Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>]

You've got a point there
>because it puts you at
>the mercy of the gifting habits of the wealthy
>(philanthropy).  it also leads people to steer their
>programs toward the grants, in other words, give the
>funders what they want.

Couldn't agree more, nonprofit is not a realistic model for millions of
small scale, sustainable growers we need all over the USA. Obviously, there
isn't enough charity money to make a drop in the bucket. 

Finding ways to encourage far more growers for their livelihood is numero
uno, and we're about out of time. Profit is what millions of self employed
and small farmers live on now. It's not a dirty word. Without profit,
nobody eats. 

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 4/5/2007 at 3:39 PM Bobby G wrote:

>Paul wrote:
>
>Having
>to get grants from nonprofits or cities doesn't strike
>me as a 
>reproducible
>model for everywhere else. And surprise - they want
>donations and
>volunteers. Been there, done that. Doesn't work.
>
>------------> i'm in agreement with you there, Paul. 
>our local food & sustainability group here in Central
>Wisc. has been talking about going in the direction of
>founding a not-for-profit and getting grants and such.
>
>i've never been a fan of the not-for-profit model.  i
>don't think it's sustainable, because it puts you at
>the mercy of the gifting habits of the wealthy
>(philanthropy).  it also leads people to steer their
>programs toward the grants, in other words, give the
>funders what they want.
>
>i continue working on the co-operative model, which is
>not a non-profit, it depends on making a profit and it
>leads to making a livelihood. i don't think
>non-profits do that very well. really, they aren't
>sustainable.  
>
>bobby g
>