22
Aug
When Will Lotus Heart Sanctuary open?
We feel truly blessed and humbled to have received so very many enquiries from you all asking when Lotus Heart 
Sanctuary will be open to the public, and we are overwhelmed to have received enquiries relating to all areas of Lotus… the pods, the animal sanctuary, clothing & merch and the holistic therapies.
We are also grateful and honoured that so many people are interested in visiting us and volunteering too.
Due to the volume of enquires we decided it was best to publish a blog which would give you all some updated information on what’s happening with Lotus Heart sanctuary.
Opening…
Due to lockdown we were unable to progress with so many areas of our work, so currently no part of the sanctuary is ready to be opened to the public as we still have a lot of work to get through to make the place safe, secure and comfortable for the Lotus animals, and for human visitors & volunteers (unless tradespeople).
All works are in progress but everything was delayed and put on hold due to lockdown. Although things are now slowly moving again, there’s also a backlog of work for all the companies we are dealing with, coupled with a shortage of both staff & supplies…many companies ran out of materials so jobs which had been started had to grind to a halt. Not all companies have a full complement of staff, and many are only back part-time and still furloughed so working fewer hours/days per week. Due to all of this, we have absolutely no indication of time or opening date unfortunately.
Lotus Clothing & Merch
Our online shop is open and taking orders – click here to visit our shop
Laura & Luke wearing t-shirts from our clothing range
There are still a number of new lines to be added to the shop, and a significant number of changes to be made…but orders can be placed NOW!
Remember EVERY item in our online shop is not-for-profit, ethically sourced clothing and merchandise printed in full plant-based ink.
100% of profits are donated to Lotus Animal Sanctuary – every penny you spend helps us to rescue, transport, feed, bed and care for all the residents at Lotus.
Our clothing & merchandise not only raises money for animals, but raises awareness for a plethora of world issues.
The store sells everything you need to communicate your beliefs and values, from everyday gym and fitness wear, t-shirts, hoodies, and other merchandise like coasters, tote bags, mugs, key rings and greeting cards etc.
If there’s something in particular you would like created, please email us and we will endeavour to meet your wishes.
We did experience a number of challenges with our new website when transferring over to our amazing new Glasgow based host DDA. Sadly many of the updates were lost in transfer, and we were unable to reinstate them in time for launch day – this meant we launched on July 20th without everything being as we wanted it to be. However, this is being worked on on a regular basis. The website delay was also of course impacted by lockdown.
Lotus Animal Sanctuary
Electrical work being done on the shed for the animals
Once the animals arrive on Skye we need to allow them to settle into their new surroundings before they start their “meet & greets”. It will take a bit of adjusting especially for Prince as he’s been living so happily in the one location for over 3 years now. The other animals are younger, but still, they’re all used to their current home, and they are all so content and happy there! Even the weather on Skye will be a huge change for them all. It is a long journey for them all to make too, so settling them into their new forever home in Dunvegan is our number one priority.
However, we cannot bring the animals up to Skye until the shed has a water and electric supply, and the fencing in that area is completed. Be assured though, we are on it…this is a work in progress – in fact, since this blog was first started (about 10 days ago), we do now have running water in the shed!! That was such a BIG job…but it has now been achieved! Also… electric is being worked on as this is being typed! Two truly amazing guys Darren & Tony have so kindly volunteered their time to help sort out as much of our electrical needs as possible! Forever grateful to these amazing humans!!
Lotus Camping Pods
The pods are reasonably close to opening – the only requirements now are for the water/electric applications to be completed, and then they need to be connected. We also require building warrants for the pods, then just a few other little jobs, but apart from that, they are almost ready to go. We hope for sometime in October/November, but we cannot take any bookings until everything is complete and signed off. We have a water inspection next week, so as with the shed, things are progressing, but it is very VERY slow!
Lotus Holistic Healing
Initially it was thought it may be best to keep Lotus Holistic Healing private on the website until bookings were able to commence, but it was decided it would be better to launch the site and the sanctuary in its entirety; that way people could see exactly what we will offer, and what to expect. It all ties in perfectly with our vision as talked about in our pinned Facebook video.
LHH will be the very last thing to open up. The therapy studio is not even with us yet, and while some talking therapies/meditation/nutrition etc can be done online, the workload is so intense just now, that the above jobs must be focused on first before taking on clients for therapies. Therapies are more likely to open in early 2021.
A Lotus Work in Progress
Lotus will always be a work in progress, once one job finishes we will always move onto the next. We will never become stale or complacent, we will always grow and develop, as we are always coming up with fresh ideas, so please keep your eye on our social media and website!
As soon as we have an opening date we will post on the Facebook page and on our website, so please keep a wee watchful eye there…we promise you we are working round the clock to make it happen as soon as possible, but we also accept and understand that we have to patiently accept how slowly things are moving. With the current situation things can change from hour to hour, so please bear with us.
We know when the Universe has our back, and when it wants us to open, we will!
50 acres of our land which requires fencing before we can utilise for sheep!
50 ACRES Still Requires Fencing!
We are so happy that the field for our current furry family is now all ready for them (just the shed to complete)! However, we also have approximately an additional 50 acres of land which is ideal for sheep, but sadly the fencing is either derelict or totally non-existent! Until that area is fenced, we cannot use it for any animals. The current Lotus animals will live on the other side which was all fenced during lockdown! It seems criminal that there is so much beautiful land lying there and we cannot utilise it to save animals lives! If anyone has any idceas, please get in touch – Lynn@bohemianhippy.com
Tradespeople
Thanks to all the tradespeople who have contacted us up to now and given us their time, skills and experience!
If any other qualified tradespeople wish to offer their time to help us out, please email Lynn@bohemianhippy.com – we are currently looking for a plumber and professional fence builders.
Thank you
We want to take this opportunity to say a massive thank you to every single one of you for your interest, kind words and your support – you are our amazing Lotus Petals, and we need each and everyone of you to make this Lotus bloom.
Thanks also to everyone who has volunteered with us over the years from way back in January 2017 right through to today.
The electrical engineers we have here right now are actually connected to one of our team members Annette Ashton; one is her son, and the other is his best friend. BOTH of them are such kind, compassionate and truly amazing guys! They travelled up to Skye with two cars all the way from the Glasgow area between Thursday & Friday. They have given up around 15 hours each day doing hard solid graft for us – absolute legends.
Also a MASSIVE shout out to the amazing Luke & Laura who have spend almost 2 weeks in total on Skye putting in hours and hours and hours of non-stop hard constant graft – honestly, we could not do what we do without all these genuinely kind, caring and compassionate people! There are so many amazing people in our world, and we are so grateful to have met so many of them through our work. Thank you to the Universe for connecting us!
In Gratitude