Crowd funding

Fab ideas revolve around small sums pledged to help us along the way to the grand plan of Community Supported Agriculture. First we need to get the plot working as it is, Plunkett Foundation seem to have a plan to support us through to the hurdle of governance and registration and with the help of Andrew we should be able to put together a sound business plan based on our wealth of ideas.

So who is the 'Crowd'?

Seems there is little scope for outside of our own network of people. So all out to build on this.


Go to https://spacehive.com/communigrow for more info and pics.

also others include.. http://www.peoplefund.it/

Image 2 of 13 - East Malling Research Centre's Park Farm, a classic view of Kent

Image 10 of 13 - model for structure

Image 13 of 13

"We are never going to be able to afford local, sustainably raised food without doing it for ourselves". East Malling Research Centre and Trust have allocated an area of land for this purpose

With 2 years on site Communigrow, as part of 'Joining Hands' - a social enterprise working throughout Kent, creates community growing for the benefit of young people and families. This year will see the establishment of a skilled growing team with organised skills share and involvement in production across a range of on and off site enterprises. This will include education and training.
Inspired by the ever increasing interest in good local food, and with a desire to exhibit best community engagement, we believe it is essential to promote shared knowledge, experiences and resources to be viable. Our returns will be assessed and valued on social inclusion through engagement, sustainable use of our limited resources, conservation and exchange value for all our labour and production.

What we'll do:

• Create a viable market garden of volume production with varied cropping and manufacture plan.
• incorporate sustainable 'no dig' techniques with extensive use of varied cover crops - 'green manure'
• create new habitats for conservation
• Produce for a variety of purposes, ethnic foods, Arts and Crafts, social & horticultural research
• Create a ‘Local Exchange Trading System’ to maximise fair returns
• establish added value enterprises such as bees, oil and associated arts and crafts
• Create skills base for educational programme in all operations and social care
• install an element of awareness in the health benefits of an active lifestyle

Why it's a great idea:

Market Gardening is the method of growing food in volume for distribution beyond individual households with increased net yield overall. Our team of growers can produce more and bring the membership into the process through co-ordinated learning events. Members will be learners and teachers within a broad scope of enterprises.

To combat the growth of areas of 'Food Poverty'. Areas where good quality fresh fruit and vegetables are no longer locally available at an affordable price to people living on limited incomes.

We aim to produce quality vegetables, fruit, nursery plants and grafted trees using only sustainable methods along with unusual and hard to source ethnic foods for the communities involved alongside foods forming part of a staple diet.

How we'll get it done:

• A Community Supported project producing vegetables in volume
• Create a team of growers
• Members in the locality and further afield with direct return in produce according to commitment / work contribution
• Surplus sold direct to the community, wholesale through established partner food access initiatives in urban centres
• Produce for ethnic foods, Arts and Crafts, social and horticultural research
• Sustainable use of our limited resources, conservation and exchange value for all
• Programme of Skills days for individuals and groups to be involved in as many aspects of growing as possible

Establishing new Community Supported Agriculture project (CSA) is vital to the longer term viability. We aim to produce quality vegetables, fruit, nursery plants and grafted trees using sustainable methods only along with unusual and hard to source ethnic foods for the communities involved as well as staples. We would also expand into establishing a colony of bee hives with associated honey and products for sale along with animals for grazing, wool and eggs as permitted and practical to the location.
Surplus would be sold direct to the broader community and wholesale in partnership through established food access initiatives in Hackney, Greenwich and Newham. They would take all surplus vegetables we could produce and pay a fair price.
Create the basis for a network with further sites added where possible, with over 40 acres of disused land and many more of underused parks and gardens in one London borough alone. The scope is simply enormous.
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