We are overfunding, check out what we can do if we reach £11,000 target!
UPDATE! We've hit our target! Thank you so much to all who have supported The Happy Pig thus far - we are extremely excited about bringing this project into the world, and we hope it serves you all for decades to come. The even better news is that we've got a few days to go and we're still fundraising...We are now in the phase of "over-funding" that successful projects move into, so we would like to update you on where all future funding will be going:- We can now make improvements to our plans for The Happy Pig that we wouldn't have dreamt we could have done when we started this campaign, but which you all have made possible. It will enable us to put quality into everything we do, using the most natural, local materials.- There are inevitable costs of the campaign to cover. We need to cover Crowdfunder's costs, who have done an excellent job of making this happen and without whom it would not have been possible.- We also need to pay for the rewards, such as copies of the books etc. and their posting, getting native trees in and planted, food for the feast, expenses for people like Fergus who have kindly donated their time and skills to the cause.- Something else we are passionate about is finding solutions that allow other people to fulfill their most basic human right: access to soil and the ability to provide for own's own simple needs. Therefore if we have a few bob left over once all of the above is done then we would also love to be able to convert a room here into a livable space for others who would like to come here and live in Nature, without having to 'buy-in' or pay rent.
Thanks again!
The An Teach Saor team
THE PROJECT
At An Teach Saor (Irish for The Free House) -- a Permaculture & gift economy based small-holding in the west of Ireland -- our passion is free. Free education. Free food. Free thinking. Free accommodation. Even free booze!So we had a thought: why not create a free community space, a place where people can meet, learn, eat, drink, dance and sleep (hopefully in that order!) without a single penny changing hands? That thought soon became the seed that is The Happy Pig, one which we hope you will help us germinate into something of service to the world. When we took on the 3 acre smallholding we were lucky enough to inherit a big old pig shed, and in it we saw the perfect opportunity to transform it into a space that could fill some of the gaps of modern life – a space that nurtures the spirit, engenders community, and where both the practical skills that allow us to live in a healthier relationship to the entire community of life, and the philosophical ideas that underpin such transformational changes, could be shared. A place where we can all discover our inner happy pigs (for, echoing the famous saying, “would you rather be a happy pig or a miserable philosopher?”). In order for this place to become the best it can be – in order that we can all become the best we can be – we want to offer The Happy Pig as a completely free space to our community, both local and global. We hope that this will help break down some of the barriers people have in accessing what we consider to be essential tools in helping us deal with the many interconnected global issues we are facing today. We want The Happy Pig to become a place where people can explore Wild food, forest gardening, gift economics, free education, home-brewing, music and language, philosophy, bee-keeping, herbalism, perennials, natural building, no-dig annual vegetable production, writing, coppicing, storytelling, bushcraft, off-grid living and much more. We want to bring the world's best teachers here, as well as the world's foremost thinkers and speakers, so that everyone can get involved in the ecological, social, commmunity and spiritual debates concerning us. Based on a 3 acre Permaculture demonstration site, visitors can also discover how they can "close the loop" in everything they do, and help us explore how we can merge all of this into a newer, more holisitc, healthier culture.
However, being passionate about sharing whatever you have for free – whether that be your skills, time or resources – usually means you don't have a lot of spare cash for renovating pig barns, which is why we're asking you, the community, to help us make this happen for you: the community.What will the funding go towards? A new roof and ceiling, straw bale walls, cob for render, a stage, a bar made out of local sawmill offcuts, upcycled seating, tables and beds, doors and windows, off-grid cooking and lighting equipment, a woodburner and heating system, flooring, bedding, offcuts for outside walls, support pillars for the roof and more -- and of course the mandatory home-made ping-pong table. Basically, everything that transforms a (literally) shitty pig barn into a place where people can take free courses and workshops, play music and dance, and drink home-brew from ingredients grown on-site. Bring on the happy pigs! For more information on the rewards, go to:Mark Boyle: http://www.moneylessmanifesto.org/Fergus the Forager: http://fergustheforager.co.uk/Paul Kingsnorth: http://www.paulkingsnorth.net/ and http://dark-mountain.net/Damien McCarron: http://www.damienmccarron.com/