A few hopes and dreams for 2015

As it’s the new year, we thought we would share with you a bit about why we have opened Forest Haven B&B and about our hopes and dreams for 2015.

We certainly didn’t set out to open a B&B initially, but after several of our friends moved out of the city onto rural properties we realised that was something we’d like to do. We did then start (only out of interest then) looking at rural properties online.

A few places of interest showed up, but this property really stood out. We knew we wanted somewhere we could live as sustainably as possible. It was off the grid, had some already established fruit trees and a large veggie garden (although needing a lot of work). On top of that there were cabins on site which could be utilised for something.

So… we decided to look at it. On the way here we discussed what we could do with the property, and decided to google vegan friendly accommodation options in Victoria. Not many results came up, but imagine our surprise when the actual address we were visiting showed up on one of the websites! We couldn’t believe it!

Needless to say, we arrived and fell in love with the place. The owners were a charming French couple who had left the rat race and built the property. They didn’t eat meat, dairy or eggs, so the knowledge that no animals had ever been cooked here was a real bonus. There is certainly a wonderful sense of peace about the place. They also wanted to sell to us as we followed many values they hold dear to their heart.

We set about with gusto putting the wheels into motion to buy the property and to set up the property as a vegan B&B, and we excitedly have our first guests arriving later this month.

So what do we hope for 2015 and what do we want Forest Haven to grow into…

Well initially we will be focusing on getting what we’re doing right. Building up our bookings slowly so we can make sure our guests enjoy their stay. We hope to bring in guests from all walks of life, vegans and not. We want to offer an accommodation option to vegans but we do want to welcome non vegans too. I have worked as a cook at Las Vegan and also helped found the 30 Day Vegan Easy Challenge, and put together the 30 Day Menu so I want to put my cooking knowledge to good use and show people how satisfying vegan food can be.

Down the track, probably later this year will be start to offer educational weekend stays, where small groups of people can stay and learn about vegan cooking, watch educational videos and have discussions about veganism and animal rights.

We want to get our veggie garden planted out and plant more fruit trees, and hopefully in time we can produce enough fresh produce for the B&B.

We also want to support the activist community and once one of our smaller cabins is set up we will be introducing a free few days stay every 2-3 months to activists who need some time out. As activists ourselves, we realise how exhausting it can be and we understand a lot of activists put all of their energy and money into what they do, including rescuing animals, so we hope to support them in some way, as time out is often impossible or ignored, yet much needed.

We will continue fostering and helping wildlife and will hopefully be setting up some aviaries once time and expenses allow to assist us with this. I will continue to be mentored by Northside Native Wildlife for the next couple of years, after which time we hope to open our own wildlife shelter here.

We will start to take in some animals rescued from farms. Initially this will mainly be hens and others birds as that is who we are almost set up for right now. Again, down the track and once time and expenses allow we will upgrade some of the fencing to allow for other animals to have sanctuary here too.

We want to get active in our local community and develop local relationships. We will also continue to work with activists in Melbourne to expose the realities of what is happening to animals on a daily basis. We will also welcome people here for skill sharing, and will have volunteer days/working bees where people can come and help out, get fed and meet other vegans/activists. We will be setting up a group for this soon for anyone who is interested.

We have other plans too and as they develop and get nearer to fruition we will share them with you.

Our motivation from all of this comes from wanting to help the greatly oppressed non-humans who are mostly overlooked by society. We are not doing any of this so we can gain more possessions or money, everything we have will be put back into the animals in our care and developing the property so we can help others. We hope to make connections with new people, forge new friendships and encourage others to live a vegan life. We want to be open and sharing and be a real community and as such we welcome any suggestions and feedback from you, because at the end of the day, we can’t do any of this without you!

We again wish you all a wonderful 2015 and hope that your hopes and dreams come to life.

Jo, Corey and the furkids at Forest Haven xx

Comments

Zerin Knight says

January 12, 2015 at 11:08 pm

What a fantastic initiative! I wish you every success and will certainly join one of your community sessions.

- Jo says
  
  January 13, 2015 at 8:19 am
  
  Thank you Zerin 🙂 We look forward to seeing you.
  
Karen Johnson says

January 22, 2015 at 5:23 pm

Hi Jo, Corey and the Furkids

I’m so excited to read of Forest Haven’s opening! I have passed on the B&B’s details to vegan and vegetarian friends here in NSW.

Wishing you every happiness and success in your endeavours to create a kinder world. And visiting you has been added to my Dream List!

Warmest regards
Karen

- Jo says
  
  February 14, 2015 at 6:55 am
  
  Hi Karen, thank you so much for passing our details on! We certainly hope you will be able to come and stay here one day!
  
Susan says

May 14, 2015 at 1:01 pm

I have just found your Forest Haven on the internet; it is so exciting to find a new vegan bed and breakfast and I love all your plans for the future.

Good luck with this lovely venture; I will definitely be making a booking later in the year when I get some time off. Anyone so determined to create a kinder world deserves full support – I hope all your plans and dreams come to fruition!

Susan

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