School of Life · Ardales
Let’s build a place of learning, growth, health, abundance and happiness together — in the beautiful heart of Andalusia.
Why I’m doing this
For years I’ve carried a dream — not to build a business, but to build a life: shared with people I love and respect, in a place of beauty, doing something that genuinely helps people feel more alive. These two old houses in Ardales, and the olive grove down the road, are where that dream could finally get to become real.
I don’t want to own it alone or run it alone. I want to co-create it — with a small circle of people who feel the same pull toward connection, health and meaning.
If that thread has always been in you too, I’d love to explore it together.
— Dominic
Feel it already? No need to read to the end.
I’m curious — let’s talk 🌿A life worth living, shared with people we love
Picture it, five years from now. Two old village houses in the heart of Ardales, joined by a sun-filled courtyard with a great lemon tree at its centre — where we cook, share long meals, and gather with our guests. Up on the roof terrace, the mountains opening out beyond, we host our retreats. We started small — just a couple of rooms and a kitchen — and grew, slowly and with our own hands, into a thriving little school: more rooms, a bigger kitchen, a sauna and a wellness space. A circle of friends co-creating courses and retreats — and some of us living in a tiny-house community on the olive grove nearby, sharing a life close to nature.
Together
5–10 co-creators sharing the work, the income, the joy and the vision.
In nature
A village center and a community of yurts and tiny houses among the olive trees.
With meaning
Contribution, love, connection — a way of living that gives back to the world.
Our vision for the courtyard, in watercolour — imagined with AI.
Ardales, Andalusia
A village worth travelling for — whitewashed lanes, warm mountain light, and the world-famous Caminito del Rey right on the doorstep.
The shared courtyard we’re creating — imagined with AI.
The School — two village houses
Two old houses wrapped around a sun-filled courtyard, a lemon tree at its centre and the long table where we cook, eat and gather. Four doors open onto two quiet streets; up top, a roof terrace where the mountains stretch out and the retreats are held. We begin gently — 5 rooms, a kitchen, the courtyard, and the roof terrace closed in with glass curtains.
The Land — a 5.5-acre olive grove
Ten minutes away, a quiet grove of olive trees with water and electricity, big skies and bright stars. Here co-creators can set down a tiny house or yurt and grow a small community in nature — a second home among the trees.
The grove — life among the olive trees — imagined with AI.
The grove by night — imagined with AI.
Bringing health, abundance & happiness to people
“Teaching people to regulate their nervous systems, to live from the heart, to connect, and to belong — in a place of beauty, co-created in love and equality.”
Young people
Teenagers who come for a season of language, art and culture — and leave changed, with friends from across the world.
Mid-life seekers
Those in the thick of life who come for yoga, breathwork and quiet inner work — and find their feet again.
Elders
Older guests who come to slow down — wellness, rest and deeper spiritual work, held with real care.
And a gift to the village: evening and daytime classes for the people of Ardales — breathwork, yoga, English — so our doors stay open to our neighbours too.
Evenings in the courtyard — imagined with AI.
Courses & retreats from the heart
We begin with the gifts we already carry between us, and throw the doors open to guest teachers we love.
Signature retreats
Multi-day journeys, full board, 8–12 guests — the kind of week people remember for years.
Courses & classes
Weekend deep-dives, and easy weekly classes for locals and guests alike.
Hosted & online
Visiting teachers filling the calendar, and online courses that carry the work out into the world.
The roof terrace, where retreats are held — imagined with AI.
Slowly. Beautifully. With our own hands.
There’s no rush. We start with a few rooms and a kitchen, prove the love with real guests, and let the place grow from what works — built affordably with our own hands, weekend by weekend.
The courtyard, drawn — built slowly, by hand, together.
Fair, clear, and built on equality
Honesty is part of the love. Here’s how we hold it together.
Two simple sides
- 🏠The houses are held by the property company (BHA), which carries the original purchase.
- 🌟The school is run by a new company that we co-create — it funds the renovation, runs the retreats, and shares the income.
What a co-creator brings & gets
- 💶Brings: capital, skill, vision and love.
- 🎁Gets: a fair share of ownership & income, a real voice, and a place to belong.
- ⛺Optional yurt or tiny house on the land for €25k — ownership + the right to live, sharing simple running costs.
How we decide — together
A council. Matters of community and culture: one voice each, by consent. Matters of law and money: by ownership share. Our mission and values are always protected.
The spirit of it
Everything fair, everything transparent, decided as equals. The aim is simple: a venture that is viable and fair, where everyone who gives, receives.
Belong at any depth
A living, semi-permeable map of how deeply you choose to belong — from guests at the open outer edge to the committed circle at the heart, everyone giving and receiving along the way. The rings are porous: there’s always a path inward, and many who arrive simply as guests are drawn, over time, into the heart of the community. Tap a ring to read it.
Held by golden threads — love · connection · growth · abundance · fairness.
1Core Circle
Co-founders of deepest commitment (time + capital). Own equity, share income, hold the fullest voice. May live in the grove.
2Co-Founders
Owners and believers with a lighter load. Full shareholder voice, lighter day-to-day. May live in the grove.
3Anchor Leaders
Invested teachers — a refundable stake brings priority spaces, a bounded voice, and a gentle, capped share. Belief first, not yield. May live in the grove.
4Supporters
Friends who give money, skills or advocacy. Recognition, belonging, early access — the soil future co-creators grow from.
5Visiting Leaders
External hosts who rent the space. Warm and commercial — and a natural pipeline of people who move inward.
6Guests & Community
The people we serve — guests, students, and the locals of Ardales. Where belonging begins; every inner member started here.
Light, real, and honest
A first sketch of the economics — enough to see it works, refined together as we go.
| We build it ourselves — cash cost | ≈ €283,000 |
| A contractor would charge | ≈ €420,000 |
| Value we create with our own hands | ≈ €210,000 |
| Funded by co-creators + a small shared loan | €360,000 |
| Revenue, Year 1 → Year 5 | €100k → €260k |
| Cash-positive every year · surplus to share by Year 5 | ≈ €54k / yr |
| Income to the circle in Year 5 — paid work + ownership | ≈ €99k |
Illustrative Base case from our financial model (we run conservative, base & optimistic). Co-creators earn two ways: paid work — retreat leaders are paid per retreat (a base + a share) — and a share of the growing ownership surplus. Refined together with a Spanish gestor.
From today to a thriving school
Vision & circle
Align the dream, gather our co-creators, take the first legal steps.
Foundations
Form the company, secure funding, surveys, architect and permits.
Build the MVP
Renovate the first rooms, kitchen, courtyard and roof terrace. Raise the first yurts and tiny houses.
Open the doors
Pilot retreats, local classes, our first paying guests.
Grow & expand
Full calendar, more rooms, larger kitchen, sauna & wellness — the 5-year vision.
Will you build this with us?
We’re looking for a small circle of friends who feel the call — people who bring love, skill, vision and a willingness to co-create something beautiful and lasting.
Let’s talk, dream, and shape it together. A bright, abundant, joyful future is waiting in Ardales.
A living invitation, shared among friends. All figures are illustrative planning estimates.