SIMPLE GIFTS.
Hannah and I now have very tangible evidence as to how lucky we are. It takes the form of 11 acres waiting for us to start farming and we couldn't be more thankful and grateful for her wonderful Aunt Kathy for offering it. We are allowed to live there for free until we have the money to buy it––that is a huge part of what makes this whole thing possible. But Hannah and I have both spent the last 8 months learning, not saving, and a farm doesn't earn you money until you make it a working farm. The nature of the business is that you have to have something to sell to earn money, and right now, all we have to sell is millions of delightful weeds and cockleburs. We plan on starting a CSA next season for our friends and family (details to come). Sometime around May the vegetables, God willing, will start erupting from the soil...but May is a long way off. There is a lot of work to be done in order to make that eruption possible. A garden space has to be cleared, land worked, manure spread, a greenhouse built, etc.. We also want to be able to offer eggs but lack the means to build a chicken coop and nest boxes, while clearing a place to put them. A well and spring exist and we hope to take advantage of those exceptional water sources, but it's going to require some infrastructure. All that, and we still haven't mentioned the cost of seeds (or chickens).This all brings us to the "donate button." Yikes, right? Don't sweat it, we're not going to hound our readers for their money; farming is our choice, and we look forward to the adventure. But we also know there are dozens of our friends and family who are looking for ways to help. This could be that way. Simply click on the donate button (to the right of this post, and also at the very bottom of the page) and it will take you to Paypal where you can donate $1 - $1 zillion. EVERY little bit helps. In lieu of asking everyone to donate a specific tool or packet of seeds, we felt it would be easier to let you contribute a little money and we can buy, say, a shovel in your honor! Conveniently, the holidays are coming up, and a donation made in someone's name would make a great, eco-friendly gift for the organically-minded. We would definitely enjoy providing an information packet about our farm to the recipient's as part of the gift, if you request! Also, so the donate button wouldn't get lonely, we added a button for you to sign up for our mailing list. You can find it at the bottom of each post, as well as in the CONTACT section. Anyone interested in an eventual CSA or in simply getting updates about the farm and blog will get occasional notes in their inbox from Rough Draft. So donate and help us plant our farm, or sign up for the email list to read our blog and give us feedback. Again, every little bit helps!
* UPDATE: Some people have been having trouble with the donate button. We have tried to fix the link, but if it still simply takes you to the "LOG IN" page, you will have to log in to your Paypal account, then "SEND MONEY" and send it to our email address - roughdraftfarmstead@gmail.com If you don't have a Paypal account and still want to support us, please let us know. Sorry about the confusion! We are a little rusty at this whole internet thing!