Three years ago, my wife and I, poor as we were, came to Susquehanna County with a dream: to buy
land, and to grow a new Eden. We planted chestnuts and pears, walnuts and sweet oaks, peaches and persimmons, elderberries and raspberries, and a made a patch of fertile ground full of vegetables. We were even about to try our hand at cold-hardy figs.
But this year, the money ran out. Inflation and setbacks sapped our stores, and now not only are we in danger of losing the house, three years of hard work, and our dream, but my wife has left, possibly never to return. The stresses of this life wore on her, and my stubborn optimism, my arrogance, fed a
kindling flame of resentment I never felt until it was too late. But when we came here, the dream held us together- and with your help, it still can.
"Eleuthera," the name we decided to call our Garden, means "freedom." We believed, and I still believe, that
freedom comes from a strong network built of people who are both as self-sufficient as they can be, and as generous as it takes to hold up their neighbors. If our homes provide us with all of our needs- food, medicine, materials, aesthetic joy, fun- what more is there to accomplish but to share the abundance? Eleuthera, like many
Permaculture gardens, set out to do just this. But dreams and grit can only get you so far. We wanted to build a network- but we
should have started with one. Now it may be too late; but I don't think it is, not if we build that network NOW... starting with you and me.
I know we can be on the cusp of a turn around. I know we can make this dream work: the dream not only to grow a new Eden for our own children, but to spread it and share it with anyone who would partake of it- including you. Free saplings and grafts and tips for how to grow them in polycultures,
gardening strategies, new friendships, knowledge, material resources, podcasts, blogs, credit unions, a new culture itself... we set out to do it all. We wanted to transform our own lives and the lives of those around us for the better. And I know we still can- but not without your help. If you are willing not only to give, but to share this fundraiser with your friends and family, with the whole world, we can not only save the dream here, but build a network that will bring food security and harmony through shared values to everyone we can reach.
I want to build you an Eden too. I'll come to your house and dig it myself if you want.
If you can give anything, even a moment to share this fundraiser (
https://gofund.me/e667075c) with someone else, it will mean everything to me, and I will return your Mercy with all the abundance I ever muster. Whatever you ask of me that I can give, I will return to you. I don't know what that could be- but ask, and I will do my best to offer. My life, my marriage, my future, the future of Eleuthera, and, if you so desire, your own future, depend on it.
Thank you,
Matthew
https://gofund.me/e667075c 
