Our Story
The Story of Buna
From a fishing village to the Ranch
In the early 2000s, a man arrived in a fishing village with no power and no road, and set out to build his own paradise — one wall, one carving, one chalet at a time.
Buna discovers Atins
When Buna arrived in Atins, the village was home to around 300 fishermen — there was no electricity, no cars, no tourism. Lençóis Maranhenses National Park did not even exist yet. Buna bought a plot of land in Atins with the idea of building a personal retreat, far from the city.
There were no hotels, no tourists, not even the name “Lençóis Maranhenses” on the maps. Just dunes, the salt wind and the silence. Buna bought a stretch of coconut grove by the river and spent his first years simply listening to the place — where the sun rose, where the tide climbed, what shade the afternoon brought.
The dream takes shape
Over time, the retreat grew into a bigger dream: a guesthouse to welcome friends. Buna began collecting materials — recycled wood, reforested timber, everything repurposed. With no architect, no blueprint, he designed and built every chalet, every piece of furniture, every detail himself. The wooden sculptures scattered around the garden are also his handiwork, carved from local trees.
The wood came from the river itself: trunks the tide carried in, salvaged demolition timber, reforestation offcuts nobody wanted. Buna sanded, fitted and raised them with not one nail more than needed. At night he carved sculptures of vases and flowers into the trunks — the same ones that greet you on arrival today.
From 5 chalets to a legacy
When the road connecting São Luís to Barreirinhas was inaugurated, the Ranch opened its doors with just 5 chalets. Over time, it grew organically — always keeping the same rustic and simple essence, yet comfortable. Today, more than two decades on, Rancho do Buna is more than a guesthouse. It is the legacy of a man who found his paradise and built it with his own hands.
The peacocks came, then the donkeys, the ducks, the chickens — and stayed. The grove became a home for free-roaming animals and for guests who keep returning. In the end, you cannot separate the place from the man who made it by hand: you feel it before you have even unpacked, because here every wall was raised thinking of whoever would sleep inside it.
In Buna’s words
«I built every wall with wood the river brought me.»
— Buna, founder — Atins
What Defines Us
Handmade
Buna raised the Rancho with no architect’s blueprint, from recycled and reforested wood the river brought. Every piece of furniture, every wall and every garden carving came from his own hands — and it’s that handmade soul that welcomes you to this day.
Living Nature
Peacocks, ducks, donkeys and chickens wander freely through the coconut grove — the yard is theirs too. Here nature isn’t a backdrop: it’s a neighbour, and it greets everyone who arrives at the gate.
Legacy of Atins
Over the years, Buna helped make Atins what it is today. That same care — from the man who built this place by hand — is what you’ll feel in our welcome.
Life at the Ranch
The soul of the place
Built from what the river brought
The Rancho grew out of recycled and reforested wood, with no architect’s blueprint — raised by hand, piece by piece, from what the river and the land had to offer. The animals live freely through the coconut grove, owners of the yard as much as the guests are. It isn’t a sustainability concept printed on a sign: it’s simply the way Buna always did things, and the way the place is still cared for.
Come and visit the Ranch
Book your stay and discover what Buna built with his own hands