Hopefully, you all won't be mad at me for having that lovely Beatles song stuck in your head for awhile, because I am writing to ask for help. This is not something I do lightly; in fact, I have always been a ‘go it alone’ sort, even going hungry in college rather than asking my parents to send me money.
So, what makes it possible this time to reach out to my community now? I have unexpectedly come upon an opportunity to serve the planet and its people in a way that I know in my heart cannot be passed up. A Cooperative Permaculture Design Course is being offered here in my home place, this spring, at roughly half of the usual price. I will not need to travel far away, but can commute from my home, reducing the cost significantly. This opportunity will allow me to complete work that I started over a decade ago, and to be a much better resource for both the non-profit, community-based organization where I work, and for the larger community of people that are associated with me. I don’t have time to plan, save, work an extra job - the sorts of steps I usually take when I am inspired to expand my view of life in some way. I have only about a third of the funds I need and less than a month in which to gather the rest. I need to trust in the universe and my dearest friends to help me pull this together.
Therefore, I have decided to ask those I know to invest $5 or $10 in me, and I will give it back, maybe not directly to you, but to the planet and the people. The three primary tenets of permaculture are “Care for the Earth, Care for the People, Share the Abundance”. I will be doing all three, and will be sharing what I learn with all of you through a series of “Sustainable Sunday” columns that will appear almost-weekly on my blog for the coming year (I do plan to take a few holidays off).
I need to raise these funds by the end of April, so have put both a Paypal "Donate" button and a ticker on my blog... neither of which appeared in the pretty way I wanted. These will come down as soon as I am done, and I will also be posting 'windows' into my course process, so stay tuned. And help me spread the word! Thanks from the bottom of my soul!
*** Breaking news - On Munday morning, I learned that the cooperative class fee has been reduced to $1000, and that I had already received a significant amount of donations.... thanks to all!!

