[Scpg] VETS_CAFE: A Permaculture Design Project Kickstarter

[Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network]

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/694901181/vets-cafe-a-permaculture-design-project

Veterans Entrepreneurial Training and Studies in Conservation 
Agriculture, Forestry and Ecology.

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 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, 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.


Deston talks carbon cycles and soil remediation at a VETS_CAFE training.
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, 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, an entrepreneur training program with a focus on the business 
management aspects of farming and Cascade Harvest Coalition, 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 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.


Packed with nutrients for growth and protected from birds and rodents by 
clay, they germinate when rained on. Science! Magic!
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 or 
GRuB;  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 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 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 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 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

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!

FAQ