At Villa Matilde I am the cook and the handyman and I take care of the animals we have. From time to time, I give our clients a massage or Reiki treatment to try to remove accumulated stress. I enjoy nature and I like hiking and traveling around the world."

Roland

We met in Holland

We lived in Amsterdam until moving to Spain, with the exception of one year when we traveled through Africa and lived in Guinea Bissau.

We arrived in Andalusia in 1999 to start with the rural house and the nature classroom. With the help of many friends we were able to start a new, more sustainable life.
We have an organic garden, some animals (donkeys, chickens, dogs, cats and bees) and we like to live off what nature offers us. We make bread, jams, yogurt, preserves, we grow vegetables, fruit and olives, we have honey from our bees and from time to time we make our creams and ointments with medicinal plants. Combining green living with running a business is sometimes not easy, but we try to do the best we can. We have two fantastic daughters, Aisa and Mila, who give us a hand from time to time. They are happy to have been able to live in a city as exciting as Amsterdam and also in a place as healthy and natural as Villa Matilde.

We like to share with the people we receive our way of living and the knowledge and love for the environment where we live. We could tell so many things, but the best thing is that people come and experience it for themselves.