As Richard and I finish our jobs in California and work to get our feet on the ground for ReTreeUS in Maine, it feels both exciting and strange. To be so geographically removed from the home of a local food and community movement could be discouraging.
Somehow, it works anyway.
Maybe it works because we believe in this project, and because it is meant to come true. But to be frank, cell phones and Internet connections seem equally precious right now.
Luckily, we have access to those amenities, just not as readily as many modern Americans do.
That’s because there is no available cell phone or Internet signal from the yurt village where we live. I have a nice, sunny porch by Richard’s garden from which to type, but in order to finagle a precarious web connection, I must walk through the garden to a stump by the chicken coop. This is the spot we call our Internet Café.
Perched on the stump with a computer on my lap yesterday morning, I researched funding options, deadlines, and a few missing facts we needed for our business plan. I inserted some quotes and sources into the twelve-page document I’ve spent all week compiling, and by that time, I needed a more comfortable chair.
I decided it would help to have an easier web connection and perhaps a cell phone signal too, so I hitched a ride with the train to Santa Cruz. Richard and our friend, Josh, were going surfing and I found an actual Internet Café where I could work while they were out. During that time, I practically finished our business plan.
This accomplishment is particularly exciting, as this document is presently our top priority. It’s a great first step, in that it helps us record our abstract ideas and put them in perspective. In addition, the information it contains can be used to explain who we are, gain credibility, and defend our methods. It can also be reused as material for grant writing. (For details on writing a nonprofit business plan, see Donald A. Griesman’s online guide at http://charitychannel.com/enewsletters/dggo/.) If done right, the tedious process of detailing our budget, planning ahead for challenges, and proving our credibility could be invaluable and prevent a lot of headaches in the future.
It’s remarkably easy for me to find motivation for these endeavors—even when I’m sitting on a stump or while my friends are catching waves. Richard and I have agreed that he will continue getting paid as a naturalist at the job where we met, and I will take a break from that gig and its benefits in order to establish ReTreeUS before we head east.
I am happy with the trade.
So, you will mostly be hearing my side of the story as this burgeoning entity takes shape. Thanks for tuning in…and for your ongoing support.
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