UPDATE 5/14: Restructured the reward section to make it more clear. 

UPDATE 5/14: Added front and back images of the GEI organic grocery tote back. Scroll down to the rewards pictures to check it out!   

UPDATE 5/13: We added concept designs for the Plastered t-shirt, both front and back. We're still working on them, including deciding on t-shirt color. Check them out and let us know what you think! Stay tuned for an update on the USBee. Please check the update tab for more information, including updates from Baoxing County. 

UPDATE 5/11: Just added a concept design for the USBee! Check it out and let us know what you think! 

UPDATE 5/10: We added another perk! The "Panda-eating-honey Magnet" for $15. Please see the campaign text for an image. The Plastered design is just too good to use for the t-shirt alone..  We also added some photos for the other perks. Stay tuned for more. 

Caption: Beekeeper inspecting a beehive after the earthquake 

Summary 

On April 20^th, 2013, a devastating earthquake struck rural Sichuan Province near the city Ya’an. One of the two hardest hit counties was Baoxing County, home of the Fengtongzhai Honey Cooperative. Our project goal is to crowdfund the money for 100 beehives to rebuild and expand the honey cooperative. This project will help the community start down the path to recovery, while preserving the local ecosystem that is crucial to the giant panda.

Caption: Buildings destroyed by the earthquake 

Caption: Relief area in Baoxing County (tents in background)

Background

Baoxing County and the surrounding area is a biodiversity hotspot of global significance. It is home to multiple endangered species, including the giant panda and snub-nosed golden monkey. Since 2005, our nonprofit the Global Environmental Institute (GEI) has worked extensively with the Baoxing County community and officials from the Fengtongzhai Nature Reserve to build up and promote the local honey industry. In addition to this region being especially suitable for beekeeping because of its proximity to the nature reserve, honey production enables the rural population to improve their livelihood in a way that protects the surrounding fragile environment, by providing an alternative to illegal forestry.

Led by our crowdfunding team member Aimin Wang, GEI helped to build up the local honey industry in multiple ways.  

• Built up beekeeping capacity. Now, the cooperative is experienced enough that they can train new beekeepers within the community themselves.
• Registered the beekeepers as the “Fengtongzhai Green Source Specialized Cooperative”, a tax-free status similar to farmers cooperative statuses in other countries (“Fengtongzhai Honey Cooperative” for short).
• Facilitated meetings between the cooperative and regional organic food business to help them market their honey.
• Bought beehives for rural families to help build the industry.   

But progress was not without setbacks. Baoxing County suffered significant loss during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Three people in the county were killed, 338 were injured, and 15,390 buildings were destroyed. The financial losses totalled 1.7 billion RMB. GEI assisted during the 2008 earthquake recovery effort by helping to rebuild the cooperative’s beekeeping base and replacing the 30 beehives destroyed during landslides. Unfortunately, the damage from the April 20^th, 2013, earthquake is significantly greater. The full extent of the damage is still unknown. 

With this campaign, we are crowdfunding the money to purchase beehives for families affected by the earthquake. If we reach our Indiegogo goal of $10,000, we will have enough money to purchase around 100 beehives for the Fengtongzhai Honey Cooperative, which will help put the community on the path towards recovery. 

Caption: Fengtongzhai Honey Cooperative beekeepers at the beekeeping base

Caption: Fengtongzhai Honey Cooperative beekeeper and Wang Aimin inspecting a beehive

How will this project help Baoxing County?

This work is intertwined with many facets of the earthquake recovery, including the economy, environment, and culture.

• Help beekeepers recover their losses. Many families lost beehives during landslides resulting from the earthquake. Our first goal is to replace those beehives to rebuild the cooperative.
• Expand the cooperative to include more rural families. Based on current information, landslides have significantly damaged farmland. Therefore, beekeeping will be one of the best ways for the rural residents to earn an income this year. Each beehive can produce about 10-15 kilos of honey per beehive each year, which is equivalent to a total additional income of 1,200-1,800 RMB. 
• Conserve the Fengtongzhai National Natural Protected Area, where giant pandas still live in the wild. Beekeeping provides the community with an alternative way to earn money, so that they do not need to go into the nature reserve to illegally source forestry material to earn a living.  
• Increase the local population of bees and their important role as pollinators for local plant life. The population of pollinators in China, like in many regions across the globe, is drastically declining, severely threatening both food production and natural ecosystems.
• Help vulnerable groups, including women, children, and the elderly, by developing a non-labor intensive way to earn money. (and with proper training, it will be non-sting intensive)

Rebuilding and expanding the honey industry in rural Sichuan allows them to recover and develop in a way that is environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable. 

 

Rewards

Reward options...

> $15, Postcard: Postcard from Baoxing County, Sichuan Province, China. 

> $15, Panda-eating-honey refrigerator magnet: Plastered panda-eating-honey design on 3" diameter refrigerator magnet + thank you card. 

> $30, USBee: 1 GB Baoxing County USBee drive + thank you card. 

> $50, GEI tote bag: Global Environmental Institute (GEI) grocery tote bag + thank you card. 

> $60, GEI tote bag + USBee: Global Environmental Institute (GEI) grocery tote bag + 1 GB Baoxing County USBee drive + thank you card. 

> $60, Plastered T-shirt: T-shirt designed by Beijing's super iconic t-shirt brand Plastered T-shirts + thank you card. 

> $70, Plastered T-shirt + USBee + thank you card.

> $100, Co-sponsor a family! (1 hive): All of the previous rewards. Plastered T-shirt + GEI grocery tote bag + USBee + thank you card. 

> $150, Sponsor a family! (2 hives): Printed refrigerator magnet of a photo of the family you are sponsoring, along with a hand-written card about them. Plus, all of the previous rewards: Plastered T-shirt + GEI grocery tote bag + USBee + thank you card.  

Descriptions of the rewards... 

- Panda-eating-honey refrigerator magnet. We're printing the Plastered design on a 3" diameter refrigerator magnet. 

- Plastered T-shirt. We've teamed up with Plastered T-shirts - Beijing's super iconic t-shirt brand - to design a t-shirt for the campaign. Check out their stuff and we know you'll agree: the t-shirt is guaranteed to be awesome! The concept art includes bees, honey, and pandas. Stay tuned for campaign updates about the design. 

- USBee. Bamboo 1 GB USB flash drive (v. 2.0), with "Baoxing County, Sichuan Province" (四川省宝兴县）imprinted in black in old-style characters on one side and a simple color illustration with a honeybee on the other. Photos below. 

- GEI tote bag. Durable tote bag with the GEI logo on one side and the GEI stamp on the other. The characters forming the stamp spell out "Global Environmental Institute" in Chinese (全球环境研究所), written in traditional form, from up to down, and right to left. Photos of an example tote bag with art work are below. We're planning to print it on the "Organic Grocery Tote" from zazzle.com, which has a square bottom, unlike the tote in these photos.  

- Refrigerator magnet of a photo of the family you are sponsoring (no concept photo yet). We'll print a photo of the family you sponsor on a 4"X6" flexible refrigerator magnet, including text "Fengtongzhai Honey Cooperative" and "Baoxing County, Sichuan Province".  

Reward images...

Caption: Panda-eating-honey magnet

Caption: Plastered T-shirt concept design, front side

Caption: Plastered T-shirt concept design, back side (t-shirt will be the above color of blue, so we are currently redesigning the back)

Caption: GEI grocery tote, side 1

Caption: GEI grocery tote, side 2 

Caption: GEI grocery tote, side 1 image close-up

Caption: GEI grocery tote, side 2 image close-up 

Budget

All of the crowdfunded money goes toward purchasing beehives and rewards.

• The cost of beehives depends on timing. Since we’ll be buying the beehives at the end of May, each one will cost approximately 300 RMB (around $50)
• Each beehive has a delivery cost of around 15 RMB (around $2.50)
• We designed the rewards so that around 50% of the money you give goes directly to the beehive purchase, and the remaining money goes to costs and shipping for the rewards and crowdfunding fees. 

To ensure transparency, we will share all receipts and expenses by updating the campaign website. 

Timeline

April 26 – May 31: Crowdfunding. We are sharing the project with as many people as we can to build support for the recovery effort. Please help us get the word out by sharing it with your networks!  

May 31 – July 31: Buy and deliver beehives to Baoxing County families, assist with new beekeeper training, and fulfill all of the awesome crowdfunding rewards.

Who are we?

Caption: Aimee, Wang Aimin, and Tom at the GEI office in Chaoyangmen District, Beijing, China 

We are three people from the Global Environmental Institute, an environmental nonprofit based in Beijing, China.

• Aimin Wang, GEI Program Officer: Aimin has led GEI’s work with the Baoxing County community since the partnership began in 2005. Aimin organizes and leads our collaboration with the local reserve officials, the cooperative, and the community for all aspects of the project.
• Tom Brett, GEI Communications Officer: Tom hails from Tulsa, Oklahoma. He first came to China when he was 16 to live with a host family for a year. Since then, he has lived in China on and off for nearly four years working and volunteering with environmental NGOs, including The Nature Conservancy and GEI. Tom is co-managing the campaign with Aimee.
• Aimee Bailey, GEI Fellow: Aimee is a physicist by training, who has since focused her efforts on sustainable development. She is at GEI for the year researching and writing a research paper called “Crowdfunding Sustainable Development in China”.  Aimee is co-managing the campaign with Tom.

If we are successfully funded, Aimin will direct everything we are doing on the ground to implement the project, including delivering beehives and facilitating new beekeeper training.  Tom and Aimee will assist Aimin with project implementation, manage the budget, and make sure all of our awesome crowdfunding rewards are fulfilled.