permaculture

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

VETS_CAFE: A Permaculture Design Project by Deston Denniston — Kickstarter
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/694901181/vets-cafe-a-permaculture-design-project

Illuminated text and site designs for 2.5 acre veteran owned organic
permaculture farm.
http://kck.st/V3FYUX

VETS_CAFE <http://abundancepermaculture.com/vetscafe.html>

*V*eterans *E*ntrepreneurial *T*raining and *S*tudies in
*C*onservation* A*griculture,
*F*orestry and *E*cology.

There are 800,000+ able bodied yet unemployed veterans in the USA. At the
same time, our nation has a rapidly shrinking pool of family farmers and
diminishing access to arable lands. Our solution to this problem is
simple-  VETS_CAFE works with veterans and our allies to develop site
plans, including scale maps and business startup plans, which turn veterans
agricultural/environmental dreams into real income and prosperity.

VETS_CAFE is currently working on its second startup farm. Our team of
veterans and allies is developing a
permaculture<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permaculture>design plan for
the development of a 2½ acre urban organic farm in Olympia,
Washington. The site owner's goal is to create an incubator farm where
veterans transitioning to civilian life can live in a community which
supports their health, education and personal development.  VETS_CAFE
founder, Deston 
Denniston<http://www.abundancepermaculture.com/denniston.html>,
a US Army veteran with an MS in Agriculture, 30+ years small farms
experience, and 12 years in permaculture design practice,  will guide the
design process.

Veterans working on the design team will learn skills in:

   - Ecological surveying
   - Farm systems
   - Technical horticulture
   - Social networking
   - Organic agriculture
   - Aquaculture
   - Small animal husbandry
   - Other skills related to regional food security

The goal of our Kickstarter project is to produce illuminated site designs
that will be used to guide site-owners, farm staff, and contractors over
the years required for site development and design implementation.
Illuminated site maps, the core of the design documents, are illustrated
rather than cartographic, telling a story and conveying information richly
in a way all ages can understand.

The course, which is being taken by veterans attending Washington State
University and The Evergreen State College, as well as their families and
allies, takes participants through the entire site design process from
start to finish. While students can take the program for credit, it is not
a catalogue class; we have made special arrangements for vets to get credit
for internship studies in recognition of the challenges vets face in
transition. Design education in our program includes hands on, dirt under
the nails education; this is a value shared by veterans and farmers alike.

On program completion participants will have gained tools and networks that
allow them to re-create the process at their own homes and for their own
farm projects. Veterans earning college credit at Evergreen State College
and Washington State University are also being provided with opportunities
for follow-up business planning and development with Enterprise for Equity
and other local economic development groups.

Support has already come from the Washington State Veterans Conservation
Corps <http://veteransconservationcorps.com/>, who put in about half the
funds needed to start the program and worked with us to make sure vets
could earn college credit through their GI Bill for taking the class. Other
supporters include Enterprise for Equity<http://www.enterpriseforequity.org/>,
an entrepreneur training program with a focus on the business management
aspects of farming and Cascade Harvest
Coalition<http://www.cascadeharvest.org/>,
a farm, forest and fisheries advocacy alliance, amongst others. To date,
about $7,000 of the $11,000 needed to offer this accredited Permaculture
Design Course has been raised.

Contributors to our Kickstarter will receive
seedballs<https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=477370752296589&set=pb.441829459184052.-2207520000.1361231619&type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Fsphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-ash3%2F644074_477370752296589_2044050209_n.jpg&size=960%2C640>at
least, and higher levels of support will get you a CD with veteran
interviews, class highlights and digital copies of the site designs we
develop, or even secure you a seat in attendance at our design unveiling in
late March.

If your suppoort surpasses our fundraising goals, we'll up the ante; for
every $100 beyond the goal we will donate 5lbs seedballs to Olympia area
non profit conservation and garden projects like South Sound
Prairies<http://www.southsoundprairies.org/cnlm/>or
GRuB <http://goodgrub.org/>;  but don't tell them we said so- its a secret!
That's in addition to the seedballs contributors will receive. Funds beyond
our goal will be used to support document production and improve
(potentially hiring a pro) our video editing- we'll have over 100 hours of
raw footage by the time were done. Email
us<http://www.abundancepermaculture.com/contact.html>if you'd like
more information and to confirm our commitment to fiscal
transparency. Of course, if you're contributing as we hit those marks,
you'll still get your seeds. Nature, and veteran service members, are
generous like that.

VETS_CAFE is a project of Abundance Consulting LLC. See
http://abundancepermaculture.com/vetscafe.html<http://www.abundancepermaculture/>for
more information.

For more videos of projects VETS_CAFE has been involved in, see videos made
with our partners the Veterans Transition Corps Boots to
Roots<http://www.veteranstransitioncorps.org/#%21videos/c1bmt>program.

Note: While our design clients deserve the full respect and privacy they
request, it is also understood that the site plans we develop, minus
location, etc., will be of interest to many of the contributors regardless
of support level. These designs will be viewable on our
VETS_CAFE<https://www.facebook.com/Vets.Cafe>facebook albums. It has
also been brought to our attention that many folks
may live in a places where seedballs seem impracticable for them to use. In
this case we encourage seeding unused lots with our lovely western
wildflowers. Let your revenge be known in the smiles on the faces of
children and grandmothers.
 Risks and challenges Learn about accountability on
Kickstarter<http://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq/kickstarter%20basics#Acco>

Our aim is to document, deliver and propagate the design method and
processes driving the site design. Funds will be used to support this end.
Many mishaps, obstacles and unseen re-routes may come in the process of
such a campaign.

We are veterans working with veterans. Our service periods range from
Vietnam to Post 9-11. We are both peacetime and combat vets, we are spouses
and children of vets, friends and allies to any who would heal and be
whole. Adapt and overcome is the spirit of our enterprise - whether it's
foul weather making outdoor projects and filming impossible, or personal
injury and illness, we drive on. Side routes and hindrances are expected
(though at the time of this launch, half way through the course, things are
going very well!). We film with two cameras. Project participants are
developing their own documents. We will cross-train project participants to
assure that sick days don't leave us with a design crew deficit. All
digital copies are backed up with hard copies and vice versa. We held a
brainstorming and troubleshooting meeting at the beginning of the project
and have another one coming the last week of February to assure road bumps
don't become washouts. As veterans know, sometimes the deck gets stacked
against us - and that's all the more reason to start well, put in more than
full effort, and come out smiling. Join us!