Let’s give the program house new life!
For over a century, this beautiful heritage building has stood as a gathering place, a spiritual refuge, and a silent witness to transformation. Now, the Program House, once known as Blackburn Manor, needs your help.
The Salt Spring Centre of Yoga invites you to restore the Program House on Salt Spring Island, a vital and beloved space that stands at the heart of our retreat centre.
The paint has worn so thin that it no longer protects the wooden boards beneath it. Cracking and peeling, the once-proud exterior now tells a different story, one of wear, of waiting.
💪 We’re ready to give it new life, but we can’t do it without you.
A sanctuary and a piece of Salt Spring Island history
Originally built between 1907 and 1911 as a small replica of Blackburn Castle in Scotland, the house has seen many lives, from a private chapel and dairy operation to a government-run rehabilitation program, and now, a sacred space for retreats, learning, and connection at the Salt Spring Centre of Yoga.
📍 Recognized in Island Heritage Buildings (Islands Trust, 1984) as a historical landmark, the Blackburn House, as it was once known, has been lovingly preserved with only minor exterior alterations since Dharma Sara Satsang Society became its caretaker.
Most pictures are from Sharada’s collection
Your gift goes twice as far
🫶 Thanks to the generosity of a dedicated supporter, all donations will be matched up to $15,000. Every dollar you give brings us one step closer to our $34,000 goal, and ensures this beloved building continues to support the Salt Spring Centre of Yoga’s legacy of love, service and sanctuary.
Updated – June 11, 2025
Let’s paint a brighter future together
We’ve always cared for this building as a community. In earlier years, we painted it ourselves, but time passes, and with age and changing times, we now call on this larger community to help.
Can we count on you to restore the program house, the heart of the Salt Spring Centre of Yoga?
Why Now?
The Centre weathered the challenges of pandemic closures and limited revenue, postponing many critical repairs. Now, we have a rare window, between programs at the end of August and beginning of September, to repaint and preserve this building before more costly damage sets in.
We’ve secured skilled painters. All that’s missing is the funding.
Help Us Paint the Program House! Donation Form
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Other Ways to Support Us
Looking for other ways to support the Salt Spring Centre of Yoga and the Dharma Sara Satsang Society?
At various times during the year, we are looking for individuals to support us in different ways.
- Volunteer at the Centre
- Become a Dharma Sara Satsang Society (DSSS) member
- Attend a fundraising event
- Attend a Centre program or class