Mike Underhill

Julia - yes, I'm already in for $1. And you're right about time, throwing in a buck was much easier because I've already got a KS account and my computer remembers all the info (so it only involved about four clicks). I try to minimize my screen time and it makes me very ADD when I'm on.

Paul - four per year seems quite reasonable, and if you could commit to that then one idea would be to offer the $100 sponsor level to those willing to pay $365/yr up front. That sort of early bird "bargain" is attractive to me at least.

Paul, please consider that some of the plans you've laid out are liable to run into what I refer to as "Kickstarter fatigue". It's not like the products lack quality, but with so many things that folks may want to support there comes times when they'll feel they have to say "I'm gonna sit this one out."

I love to support the FTCLDF, independent media sources, some of your stuff, Geoff's stuff, some of Jack Spirko's stuff, and various other subscriptions, charities, and one-time opportunities - all of which add up. I think it was 12 Kickstarters per year that was mentioned as a goal in a recent podcast. No matter what they are, I would probably choose two of those to participate in. If you did just two in a year, I would probably participate in two. It might be just me, but I think that there is not a simple multiplier at work here.

I hope you take this in the positive nature with which I offer these thoughts.

Congratulations Paul:

260
backers
$18,059
pledged of $18,000 goal
23
days to go

Sorry to hear about Jocelyn's arm, and that it's in a cast. Years ago I was able to apply a comfrey poultice (twice-daily) on a broken bone and made a full recovery in half the time estimated by the doc.

According to this article: Bees can be trained in 10 minutes and get 98% accurate results while dogs take months to train and only get 71% accuracy.

http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/ideas/2013/12/can-bees-be-trained-to-sniff-out-cancer/

Not for Permies, but for the public at large it may require this sort of substantial, direct benefit to humans to compel humans to save the bees.

Paul, perhaps too late on this first job, but maybe a future outhouse could have the user squatting on a surface level or near level with the hole over the can. This "squatty potty" design honors the way humans are built and leads to much improved evacuation for users - there are health benefits to that. It's different, but I'll bet those who try it will never go back to the 90-degree stance. Perfect for get-in-get-out types.

Just contributed, Katie, best of luck to you and your merry band of critters. I hope you come visit you all some day.

Allan Savoy's TED talk, as it outlines an evolution of gov't land management - focused around animals in parks in Africa.


Mollison's tour of urban permaculture in Davis, CA

I think you've come up with a nice reward structure - something for everyone.

Animals die, sometimes earlier than preferred, that should be understandable. There always the [Name] "II" that could be applied as a mulligan in certain egregious situations. Or perhaps Paul's Farm will have an animal cemetery where certain beloved animals can be remembered with a marker.

Late breaking (and pretty odd) idea: folks could ship to you a stuffed animal or idol of some sort and that could be featured in an "adventure" slideshow on the farm. It's out there, and maybe something for down the road, but some might be into it. It could be entertainment for all involved.

I was also thinking that Paul could get a sponsor plaque going for folks who contribute say 15% or 20% toward the cost of upcoming wofati construction projects. A permanent fixture with names or tributes as desired by the sponsors. Permies might get crowd-funding atrophy at some point so getting in early strikes me as a good idea.

A couple reward ideas that appeal to my brand of weird:

$100 - long term password access to "Bonus Footage" that includes raw/unedited versions of the videos that you post for general consumption. (This might later become a subscription service that helps fund ongoing feed costs).

$50 - you get to name a baby calf

$30 - name a baby sheep (or whatever cute baby animals can be expected in the reasonable future)

And make sure to get word out to Paul's Pod People during the fund raising drive.

Best of luck!