Meet Anna Mouka – the Heart Behind the Farm

Anna Mouka is a therapeutic riding instructor and eco-farmer leading a one-of-a-kind venture on Lesvos. Growing up on her family’s Eco Farm amid olive groves and animals, Anna developed a deep love for horses and nature from an early age. In fact, her father’s passion for trail riding once filled their farm with 25 horses, making horseback life a defining part of her childhood.

In the summer of 2015, a chance encounter changed Anna’s path forever. A Swiss family visiting the farm had a young son on the autism spectrum. Anna noticed how the boy was instantly drawn to one of their gentle mares, Christina, and her little foal. The child spent days brushing and bonding with the horses, radiating calm and joy. On the family’s last night, the parents shared with Anna an insight that lit a spark: in their country, therapeutic riding (hippotherapy) was a popular method to help special-needs children. “It was like a lightbulb,” Anna recalls. “Seeing that little boy light up around Christina showed me my calling.” From that moment, 20-year-old Anna set out to bring the healing power of horses to those who need it most.

Determined to turn her passion into a profession, Anna pursued formal training in therapeutic riding. She apprenticed with expert instructors at a specialized riding club in Thessaloniki, then volunteered for six months at a therapeutic riding center in Athens. These two years of intensive hands-on learning – alongside physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and horse experts – gave her a strong foundation in equine-assisted therapy. By 2018, Anna was back on Lesvos, certified and brimming with purpose, ready to transform her family’s farm into a hub of healing and sustainable living.

Today, Anna is part of a new generation of Greek farmers and therapists combining tradition with innovation. With the help of her mother and sisters, she has rejuvenated Toumba Farm into an eco-friendly sanctuary that honors the old ways while embracing the new. She cultivates olives, figs, and herbs organically, and even powers the guesthouses with solar panels and wind turbines for electricity. As a young female entrepreneur in rural Greece, Anna leads by example – showing how community, sustainability, and therapy can flourish together. She often says the farm is not just her workplace, but her life’s mission: to share the joy and peace that horses and nature brought to her own soul.

“Whoever has the luck to work with children has joy in their life… whoever works with children and animals has happiness!” – a dear colleague on the inspiration behind Anna’s work