Excitement
The last couple of days have been full of excitement.
I have been offered a plot of land for the summer, outside of Ottawa, to use to grow crops to support the Alternate Economy.
Ian Walker of Mariposa Farms, has currently offered our community an amazing opportunity. He has 86 acres of farmland, much of which is in use, but much of which stands fallow as well. Assuming that we maintain the land and the crops and provide the seed, we are free to use the land as we wish.
What a spectacular offer! I am still trying to figure out how this benefits Ian, but sometimes Generosity is simply that. His land is unused. We need land.
To start, since I have little experience as a farmer, I would like to ask Ian for a small 1/4 to 1/2 acre plot.
Here is how I see this working. I would like to grow some simple crops throughout the summer, organically, and split the harvest in three ways. One half of the harvest will go to market, to raise funds for the Alternate Economy, so that we may purchase land of our own. One quarter of the harvest will go to Ian, for his generosity in using his land. One quarter will be donated to the local Salvation Army soup kitchen.
But now it is time to brainstorm!
I do not mind providing the labour for the summer to work this farm. I would like to chronicle its successes on this blog in order to garner more support for our cause. I have a job, in the evenings, which I can continue to work while tending to the gardens in the daytime. By keeping the garden small and recruiting my friends (I already have one colleague who is an avid gardener and has invited me over on wednesday lunch to discuss how she can participate) it should be manageable. I am not interested in garnishing my salary. I make enough money currently. I am more than happy to donate all of the proceeds from this endeavour back to the Alternate Economy. After a summer’s growth, we may just have enough to purchase an acre of our own.
So, now I call to you, my blog followers. One of the main reasons for doing this project would be to form a concrete example of how Generosity can and will solve the problems we are facing. There are currently 750 followers to this blog. I alone will have a hard time coming up with the funds to seed this plot of land. I might be able to come up with the money for seeds, but that is about it. Together, we could potentially build a small portable greenhouse, or two, or three. We could buy a female pig, to add to Ian’s stock. We could buy some chickens and sell the eggs. We could buy a beehive. Together, our options begin to multiply.
So, please, come to me with your ideas! What would you do, if you had a half acre plot to work with? How much would you be willing to give to see this project become a reality? If everyone gave $10, we would very definitely be able to make some interesting headway on this project.
I am willing to donate my labour and the money it will take to fill up my car with gas to get to the farm every second day. I am willing to put some money towards seeds. To chronicle the successes and failures of the endeavour. I am willing to donate all of the proceeds back to the Alternate Economy. Ian is willing to lend us his farm, free of charge, because he believes in our goals and our mission. What are you willing to do?
For those of you who are not willing to participate, please leave comments indicating why.
I’ll donate $10 to helping the farm… being in Montreal with no car though I can’t really help with the labor.
It’s very very generous of Ian to provide some land. Thank you so much for your generostiy! 🙂
To promote the best possible return from the crops… I’d suggest doing market research into what fruit or vegetables we can viably produce and sell at the biggest profit… not sure about farming myself but cauliflower and brocoli sell pretty expensive in the markets. Also, tomatoes are VERY expensive ( I paid $1,78 the other day for just 2). Whatever crop we can produce that would make us the most profit in the end is where my vote goes because the more profit we make, like you said, we can use those funds to buy land or make a dent into another industry of choice.
This is great Tristan I have a friend who for the past couple of years has had a client base for organically grown vegetables. It was 400$ for the summer and every week you would get a bag of assorted veggies, it was fantastic. He had approx 15 people he grew for, I suggest that a certain percentage of what is grown goes towards this kind of initiative. It is A LOT of work! Also for your produce to be considered organic the land has to be pesticide free for at least the past 5 years and soil needs to be tested.
I could get a meeting set up with yourself and my friend who has an abundance of knowledge as to where to begin with this type of endeavor. Let me know Tristan!
Bruce
Thanks Bruce.
I am glad to hear from you. I participated in a co-op thing like that in Montreal one year, as well. That would be the perfect way to distribute the produce and raise some funds. I am not certain, but I think Ian’s farm is already organicaly certified… this is not necessarily true however. I would love to get more info from your friend.
Has Ian told you how much produce you could expect from a lot this size? Has he indicated how many people it would take to run it successfully. My friend Dave’s girlfriend Barbara has run a garden of about 14 ft by 20 ft for years and she grows all sorts of vegetables each summer. She has lots of experience with small plot gardening and says harvests vary depending on the weather and pests. She has observed her neighbours’ gardens as well which has been very interesting sometimes because of their innovations. She shares the plot with another woman and they run it together. Barb says she would be interested in talking about her garden successes and failures with you.
Like I said, I have little experience, except for my own garden which has only been the last couple of yers, and is much smaller. I understand that there are no guarantees with this endeavour. We could fall flat on our face and end up with nothing. This is why it will make a great experiment. My hopes is that our combined knowledge will ensure the success of this plan. Please, tell Barb I would love to get some advice from her on how to proceed.
Tristan, I would gladly donate $50 or $100 dollars, if I had that kind of money. As it is, my bills are paid, but I have $62.71 left to last me to the end of the month. Maybe next month, at the beginning of my monthly allotting of money to pay rent, etc., I can make a small donation. Meanwhile, please know that I am trying to live everything about my life in generosity and love, in honor of your project. Best of luck!
Thanks Judith. If we work together, we will find a way to make this work. My plan is to put up a paypal link soon, and allow people to donate when they are able. The farm will be up and running all summer. If you find you are unable to help till May, then that is when you will help. If we work together and are understanding and supportive of each other, it will work!
i would give you all my money if i had any
best of luck, is great project
Thank you! My hope is that if we all pitch in a small amount, it will not be a burden on any one of us. Maybe you only have $5, but that is still two packs of seeds. Maybe you only have supportive thoughts, and we will take that too!
How exciting! My brain is all awhirl ………… I wish this land needed someone to come live on it, haha. Anyway………ideas to come………
There is a cabin attached to the land, that is sitting empty and needs to be used as well. If someone were so inclined, they could come live here for the summer…
How are you receiving donations? Paypal, snail mail, other? Let me know, I’d love to help out.
At this point I am merely trying to see what the response to this idea is. I will most likely set up a paypal account soon. I will let you know! Thank you for your support, Lesley.
This is a great project for those in your local area. and one in which great rewards are to be had from growing your own.. Go For IT! 🙂
We have about a 1/8 of acre of land we grow our own veg in In a Community Allotment association where each rent a plot of land in a huge space which has been put aside for allotment growers since just after the WW2 .. and it takes two of us most of the time to keep on top of it once growing season starts, and we have a rotavator to help plough it over. its not the growing its the weeding and watering too that can be very time consuming.. But you cant beat the taste and goodness from your own.. We are now saving our seeds too… as these too maybe all GM controlled.