Leave something better for the next generation

Our ideals were to live in the countryside and work with animals. And we set ourselves the goal of setting up an association that would fight to resolve the bad situation that many animals face in some livestock farms.

The sanctuary's olive grove with donkeys and ponies grazing

From Tarifa to Seville

  1. 2015

    El Cortijillo de la Lola Association is founded in Tarifa, rescuing a flock of goats that were headed for slaughter.

  2. 2021

    We create the Fundación Animal Corazón Bello, which today shares sanctuary management with the association.

  3. 2022

    We moved to Seville, to a 10,000 m² estate, with the 140 animals we already had.

  4. 2026

    Today we care for over 125 animals, and more than 300 lives have passed through the sanctuary.

During our early years, the sanctuary developed its activity in Tarifa. We spent our time rehabilitating houses and managing permits to build a barn to develop our project with the animals. It took us four years to get the licence, and building all those facilities was a huge economic effort and meant taking out more loans. We built a barn of over 300 square metres with stables, a hay store, an infirmary, a nursery and a feed and food storage area.

In 2022 we moved to Seville, to land we bought with our own resources, smaller and suited to the Association and Foundation's means. We moved so we could combine the founders' work outside the sanctuary with this project of rescuing and caring for animals.

We started from scratch again, building the facilities ourselves, to create a new paradise to move the 140 animals we already had to. We rehabilitated two barns, fenced areas, brought in electricity and water and everything needed to guarantee the safety and wellbeing of the animals that came from the old sanctuary and those that have arrived since.

This will be our permanent home, for us, our human children and all the animals in our care. We'll carry on working, giving second chances and rescuing whenever we can, without risking the care and stability of the animals that come to the sanctuary.

Our financial means are scarce: we go slowly, without rushing but without stopping, and after more than ten years we're still enthusiastic about our project.

This is El Cortijillo de la Lola

There's still a lot to do and maintain at El Cortijillo, but we're proud of what we've managed to achieve bit by bit each year. These are some of the places at the sanctuary.

  • The ducks splashing in the pond next to their cottage
  • The poultry pond at dawn
  • The geese in their grassed area
  • The sheep's shelter
  • Hens and ducks in their yard
  • The ducks' pond
  • The turkeys and peacock by the water
  • The sheep under the ancient olive tree
  • The olive grove and the sanctuary's barns
  • The garden's table area
  • The volunteers' caravan
  • The hay barn with hay bales
  • A little piglet next to its cottage
  • A goat next to a puddle in the barn
  • The cats in the sanctuary's house
  • The barn with the food storage

Come and visit us

We receive visits at weekends. They need to be small groups so we don't disturb the animals' peace. If you'd like to come, write to us through the contact form or our social media.

During a visit we tell you what our project is about and we walk around the estate meeting all the sanctuary's animals: their stories, where they came from… We spend time with them and stroke them, and if you bring some fruit or veg, you can feed it to them. We promise that the experience will be wonderful and you'll take home lovely memories.

  • A visitor stroking a donkey
  • A girl and a volunteer looking at the pond's ducks
  • A group wearing blue shirts walking along the sanctuary's path
  • Outdoor meal during a visit
  • A visitor with a cat on her lap
  • A visitor stroking a little piglet
  • A group of visitors walking around the sanctuary
  • Visitors with the little piglets

Always looking after El Cortijillo

These are the team members who are always looking after the sanctuary. But we count on many more people who visit us, who sponsor animals and who help us in the best way they can.

  • Silvia at the sanctuary
    The founder

    Silvia

    Silvia is a tireless fighter, a lover of animals and a great mother and educator. What defines her is her passion for animals and her struggle to protect them.

  • Germán at the sanctuary
    The founder

    Germán

    He has spent years and years shaping this project and overcoming obstacles. He is a lover of nature and freedom and puts his whole vision at the service of the animals.

  • Mar at the sanctuary
    Since May 2022

    Mar

    Mar helps us with caring for the animals and cleaning on Tuesday mornings. She also helps us through social media and her contacts to raise funds, organise events and bring things for the sanctuary animals: food, blankets, cleaning products… She’s also in charge of feeding and managing the population of a colony of cats in a village in Seville.

  • Sonia at the sanctuary
    Since November 2022

    Sonia

    Soni helps us with caring for the animals and cleaning on Tuesdays and Saturdays mornings, organises the fruit and veg we pick up on Tuesdays from El Corte Inglés and is the official “cherisher” of the cats at the sanctuary and of all the little animals.

  • Israel at the sanctuary
    Since 2022

    Israel

    Israel helps us with looking after the animals, feeding them and caring for them, managing their medication and treatment when necessary and looking after them when they’re ill. He’s on hand every day to make sure everything is in order. When the founders are away from the sanctuary, he makes sure everything is in perfect condition. Currently he lives with us at the sanctuary and is our right-hand man.

  • Manuel at the sanctuary
    Since 2024

    Manuel

    Manuel is in charge of cleaning the goat area and the large chicken coop, and helps us with maintenance work. Over the years he has made great improvements to the chicken coop, such as some beautiful nesting boxes. Little by little, we keep improving.