How it started
In the summer of 2018, in a small theatre in Amsterdam, Joaquim Pedro and Diana Carmen met and became friends, sharing a love for art, games, and imagination. Over time, through different places, projects, and life chapters, that friendship became a shared path.
Joaquim is drawn to stories, movement, theatre, marionettes, and the many ways creativity can open a path for others. Diana brings structure, vision, organisation, and the determination to give form to ideas and make things happen. Together, they found themselves drawn to the meeting point between art, education, nature, and community.
After becoming parents, that attention deepened and became more concrete. Their focus turned increasingly toward the kind of environments children grow up in, and toward the question of how learning, daily life, nature, care, and community might belong together again. This led them to place children, land, relationship, and long-term regeneration much more firmly at the centre of their work.
What grew from that process was Anastomosis: a way of reconnecting what modern life often separates — children and adults, learning and living, structure and imagination, people and nature. Today, that path continues through the association and through CAL, its active learning community.
About Anastomosis
What is Anastomosis
We are a non-profit association, active since 2023, dedicated to creating learning spaces in nature for children, families, and the wider community. Our work is guided by a holistic view of human development and brings together community, childhood, art, relationships, and care for the land, with the intention of supporting more meaningful ways of growing and living together.
Why the name Anastomosis
An anastomosis is the reunification of two divergent structures, such as water streams, leaf veins, blood vessels, or disconnected societies. Coming from ancient Greek, the word carries the sense of opening connection where separation once existed.
For us, Anastomosis speaks of reconnection: between people, between children and adults, between learning and life, between human beings and the natural world. It expresses our desire to create spaces where care, creativity, relationship, and shared meaning can grow again.
Selected recent projects
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"Os meus tesouros" Marionette play 2024 - 2025
A play for children, inspired by our own experience as parents with our first child. -
“The Incredible Adventure of João”, August 2024
Our stop-motion film, created together with five children, in collaboration with Jogos d'Arte was presented at the Portuguese Surf Film Festival Ericeira. -
Metal marionettes, 2025
In 2025, we continued this artistic path with the development of metal marionettes as part of our creative and educational exploration. -
Our main project, Castelos de Areia e Letras (CAL) a learning community for children aged 6 to 12, opened its doors in September 2025.
