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Raising money to buy 'The Cloister', a former rectory on Anglesey. Establishing a community-owned centre for wellbeing in life and in death.
by Angharad Sian Owen in Moelfre, Isle of Anglesey, United Kingdom
Learn more about
Community Shares on Crowdfunder.
Please #investaware — investments of this nature carry risks to your capital.
Our Vision
Our aim is to raise enough money to buy The Cloister, Llanallgo - a former rectory on Anglesey - in order to fulfil our vision of establishing a groundbreaking, community-owned centre for wellbeing, in life and in death.
Our concept of 'hospice' these days tends to narrow down to 'end of life'... But historically there has always been a wider concept - linked to hospitality along Pilgrim's routes - where the hospice becomes where we rest, heal, and are nourished, along all stages of life's journey.
As 'Earth Hospice' we aim to revive this concept of hospice - as we feel such spaces are all the more desparately needed in our times.
We also believe fundamentally in a reality where dying and bereavement can be acknowledged and held in community spaces, rather than held apart from other aspects of life.
As Earth Hospice at The Cloister, we aim to provide:
..as well as preserving and honouring of the building's special character, and history of serving the needs of the dead as well as the living.
Why The Cloister?
As the rectory of St Gallgo's church (established around the 6th century), 'The Cloister' has a long and rich history of being a base for support and pastoral care in the community of Llanallgo and Moelfre - and quite possibly as a spiritual site for much longer...
The site has been witness to the births, deaths and life changes of many generations, and provided a space of solace to many - such as the families of those lost in the Royal Charter shipwreck in 1859.
The Cloister has more recently been lovingly maintained as a family home, by multiple generations of the Clarke family - and in this period has also been the base for the charity work of Eileen Clarke, supporting local children with disabilities.
Through personal connection with The Cloister, we are confident this building and its grounds offer a solid platform to sustainably run the site as a centre, a beautiful and spiritually significant setting, and the perfect site to house Earth Hospice and to land the vision we hold...
The story so far
Our three directors came together around a vision last year.
Alexandra Derwen had already held the seed of 'Earth Hospice' as a vision for seven years - learning from experience of crowd-funding for a previous incarnation of Earth Hospice in Gwynedd, then waiting for the right circumstances to emerge - and meanwhile establishing Sacred Circle (a globally successful training company for Death Doulas, and others supporting the dying and bereaved), travelling the world, providing support as a death doula and funeral celebrant, and writing a trilogy of books called Lost Rites.
Angharad Owen was brought up in The Cloister, knows the building intimately, and has always felt a deep sense of its potential as a spiritual and healing place. Following the death of her grandmother, Eileen Clarke, 2 years ago, this sense of potential has crystalised into a solid vision of how it could work. This vision then met with and resonated with Alexandra's concept of Earth Hospice.
Rev Sara Roberts has been providing safe spaces and organising joyous events around which to come together for several years in her role as a community chaplain in Bethesda - including work around death and dying, from leading funerals to holding a regular space for grief within the community ('Caffi Colled'). Sara has been a natural companion on our journey of developing the vision further, and manifesting it into reality...
We established Earth Hospice / Hafan Ddaear as a Community Benefit Society at the beginning of 2024. Since then, we have been busy talking to people, trialling events in the space, developing a business plan, and working with accountants and advisors to ensure we have a sound share offer and can run sustainably.
We are now - finally - in a position to launch our share offer, which will run until the end of January 2025...
What will the money be used for?
The money raised in this share offer will be used to purchase The Cloister (currently on the market for £525,000), to make sure the building is fit for purpose to run community events and host retreats, and ensure we have adequate cashflow to run for at least the first year.
Down the line we may be able to apply for grants to improve the building (e.g. its energy efficiency), enabling us to build up a reserve for longer term repairs, and offer payments on shares.
Why a Community Share Offer?
This will ensure the building is owned and run by the people for the people - for our benefit and that of future generations - and you could be one of its custodians!
How does it work?
For as little as £50 you can buy shares in Earth Hospice - and own a part of The Cloister, should we be successful in our fundraising...
However much or little you invest, you will also be a member in our Community Benefit Society, and have a say in steering the direction of Earth Hospice and its future...
Each share is worth directly its value in pounds. This can be withdrawn after our first 5 years of operating, at a point when our cashflow allows it (our intention is to allow the purchase of shares through an Open Share Offer at this point).
You can choose wether to receive interest (of either 5% or 2%) on your shares - or to re-invest your interest into improving the building as a community resource for the greater good of all, and funding more free / subsidised activities of benefit to the local community!
What happens if we don't hit our target?
If we need a little more time, we may extend our Share Offer a few weeks beyond the end of January 2025.
If any other substantial changes are made to this share offer (e.g. if the Cloister is sold and we decide to consider an alternative property), all members who have pledged will be consulted with, and their money returned if they choose.
If we are unsuccessful with our fundraising and close the share offer, all pledged investments will be automatically returned by Crowdfunder.