230 Reasons

A Casa das Chocas is much more than a place to stay. It is a project born from the A Carqueixa Cooperative, made up of 230 families who live and work in the Ancares mountains, connected to extensive livestock farming and to a way of understanding the land based on care, closeness and respect for our surroundings.

For decades, we have chosen to remain here, to continue living in our villages and to help ensure that Os Ancares remains a living, thriving territory. We know that maintaining activity and creating new opportunities in rural mountain areas is not always easy, but we also believe that the future of this territory must be built here, by developing initiatives that help strengthen the community and keep our villages alive.

That is why the cooperative promotes different projects related to livestock farming, local produce, food and rural life. One of these projects was the restoration of A Casa das Chocas, an emblematic establishment in the area that had been closed for some time, bringing it back to life and turning it into a new meeting place.

Today, A Casa das Chocas is one of the places from which many of the cooperative’s projects come to life. It is a space open to the territory and to those who visit us, where we want to share our way of understanding Os Ancares and show that behind every product, every dish and every stay, there is a community of people who continue to choose to live and work here.

Because behind this project are 230 families, 230 ways of understanding and caring for this territory, and 230 reasons to continue building a future in Os Ancares.

Cooperative Website

Accommodation

The rooms at A Casa das Chocas are designed around the same philosophy that drives the cooperative: closeness, connection to the land and community. We want staying here to be much more than simply finding a place to sleep, and for every stay to offer the chance to discover, even if only for a few days, the essence of Os Ancares and the way of life of those of us who live in these mountains.

The spaces are gradually being transformed to create accommodation with its own identity, away from conventional models and deeply connected to the surrounding territory. The walls of the house also tell our story, featuring works by artists who collaborate with the project alongside photographs taken by the cooperative’s own members.

Every corner aims to convey something of who we are and what surrounds us: mountain landscapes, extensive livestock farming, villages, people and the stories that are part of everyday life in Os Ancares.

We want those who stay at A Casa das Chocas to discover this territory at their own pace, enjoy nature, explore its paths and discover its villages, while also understanding that behind this landscape there is a community working every day to keep it alive.

A place to rest, yes, but also a place to connect with the land, discover it and experience it from within.

Community

Beyond accommodation, A Casa das Chocas is a community space that is part of everyday life in Os Ancares. It is a grocery shop, a canteen, a meeting place for local residents and a space where different initiatives connected to the A Carqueixa Cooperative and the surrounding territory are developed.

Here you can find local and regional products, enjoy a conversation in the canteen or meet local residents and visitors in a space that aims to bring back something as simple and important as a place to come together.

But A Casa das Chocas is also a project in constant transformation. A living space where something is always happening and where initiatives continue to grow and evolve over time. Here you might come across a mural being painted by a local artist, activities connected to the local area or a food truck created from one of the vans used during the filming of the movie Sirat.

The walls of the house are also part of this project. They bring together works by collaborating artists and photographs taken by the cooperative’s own members, creating a dialogue between art, the land and the community.

A Casa das Chocas is not a closed or finished project. It is an open space that grows with the people who live here, visit it and take part in it. A place designed to bring people together, share experiences and show that it is also possible to build new projects and create new opportunities in a rural territory such as Os Ancares.

A living space, supported by people who continue to believe in these mountains and in the future of their villages.