Community land project in support to the mothers

Aim

The Mother's Hearth community - Help us to secure a 6 bedroom house with 4 acres of land for an inspiring community project.

We have a vision and would like to share it with you !

Link to our website

Join us in building a community where:

• Mothers receive the support they need and deserve
• Children grow within a caring, connected network
• Food sovereignty and land stewardship guide our relationship with the earth
• Everyone has a voice and a role
• Compassion and cooperation replace competition and isolation 

'Together, we can create the supportive, sustainable future we all need.’

Building Community Around Mothers and Mother Earth 

We're creating a heart-centered community anchored in three core principles:

I. Supporting Mothers and Children

Mothers and children are at the heart of our community. We recognise that nurturing the next generation requires collective support. No one should do it alone. We stand in service to mothers, offering compassion, practical help, and genuine connection. We are bringing the village together again! 

II. Honouring Mother Earth

Our commitment extends to our planet. Environmental stewardship isn't separate from community care, it's central to it. We prioritise food sovereignty by working with the land to grow our own food and create a thriving food forest. This connection to the earth through regenerative agriculture ensures we can nourish ourselves sustainably while healing the land. We make choices that HONOUR the earth, RECOGNISING that caring for our environment means caring for future generations.

III. Co-creating Without Hierarchy

We're building a collaborative community where everyone contributes and everyone thrives. There are no hierarchies here, just people working together, bringing both feminine and masculine energies into balance. We share responsibilities, celebrate each other's strengths, and create harmony through mutual respect.

How We Will Secure the House and Land

A clear, responsible path from funding to community impact

We are approaching the purchase of this house and land with care, transparency, and professional support. Every step is designed to protect the project, our future residents, and everyone who chooses to support us through crowdfunding.

1. Securing Funds Responsibly

Crowdfunding contributions will be used alongside our own savings and ethical finance to:

• Secure the purchase deposit
• Cover legal and survey costs
• Fund essential planning applications

All funds will be held transparently and used solely for the purposes outlined in this project.

2. Making a Formal Offer

Once funding targets are met:

• A formal offer will be made on the property
• The sale will proceed

3. Professional Legal Support

We will appoint an experienced rural property solicitor to:

• Carry out all conveyancing and legal checks
• Verify ownership, access, and land rights
• Identify any restrictions or covenants early

This ensures the land can legally support the community uses we are creating.

4. Independent Surveys & Due Diligence

To protect the investment and the land:

• A full building survey will assess the house and existing buildings
• Land and boundary surveys will confirm size, access, and rights of way
• Drainage, utilities, and environmental checks will be completed
• Ecological assessments will ensure we protect local wildlife

Any risks identified will be addressed before moving forward.

5. Planning & Land Use Checks (Before Purchase)

Before contracts are exchanged, we will:

• Review all existing planning permissions
• Confirm residential use and land classification
• Check for any restrictions related to:

- Shared living

- Workshops and healing spaces

- Yurts and temporary structures

- Forest school activities

- Market gardening and food production

This step ensures the vision is achievable and lawful.

6. Pre-Application Planning Advice

We will engage early with the local planning authority through pre-application advice, presenting our full vision:

• Multi-family living
• Renovated workshop for healing and learning
• Community yurt and sauna
• Forest school and outdoor education
• Food forest and market garden
• Temporary low-impact living during setup

This allows us to adapt plans early, increasing the likelihood of approval and long-term success.

Planning Applications We Will Submit

Change of Use (If Required)

If necessary, we will apply for:

• Mixed-use or community-based living permissions
• Workshop and retreat use
  This ensures long-term security for shared and public activities.
• Permission for New Structures

Planning applications will cover:

• Community yurt
• Outdoor covered kitchen
• Wood-fired sauna
• Essential access and parking infrastructure

All designs will be low-impact, ecological, and in harmony with the land.

Forest School & Community Education Use

Where required, we will apply for permission to:

• Host regular forest school sessions
• Welcome families from the wider community
• Supporting documents may include traffic, access, and safety plans.

Renovation & Building Regulations

Exchange, Completion & Accountability

Only once all legal, survey, and planning risks are understood will we:

• Exchange contracts
• Complete the purchase
• Begin development in clear, approved phases

Supporters will receive updates at every milestone—from offer accepted to keys in hand.

Why This Matters

Your support helps secure:

• Affordable, shared housing for families
• Regenerative food systems
• Free and low-cost spaces for healing and learning
• Nature-based education for children
• A resilient, community-led future rooted in care for the land

This is not just a property purchase—it’s the foundation for a living, breathing community space that will serve generations to come.

Thank you for helping us make it real !

Phase One Development: Bringing the Vision to Life

Once the purchase is complete and initial permissions are in place, we will begin Phase One development. This phase focuses on creating immediate housing, food security, wellbeing spaces, and opportunities for community connection and livelihoods.

House Renovation & Living Options

The main house will be renovated to comfortably support shared family living, with up to six bedrooms, allowing multiple families to live together in an affordable, cooperative way.

In the early stages, and while renovations are underway, limited low-impact living spaces (such as movable vehicles) will be available on the land, enabling people to live on-site and support the project from the very beginning.

Food Forest & Market Garden

We will establish a regenerative food forest guided by permaculture principles—an abundant, self-sustaining ecosystem designed to nourish people, soil, and wildlife for generations.

Alongside this, a productive market garden will supply fresh vegetables to residents and the wider community, while also generating income through veg boxes, local sales, and community-supported agriculture. Food will be both nourishment and livelihood.

Workshop Building Renovation

The existing workshop building will be renovated into a flexible, all-season space for:

• Healing and wellbeing workshops
• Skill-sharing and self-development
• Creative and land-based learning

This space will support both group workshops and one-to-one sessions, becoming a cornerstone of learning, healing, and community resilience.

Community Yurt

At the heart of the land, a large community yurt will provide a warm, welcoming gathering space. It will host:

• Workshops and meetings
• Treatments such as massage, reiki, and card reading
• Circles, celebrations, and seasonal gatherings

Circular in form and spirit, the yurt reflects our values of inclusion, equality, and living in harmony with the land.

Forest School Area

A dedicated forest school space will offer a natural learning environment where children—and adults—can connect deeply with nature. This outdoor classroom will host regular forest school sessions, welcoming families from the wider community and nurturing curious, confident, earth-connected children.

Free or low-cost spaces will be available to support families on low incomes, ensuring access to nature-based education for all.

Outdoor Covered Kitchen

A sheltered outdoor kitchen will become the social and practical heart of food life on the land. Here we will:

• Process and preserve harvests
• Teach cooking and food skills
• Share meals, celebrations, and community feasts

This is where food sovereignty becomes lived experience.

Community Sauna

A wood-fired sauna, nestled into the landscape, will offer a space for deep rest, healing, and connection. Sauna culture honours ancient traditions of:

• Gathering
• Cleansing
• Healing and renewal

This sacred space will support physical health, mental wellbeing, and strong community bonds.

Opportunities This Creates

Meaningful Work & Livelihoods on the Land

This project creates real opportunities for people to live and work with purpose, including:

• Living in the house and on the land
• Food forest establishment and maintenance
• Market garden growing and harvesting
• Workshop facilitation (permaculture, herbalism, bushcraft, natural parenting)
• Forest school leadership and outdoor education
• Food processing and preservation
• Sauna hosting and wellness programming
• Community coordination and hospitality

We will actively seek partnerships with women’s health, mothers’ and children’s charities, strengthening support for families in the wider community. We will also connect with local farms, growers, educators, and wellbeing practitioners to build a strong network of shared resources, knowledge, and mutual support. Through collaboration, skill-sharing, and reciprocal relationships, we aim to root this project deeply within the local landscape—supporting the local economy, reducing isolation, and creating a resilient, caring ecosystem where families, land-based workers, and community organisations can thrive together.

We’re not just building infrastructure.
We are creating opportunities for people to work with purpose, children to grow in a supportive natural environment, and community to flourish around food, nature, connection, and wellbeing.

What This Foundation Makes Possible

Phase One allows us to:

• Create affordable, cooperative housing
• Generate income early to sustain the project
• Employ community members in meaningful roles
• Welcome the wider community and build relationships
• Demonstrate our vision in action
• Create a thriving, productive landscape
• Offer holistic wellness experiences that nourish body and soul

Community Programs We Will Offer

Ongoing / Weekly

• Forest school sessions for local families
• Mothers’ circles and fathers’ circles
• Sauna sessions and holistic treatments
• Yoga, breathwork, Qigong
• Massage, therapy, and creative classes
• Market garden volunteer days

Seasonal Programs

• Seasonal celebrations and community gatherings
• Volunteer days and skill-shares
• Nature connection programs
• Retreats for mothers and families
• Wellness days with sauna rituals, cold plunges, and nourishing food
• Women’s and men’s gatherings
• Children’s holiday clubs

Looking Ahead: Our Future Plans

As the project grows, our long-term vision includes:

• Planning permission for a residential eco-house
• Polytunnels for seed growing and extended food production
• Larger community infrastructure (such as a barn)
• A dedicated treatment / therapy space (additional yurt or small roundhouse)
• And more community-led developments as needs and relationships evolve

Project founders:

Marie Bertel 

Nature lover, grower & artist. I am a mother and passionate about off grid and community living, wild foraging & herbal remedies. Since becoming a mother, I saw myself craving for the village, the support and more connection with nature and each other. 

Called to be in service to the Mother, this vision has been a dream for a while and now I feel ready to make it a reality. 

it's not about owning land, it is about accessing nature to come together, learn and work with the land and food sovereignty.

Anna Castanedo

I’ve always been drawn to supporting children—especially neurodiverse children—in their early years, and to helping them grow, connect, and shine in their own unique way. Alongside this, I’m deeply passionate about being connected to gardening and the land, wellbeing and embodied healing, sharing gentle practices that help people release tension, reconnect with their bodies, and feel more grounded and alive.

Nature is at the heart of everything I do. The forest, the sea, and growing food have shaped my life and my values, and they inspire my vision for this sanctuary: a nurturing home for mothers and children where wellness, nourishment, and the natural world come together.

This is more than a project—it’s a heartfelt dream to create a place where families can breathe, heal, and grow, feeling supported, inspired, and deeply connected.

Hannah Nedas

I am a mother, breathwork practitioner and musician. My experience of motherhood has taught me just how much we need one another, community & connection - that it takes a village not only to raise children but mothers too. When we mothers feel supported, resourced and connected to ourselves, to each other and the natural living world, we are better able to guide our families and nurture the next generation from a place of presence, resource, compassion & wisdom.

In this project I see myself working alongside mothers to support their wellbeing & nervous systems through breathwork, voice, sharing circles & nature-based practices on the land to guide mothers back home to themselves and into deep remembering that life is inherently interconnected and of our shared belonging -  that we are never truly alone.  

I look forward to getting my hands dirty in the soil, whilst planting and growing food & medicinal herbs alongside my son & fellow mothers and children, singing songs around the fire after a hard days work, sharing food & life together.

This project closed unsuccessfully on 31st March 2026