THE CLEAN UP.
Packing and cleaning don't make the best blog posts, but if you're wondering what we've been up to it's been a whole lot of that! In fact, we've spent much of the last few days deconstructing the garden, and cursing ourselves for being so thorough when we put it up!
We've also received two really sweet articles about our fundraising endeavor. The first was from Need More Acres in Bowling Green, Ky, which, if you're in the area tomorrow, please stop by Community Farmers Market and thank this family for us. And give them big hugs! They are donating all of their sales from this weekend to our campaign and we are deeply, tearfully thankful.Then the wonderful Savoring Kentucky posted a more-than-generous article about us and our campaign. We're speechless, or moved beyond words to be more accurate. This outpouring of support has been incredible and we can't wait to pay it back however we can, whenever we can, as often as we can.In moments like these––with this amount of tremendous support––we not only feel we can accomplish our goal, but that Kentucky can accomplish just about anything. The more we can chip in to help one injured set of farmers, the more others in the farming community can be less afraid of being crippled by disastrous circumstances. In a community, people live with less fear because, as we mentioned in an earlier post, when they fall, they fall into the arms of others. We're so thankful, but we're also equally excited to one day be able to return the favor, to help our community remain strong.We're over half-way to our goal! iIf you'd like to donate please follow this link. Every little bit helps!- Jesse.
COMMUNITY OUT OF HIDING.
Well, it just wouldn't be our blog if we weren't talking about exactly what was going on in our lives, and right now we're almost entirely––emotionally and physically––preoccupied with this fundraising endeavor we've embarked upon.It's quite the experience: thrilling and terrifying, stressful, exciting, beyond educational, but definitely, decidedly, intense. We've been humbled by the response, the sharing of the campaign and the contributions. But we've also been overwhelmed by the reality of asking people for money. We lost our money––yes. We lost our investment in the farm and it was devastating. We have practically nothing to rebuild with and although we have land, we need a house. But does that necessarily give us reason to ask other people for their money? I still don't know that answer to that. The closest thing to an answer I've come up with is this: we needed help, put it out there and people have responded generously.Hannah and I have a strong affinity for community––it's a big part of why we decided to move to Bugtussle: to be close to fellow farmers; to start building community of our own. In a community––be it suburban or rural––when a member has a need, the community works to fulfill it. If someone needs help, the community comes together to raise the barn; to build the house; to take care of kids; to feed the animals; to raise some money. We want that security, but we also want to give that security to others. Community is the oldest form of insurance: you invest in the community, and the community makes itself available to catch you when you fall.And then we fell... hard. twice. But when this campaign went live we weren't thinking about community, asking the internet for assistance was a shot in the dark for us. I don't want to call it desperate, but desperation was close to what we felt. We knew we couldn't get our farm back up and running without a house, and we couldn't build a house without help. What we didn't realize, however, was we already belonged to a community, a selfless group of people who have donated enthusiastically, or shared our campaign, or sent us an encouraging note. It's a group we care about, and a group who we've discovered cares about us. However spread out, vague or even anonymous, it's a community, and thus an incredibly powerful entity.I suppose I'd never thought twice about the term "online community" before this campaign, but once it's done I'll definitely never underestimate it again. We have a long way to go yet in the fundraising, but this experience has already done a lot: it's redefined community to us, and brought that community together. And if ever another member should fall, we'll make ourselves available to help however we can, because that's what you do in a community, and that's what community is doing for us.- Jesse
PERKS.
Just a little update....we added some "perks" to our fundraising page. SO - if you have been wanting one or our tote bags, or a taste of Jesse's wine, or even a sketch or painting of mine - check it out!- Hannah.
HOW TO HELP US BUILD.
Perhaps it's because we're stubborn and want to do things on our own, or perhaps it's because we really were succeeding there for a while, but we've long been reluctant to directly ask for donations....especially since so many of you helped out with our first farm back in Owingsville! Still, when we were asked to leave the land we were leasing here in Danville, we were effectively asked to leave behind most all of our investments, and all of our potential earnings for next year––the garden. The perennials we'd planted and weeded all season that were poised to pay off next season; the fencing we'd bought and put up; the hand-plowed quarter acre––almost all of it has to be chalked up as a loss, and we have to start over with practically nothing.Thanks to a generous family, however, we now have a wonderful and exciting piece of land on which to rebuild, but that piece of land needs a lot of work, and a cabin. We have seen lots of our friends raise money for their own projects through kickstarter-type websites, and have been encouraged by many of them to start a campaign of our own.So...we are humbly coming before you to ask for a little assistance. We have managed a couple thousand dollars through odd jobs and vegetable sales, but still need several thousand more to pull this off. Our goal is $8,500, but anything and everything will help.Please follow this link to our Indiegogo page and read more! And if you're like us and don't have spare money but still would like to help....the main way that these kind of fundraising campaigns work is through SHARING! Share the link on facebook, twitter, myspace if you're still into that....spread the word! And of course, a simple, encouraging note is always appreciated, or you can always come lend a hand once we get started! There will definitely be a fresh meal or two involved.- Jesse & Hannah.