Having bought the land and two buildings we are now well underway with converting the buildings into habitable spaces. We have been living in the community building since August 2005 and overseeing the work on the larger building complex. This building will become the ordination retreat centre and is structurally almost complete. The builders recently started work on a new building about 3 minutes walk from the retreat centre which will become our Shrine Room.

We have taken out some loans in order to complete the work but ideally we would like to pay off as much of this as possible before we start running retreats. If we could raise a further £30,000 (€40,000) we would be able to pay for the building of the Shrine Room outright.

Please consider if you could make a donation. Padmasuri’s letter explains further.

The land that we have bought is magnificent and has huge potential. Its beauty, privacy and vibrant silence cannot help but inspire our practice which in turn cannot fail to benefit the world more widely. Can you help us develop it?

Make a donation by post. Cheques (in UK sterling) should be made payable to Aranya and can be sent to us at: Akashavana, c/o Samagita, 79 Green Lane, Lancaster, LA1 2EZ. If you have a sterling bank account, please use this method.

If you do not have a sterling bank account, then you could make an online donation using Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Switch or Solo. Simply click on the PayPal button below (you do not need a PayPal account to use PayPal). This will take you to a secure server where you can enter the amount that you wish to give and your card details.

Set up a regular donation to Akashavana through a standing order with your bank.

Organise a fundraising event. Events such as sponsored activities and social evenings can be great fun as well as raising money for Akashavana.