Those of us of a certain vintage will remember the pre-smartphone world when dial-up internet was the only way we could play The Sims, when phones had aerials and you had to look people’s numbers up in the Golden Pages. Back in those days, you could genuinely be bored, you’d watch dust float around the room, look out the window, and genuinely have the capacity to do nothing for hours at a time. That’s not to say we didn’t waste our time in other ways, like watching WWE, back-to-back tapes of our favourite films and waiting an unholy amount of time for the dial-up to load. It can be easy to look back on those times with a sense of nostalgia, before we were attached to our phones, hyper-contactable in every aspect of our existence. Jobs where you properly ‘switch off’ are now few and far between, it is now becoming the norm to respond to emails, check Slack and respond to customer feedback outside your contracted hours. In this hyperconnected world, there has never been a worse time for ‘work-life balance’, for a clear separation between work and home. Unfortunately, this is seen as a positive in some areas of the economy with productivity steadily growing in the EU over the past two decades, the average annual growth of GDP per hour worked between the years 2000 and 2022 was 1.2% according to Caixa Bank Research released last month.
One person who has felt the negative impacts of this hyper-connected world is Rosanna Irwin, whose experience working in the high-pressure “always-on” world of tech and climate tech industries, led her to found Samsú. The concept aims to counter this impact, by creating spaces in nature that allow guests to unplug from the demands of everyday life and find rest in nature. Located an hour from Dublin in a laurel forest, it’s a luxury off-grid cabin inspired by Irwin’s own transformative camping experience on the Danish island of Samsø.
Powered by solar energy and equipped with eco-friendly amenities such as compost toilets and organic Irish-made bath products, the cabin minimises its environmental impact while providing a luxurious off-grid experience. Upon arrival, guests are greeted with a curated analogue kit, including a phone lockbox, film camera, cassette player, journals, sleep sprays, Lightohone, and a map of the surrounding area.
“In today’s fast-paced world, we are constantly bombarded with notifications, emails, and the pressure to be ‘always on,'” says Irwin. “Samsú offers a refuge where people can rediscover the power of going analogue and embrace the restorative benefits of nature.”
Aoife MacNamara of Aoife Ireland, a recent guest at Samsú, shares her experience: “Time slows down when you let it – make a tea, lay in bed and enjoy the birdsong. Samsú provided the perfect escape to recharge and find inner peace.”
Prices start at €195 per night and include a king-sized bed with linens, logs for the fire, locally roasted coffee, and everything else you might need to go analogue in nature, for more info head over to the website.
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