Natural Small Batch Cheesemaking Kickstarter - August/September 2023

Click here to go to the Kickstarter





Back before 9pm 18th August (USA mountain time) and get the following earlybird goodies


Click here to find out more about the earlybird bundle



Anyone can make their own cheese. Whether you’re in the middle of a city, or on a homestead, you can make delicious cheeses in your home kitchen.

Making your own home dairy products was an essential skill in the past, and a skill that continues to create resilience and reduce food costs in the face of supply disruptions and uncertainty.

Natural Small Batch Cheesemaking is the book I wish had existed when I started making cheese. Many cheesemaking books present recipes to be followed in exact ideal conditions which can be hard to achieve on a homestead. I've gone beyond this, making cheeses in less-than-ideal conditions, sharing the results, and explaining why each part of the cheesemaking process is done and how to make this work in home kitchen and homestead conditions.

I’ve included heaps of information on storing, handling, and working with the seasonal conditions of milk. Instructions for making your own rennet from animals and plants are included, along with information about how to prepare and use several different homemade cheese cultures.

There’s a section on cheesemaking equipment, and how to get started with the absolute basics, most of which can already be found in a typical home kitchen.

If you’re not sure where to begin, or how to fit cheesemaking into your life, there’s helpful information included about the best cheese recipes to get started with, and how to grow your cheese skills from there, along with figuring out which cheeses will work best with your lifestyle.

“Understanding the cheesemaking process” is a large part of the book where we look at every step of the cheesemaking process in depth, why each step is done, and what each step achieves, so that you can confidently come up with your own cheese varieties.

The ideal conditions for aging cheeses are discussed, along with various ways to achieve this at home. I also discuss many ways to work with rinds: working with natural moulds, encouraging (and discouraging) different types of mould, and natural options for making cheese without mould.

Many cheese styles are covered in the book, from the best kinds for beginners to start with, through to advanced cheesemaking.

Also included are recipes for other homemade dairy products: how to make the best thick and tasty yoghurt, kefir, cultured cream, butter, and ice cream.

Natural Small Batch Cheesemaking is the ideal cheese book for homesteaders. 8x8” in size and around 140 pages, designed for practical use with every cheese recipe on a single-page spread and clearly written instructions to help you make your own beautiful cheeses at home.

Click here to go to the Kickstarter

Affiliate program: get rewarded for sharing!
Make a post in this thread asking for your own affiliate link to share, I will post your link below your post as a staff comment, and if your link brings in more than AU$500 in pledges, I will give you 20% of every pledge made from your link.

Places you could share:
•Facebook groups
•Telegram groups
•Your social media page
•Your blog or email list
•Local email lists
•Forums

Wow! It's already halfway to the funding goal!

Thanks so much everyone!

I have to go offline soon, but will get back to any questions when I'm back online in a couple of days.

Closer to 75% now! Happy to be one of the first 30 backers.

Just a reminder, the Kickstarter is showing prices in Kates Aussie dollars, the current conversion rate makes it about 25% less in US dollars. I.E., the "All My Books - paperback" is 104 AUD, but about $75 USD.

125% funded!

156% funded!!!

In for the hardcover.  Can't wait!

Send me all your books! :-)

I'm #150  :)

Congratulations Kate!

The book sounds great, I love the fact that it has both imperial and metric measurements. And it ships affordably everywhere!

I have not even dreamt about making cheese because I have thought it requires specific tools and a cheese cave.. Well now I do. We eat a lot of cheese.. And butter. If I learn to make cheese it would actually make sense to buy fresh milk, so far we have only bought the regular processed milk from the store. Oh I can't wait to get started!

A book I didn't even know that I really truly needed and the timing is perfect as our heifer should be calving any day now!!!

Thank you and I hope the extra funds help. I just have to decide if I want a paperback or hardback!!!

Kate Downham wrote:156% funded!!!

Hi Kate - I thought I went to the right thread to ask for an affiliate link.
If you are just snowed under, let me know, I will be patient.
Excited about posting it various places.

Oh, there's an affiliate link option?  Hook me up too please!

Wow! Snowed under would be an understatement right now! Was out all day yesterday, came online today, and we've cleared AUD10,000! Wow!

Thanks so much everyone! This is really exciting! I will send out a Kickstarter update shortly and post it here too.

Current top referrer to the Kickstarter is the daily-ish email! Thanks so much Permies and Daily-ish readers!

522% funded! $8 away from aud$11,000!

Earlybird bundle has now ended - thank you earlybirds for backing early - I'm sure you'll enjoy the bundle.

Wow,Kate, this looks great!

AU$ 11,918
pledged

566%
funded

271
backers

25
days to go

I had an idea for stretch goals, but I would need some help...

Are there any Permie cheesemakers here that speak European languages? I might have some paid work for you:
https://permies.com/t/224048/jobs-offered/experiences/European-language-Permies-cheese-Proofreading

Slowing down a bit now... If anyone can think of somewhere good to share this Kickstarter, please feel free to share it!

AU$ 12,569
pledged

597%
funded

287
backers

23
days to go

Kate Downham wrote:Slowing down a bit now... If anyone can think of somewhere good to share this Kickstarter, please feel free to share it!

AU$ 12,569
pledged

597%
funded

287
backers

23
days to go

Kate,

I posted it in a post about my own cow on a large homestead group on Gab.
https://gab.com/texasGSDgirl/posts/110935429636548198
The post itself has some likes and even got reposted but no idea if your link was used.

I am looking to see if any of my cow groups on FB allow that type of post.
I can probably do what I did on Gab and simply include it as part of my "about to calve" post
and be okay.

Also posted in a small homestead group on X. Groups are new on there so no idea if
anyone will even see it. And my account is heavily shadowbanned.

I am part of another homesteading web forum and I will see if I can post it there today.
It tends to be tetchy so I don't participate much but hopefully I can find a way.

~Karen

Karen McVause wrote:

Kate Downham wrote:Slowing down a bit now... If anyone can think of somewhere good to share this Kickstarter, please feel free to share it!

AU$ 12,569
pledged

597%
funded

287
backers

23
days to go

Kate,

I posted it in a post about my own cow on a large homestead group on Gab.
https://gab.com/texasGSDgirl/posts/110935429636548198
The post itself has some likes and even got reposted but no idea if your link was used.

I am looking to see if any of my cow groups on FB allow that type of post.
I can probably do what I did on Gab and simply include it as part of my "about to calve" post
and be okay.

Also posted in a small homestead group on X. Groups are new on there so no idea if
anyone will even see it. And my account is heavily shadowbanned.

I am part of another homesteading web forum and I will see if I can post it there today.
It tends to be tetchy so I don't participate much but hopefully I can find a way.

~Karen

Thanks so much for sharing!

I'm excited to announce that my cheese book is now a "project we love" on Kickstarter!

Wow, that's awesome!!!  You must be doing something very right ;)

So while I'm eagerly waiting for my cheese making book, I run across a YouTube channel about this guy who lives a nomadic lifestyle with his sheep and makes cheese using the natural cultures in the air! Now, I am so jazzed to get started on this, I'm feel like I'm going to explode! I can't wait for my book to arrive!

Here's the vid if anyone wants to see, he mentions the cheese cultures at right around 19 minutes...

This got shared in a daily-ish email yesterday/today - Thank you Permies!

AU$ 13,952
pledged

663%
funded

328
backers

17
days to go

More than halfway through the month-long Kickstarter now!

AU$ 14,699
pledged

699%
funded

342
backers

15
days to go

Another payday, another book! Just upgraded my $1 earlybird pledge to include the ebook!

Finally! I'm bumped up from paperback to hard cover!

$9,991 US dollars!

This got a mention in the daily-ish the other day from Monica - thank you Monica, Permies, and daily-ish readers!

AU$ 15,453
pledged

735%
funded

359
backers

11
days to go

Ashley at Practical Self Reliance is sharing my gjetost recipe, along with a quick review of the book - thank you Ashley!

https://practicalselfreliance.com/gjetost-recipe/

Wow! I’ve been offline the last few days, came back, and there’s been a big jump in the Kickstarter! Over 1000% funded!

Paul Wheaton mentioned me in the Monthly-ish email! Thank you so much Paul!

Looks like it also got featured in a Kickstarter email!

AU$ 21,358
pledged

1016%
funded

495
backers

8
days to go

$14,773 in US Dollars!

Not long to go now!

AU$ 23,654
pledged

1125%
funded

550
backers

4
days to go

I'm REALLY getting excited about this book!

O.K.....
here it comes:
Simply put; I really would like to purchase this book (in a paperback form) but, why do I have to create an account, another password and so on?
I am sick of creating accounts let alone passwords I can't remember, nor do I care to remember.
So, can someone help me and direct me HOW can I purchase this book please? Pretty please?
Thank you in advance to a kind soul who know how to do this.

Ela La Salle wrote:O.K.....
here it comes:
Simply put; I really would like to purchase this book (in a paperback form) but, why do I have to create an account, another password and so on?
I am sick of creating accounts let alone passwords I can't remember, nor do I care to remember.
So, can someone help me and direct me HOW can I purchase this book please? Pretty please?
Thank you in advance to a kind soul who know how to do this.

To simply buy the book, you'll have to wait until it comes out - which we all have to do. Going through kickstarter means we're supporting the author, Kate Downham, as she goes through the editing, illustrations, covers, and a ton of other details, to make sure she knows she has the support to actually get it done. Annnd, going through kickstarter, there are generally certain percs - including getting it sooner than everyone else.

Ela La Salle wrote:O.K.....
here it comes:
Simply put; I really would like to purchase this book (in a paperback form) but, why do I have to create an account, another password and so on?
I am sick of creating accounts let alone passwords I can't remember, nor do I care to remember.
So, can someone help me and direct me HOW can I purchase this book please? Pretty please?
Thank you in advance to a kind soul who know how to do this.

I'm not sure if there's any way around it. On the plus side, I think it's pretty straightforward, and I don't think Kickstarter send out spammy emails - you just sign up, and then you can easily back projects and it's lovely - Paul has great Kickstarters happening every year, and plenty of other Permie people have Kickstarters from time to time.

I will have a way set up to pre-order books directly from me soon, but it will be more expensive, and without the extra goodies that you get during the Kickstarter, and they will ship after the Kickstarter books have all shipped.

Counting it down in hours now, not days!

AU$ 25,587
pledged

1217%
funded

587
backers

71
hours to go