The Long Manual Break
Switch to Manual Mode
12–14 March 2027 · Gandum Village, Montemor-o-Novo, Alentejo
14 guests · Around 1.5 hours from Lisbon
We chose Alentejo for its slower pace, and Gandum Village for its thoughtful design and close connection to the land and local traditions.
For one weekend, step into the worlds of Portuguese artists Susana Cereja and Clara Rêgo.
Explore tapestry and clay, gather around a table of local flavours and spend time among cork oaks and olive trees.
Everything is considered. Not everything is scheduled.
An invitation into an artist's world
A Manual Break offers time to learn a craft and get to know the person behind it.
Susana and Clara will introduce their materials, techniques and ways of working. Alongside making, there will be conversations about their paths, inspirations and creative blocks—and what living and working in manual mode means to them.
It is also an opportunity to get closer to what is local: skills passed between generations, traditions finding new expression and the people who keep them moving.
No creative experience needed.
Just curiosity to step into an artist’s world, without the pressure to be good at it.
Making with the artists
Arraiolos tapestry with Susana Cereja
A tradition rooted in Alentejo, explored through a contemporary practice.
Susana will introduce the history and cultural significance of Arraiolos tapestry before guiding you through its distinctive stitch, including lesser-known techniques recovered from early tapestries.
Working on a canvas of approximately 20 × 20 cm, you’ll explore the technique and develop your own piece, with time to ask questions, exchange ideas and settle into the rhythm of stitching.
About Susana
Susana Cereja is a Portuguese multidisciplinary artist whose work reinterprets Arraiolos tapestry through a contemporary visual language. Originally trained in Architecture, she continued her studies in illustration, drawing and printmaking, and spent five years working in Joana Vasconcelos’s studio.
Her practice explores femininity, freedom and emotional expression. Alongside exhibitions in Portugal and abroad, she develops community projects that bring generations together through making.
Ceramics with Clara Rêgo
An intuitive exploration of clay, texture and imagination.
Clara will guide you through hand-building techniques to create an organic ceramic piece inspired by nature or your own imagination.
You’ll work with form, volume and texture, exploring painting and decoration as part of the experience.
Each participant will also receive a miniature relief tile and ceramic paints: something to begin during the weekend and continue at home, whenever you feel like returning to manual mode.
About Clara
Clara Rêgo is a Portuguese visual artist from Porto, now based in Lisbon, with a background in Ceramics, Illustration and Fine Art.
Her contemporary ceramics and tiles draw on landscapes, marine organisms and imagined worlds. Her work has been presented at events including Lisbon Design Week, Paris Design Week and Expo Osaka in Japan.
Her workshops invite people to explore the material directly, making room for experimentation and individual expression.
Everything is considered.
Not everything is scheduled.
Between the guided sessions, the time is yours.
Continue your tapestry. Paint your tile. Explore the Viarco creative corners or pick a Portuguese author from The Manual Break library. Follow a trail, read in a quiet spot, spend time with someone new or enjoy being on your own.
Materials and small invitations will be there when you feel like using them. Your own room gives you somewhere to withdraw whenever you wish.
There is no right way to take a Manual Break.
A place that shares your rhythm
Gandum Village
Gandum is a small boutique hotel near Montemor-o-Novo, on 14 hectares within the protected area of Monfurado, around 1.5 hours from Lisbon.
Paths follow streams through cork oaks and olive trees, past a historic aqueduct. Sheep, chickens and wildlife share the landscape.
Traditional rammed earth construction, local soil and carefully restored buildings connect the spaces to the land around them.
For this weekend, each guest has an individual room: comfort and privacy to disconnect, with welcoming spaces to come together.
Around the table
All meals are included, thoughtfully prepared with locally sourced ingredients and Alentejo products.
At Gandum’s restaurant, Provenance, the menu follows the season and the table invites you to take your time. Meals become part of getting to know the place and each other.
Several meal options will be available. After booking, we will ask about your dietary requirements so we can discuss them with the kitchen.
Gandum Village gallery
Reserve your place now!
12–14 March 2027 · Gandum, Alentejo
The Long Manual Break
Small group · 14 guests
€1,500 per person
€750 today · €750 on 11 January 2027
Paid in full at booking
Payment plan and what's includedWhat's included
Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay: the balance is charged automatically. MB WAY or Revolut Pay: we email you a payment link 7 days before.
- Two nights in an individual room
- All meals, from Friday dinner to Sunday lunch
- Arraiolos tapestry and ceramics workshops, materials included
Full refund within 48 hours of booking. Deposit refundable up to 90 days before the start. Transfers to another guest allowed up to 14 days before. Read the terms
Full refund within 48 hours of booking. Transfers to another guest allowed up to 14 days before. Read the terms
Secure checkout with Stripe
- Card
- Apple Pay
- Google Pay
- MB WAY
- Revolut Pay
The rhythm of the weekend
Friday, 12 March
Settle into a different rhythm
Arrive at Gandum Village between 4 and 5pm, check in and settle into your room. There’s time to unpack, step outside and begin leaving the working week behind.
Meet the group at 6pm for welcome drinks and snacks, followed by a walking tour of Gandum to discover its landscape, local materials and the care behind the place we’ll call home for the weekend.
Over our first dinner, get to know the people around the table. Manual mode begins here.
Saturday, 13 March
A full day in manual mode
After breakfast, Clara Rêgo invites you into her world of clay, texture and imagined forms. Learn how she works with the material, then explore it yourself, letting curiosity guide what takes shape.
Gather around the table for a lunch rooted in Alentejo flavours, before picking up needle and thread with Susana Cereja. Discover how she reinterprets Arraiolos tapestry, and find your own rhythm in a tradition passed through generations.
Alongside making, hear about the paths that brought them here: the inspiration, creative blocks and everyday realities of an artist’s life. A chance to explore what manual mode means to them, and what it might mean to you.
After the workshops, the time is yours to follow your own rhythm. Continue making, walk among the trees, pick up a book or retreat to your room. We’ll meet again over dinner.
Sunday, 14 March
Make the morning your own
After breakfast, return to something you started or see where your curiosity takes you.
A few more stitches in your tapestry, colour on your tile, an unfamiliar pencil from the Viarco creative corners. Explore Portuguese literature, follow a path outside or enjoy some time to yourself.
There’s space to continue at your own pace and perhaps find something you’d like to make room for at home.
We’ll gather for lunch and goodbyes in the early afternoon, sharing one last meal before taking our pieces, materials and stories with us.
Want to stay a little longer?
Continue exploring Alentejo through optional activities arranged by Gandum, such as winery visits or a honey production workshop.
These are organised separately with the hotel, subject to availability, and are outside the included Manual Break programme.
The programme may be adjusted slightly as the weekend takes shape.
Your weekend includes:
Two nights in an individual room at Gandum Village.
All meals, from Friday dinner to Sunday lunch.
Artist-led workshops in Arraiolos tapestry and ceramics, with workshop materials.
Conversations with Susana and Clara about their practice and life in manual mode.
A miniature relief tile and ceramic paints to begin here and continue at home.
Creative corners, The Manual Break library and quiet spaces to enjoy at your own pace.
A welcome walking tour of Gandum, with time throughout the weekend to explore the surroundings.
Thoughtful hosting by The Manual Break, in an intentionally small group.
Travel to Gandum and optional hotel activities are arranged separately.
A small group,
a more personal experience
We keep the group intentionally small, with 14 places available. Come on your own or with someone you know, and get to know others naturally as you switch to manual mode together through local craft and culture.
There’s no expectation to be sociable all the time. Quiet company is equally welcome, and your individual room offers privacy whenever you want time to yourself.
Take a little of
manual mode home
The weekend ends on Sunday, but there are things to return to: your tapestry, a tile waiting for colour, materials and ideas that invite you to keep making in everyday life.
The ceramic piece you create with Clara will be available for collection at her studio in Lisbon after firing. It can also be sent directly to your address.
Join us in Alentejo.
12–14 March 2027 · Gandum Village
Reserve your place
A question before you book? Write to hello@themanualbreak.com
Reserve your place now!
12–14 March 2027 · Gandum, Alentejo
The Long Manual Break
Small group · 14 guests
€1,500 per person
€750 today · €750 on 11 January 2027
Paid in full at booking
Payment plan and what's includedWhat's included
Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay: the balance is charged automatically. MB WAY or Revolut Pay: we email you a payment link 7 days before.
- Two nights in an individual room
- All meals, from Friday dinner to Sunday lunch
- Arraiolos tapestry and ceramics workshops, materials included
Full refund within 48 hours of booking. Deposit refundable up to 90 days before the start. Transfers to another guest allowed up to 14 days before. Read the terms
Full refund within 48 hours of booking. Transfers to another guest allowed up to 14 days before. Read the terms
Secure checkout with Stripe
- Card
- Apple Pay
- Google Pay
- MB WAY
- Revolut Pay