Status Report
I can’t express my gratitude emphatically enough. Today, with five days left in the campaign, we passed the $8000 mark. That’s over 160% of our benchmark!
This is obviously great news, and it means that the project will definitely move forward. But it’s not time to rest yet – there is still plenty of good to achieve in these last few days. Incoming funds continue to support the inclusion of more farms in the project, toward the ultimate goal and full sample of 50 farms.
Please help spread the word about this research. If you have friends, family or colleagues who might be interested in supporting science and sustainability, write an email or pick up the phone and let them know how important this project is.
The link for sharing is http://rkthb.co/11800.
Why not take it easy?
With the crowdfunding project a roaring success, why aren’t I just coasting in to the finish line? There are a few reasons. My best estimate for the full travel budget for this project (keeping in mind that the list of participating farms is not decided) is in the neighborhood of $15,000. It is has always been a part of the plan to seek funding from multiple sources. I’ve got grant proposals submitted and I’m working on four more proposals right now.
This crowdfunding is important because it allows me to get out into the field, and put some momentum – and some data – behind the project. But more than that, as well: by funding as much travel as possible now, it allows me greater freedom to use other funds, later on, for mission-critical tasks like making project reports widely and freely available, running cheap or free extension workshops on the research results, and especially for compensating the generous and hardworking farmers who participate for their time.
Moving Forward
On a personal note, I’d like to thank you each and all for helping make this project real. The work of bringing permaculture into the world of scientific research is a complex and multilayered challenge – and difficult to fund. It has been my dream to do this research for years, and the fact that it can now proceed is incredible. Thank you.
In other news, Changing the Face of Farming had was covered on the environmental blog and news aggregator Treehugger (http://goo.gl/bCug0) as well on the UK Permaculture Magazine website (http://t.co/jUvX1Vvt). We also got some love on an otherwise critical review of the SciFund videos (ow.ly/fWaBD).
Again, thank you all so very much for your support.