Short Summary

Hi, my name is Gian Robberts. I am a South African who was born in 1990/04/04 in Johannesburg.  I moved from the city life of partying and simply enjoying my life to a Farm community in Pietermaritzburg, where I have been working and staying for 10 years now, learning about nature, animals, the soil and our earth, at the same time breaking from my bubble life in the city I have come to see poverty and the effect of it.

This campaign is very important to me, I am driven to find solutions within this world that can benefit all life forms in all kinds of situations. I need proof that a sustainable community will not only benefit the people but also the environment, the animals and so much more, we need to set up systems that support the future of our planet and thus of all life on this planet. If my campaign succeeds on a small scale, I will have physical evidence from which I can do even more work, such as presenting the solutions to our government within their efforts to eradicate poverty and to enrich the environments for generations to come to implement and work from. I also want to be a model for more people to do the same who have the opportunities within this world such as I do to make changes that is best for all.

Each and every person that contributes will be adding to the end goal, the end goal will have a ripple effect that will reach far beyond what we are doing right now. This is throwing a boulder in a pond where an example for change is created that will shine like a bright light in the night to show others a way to go.

What We Need & What You Get

Goals

• Earthbag Homes - demolishing our old rotting bug infested wooden rooms, in its place we want to erect 4 eco houses known as Earthbag homes with washing rooms attached - R300,000.00 (we got quoted by Eco Builders ) $24000
  
   

• Plant 850 more TREES - for this we need labour, compost, time, transportation and obviously buying the trees - estimated cost based on current prices (each tree we buy is already taller than 80cm, they are indigenous and we need to get them from quite a few nurseries locally - tree prices go from R150.00 to R350.00 each times 850, plus all other expenses R 300,000.00 - ($24000)
  

• Pay our Property - R1.1 Mil ($87000)
  
  
   

• Fix up all our current houses, plastering, painting and roof leaks - R250,000.00 ($20000)
  
  
  
   

• Buy 50 tons of compost, wood chips and potting soil - R350,000.00 ($28000)(enriching the earth in general, for our fruit trees, and organic farming).
  
  
   

• Fencing off our wild areas from our domesticated animals and enlarging the wild area space for more animals to find a home in the wild - 540 meters of fence require - 180 1.8m poles 75mm poles - R21,000.00 ($1700) excluding labor and transport.
  
  

• Solar power Boxes, they are known as Off-Grid Water Electricity Boxes, they quoted us $20,000.00 per box, not upgraded and not including transport ($30000 upgraded at least). We would like to have at least 2 of them to give power and clean drinking water to the local people whom have none - check them out here Off Grid BOX - $60000
  
  
   

• Solar power for our water pumps and general electricity on the houses we already have (6 FACILITIES) - R2 Million (oh yes, going green is for the rich)
  
  

Once we reach our goals, we will give people the opportunity to come and stay, and experience what it is like to live here for some time.

If we do not reach the Goal of collecting all the funds, we will put the funds that we were able to gather towards our priority projects regardless.

The Impact

- The Major impact we want is to create a model for our government and others on how poverty can be alleviated by sustainable methods and implementation, South Africa has 27 million people living in poverty, we can create a blueprint for a solution if we have YOUR support to realize it, or even just a way of not allowing further struggling and having basics met with children and adults alike stuck in positions they find no way out at this moment.


 

Our Sustainable community will also but not limited to, show:

• New Housing Methods that support longevity and the environment
• Using renewable energy sources (eg. solar power)
• Organic farming, serving people and nature (free food for locals in poverty (hundreds)
• Community living, creating an opportunity for work and stability.
• See the process of changing the old to the new, it is possible and awesome
• Rehabilitating the land, to support nature (eg. planting indigenous trees and removing invasive/destructive species of plants)
• A Sustainable community has the capacity to uplift those in poverty by sharing its surplus with surrounding communities
• Create facilities to accommodate abused animals for rehabilitation, a safe home
• Motivate governments to implement and do the same through the proof we provide in rural areas for those in need.
• Setting up an environment for people to come and visit, volunteer and learn, thus sending out future leaders into the world.

What we have been able to do with our current limited funding

• We currently have a 7-hectare property located in Kwazulu Natal in South-Africa
  We have 4 houses on the property.
  Five Visitors rooms that are separate from the houses.
  Six Stables for horses.
  One Bird Aviary with five African Greys.
  Seven 5000L rainwater tanks fully stocked (6 are brand new).
  Our property runs off Eskom Electricity (quite expensive).
  Our water for general use comes from a borehole.
  130 newly planted trees in the last year.
  We have within our Mission already brought support to thousands of Animals that see our farm as their home. (Birds, lizards, turtles, fish, Duikers (small bucks) and more, besides the domesticated animals we give shelter and care.
  We currently have 12 people ( 2 toddlers) living on the property.
  We employ 3 locals to support them and their families financially.
  We have 2 Orchards - one is a moringa orchard with 180 trees, the other is a mixed fruit Orchard with 130 trees.
  We have a Nursery under green netting that is being converted into an undercover fruit forest.
  We have two patches for vegetables (new) and an Eco Tunnel (96sqm) newly erected and being perfected.
  
  
   

Risks & Challenges

The risks we face are:

• Not gathering the funding, and possibly losing our property in due time due to not enough support in funds, this includes hundreds of animals losing their home, the currently protected environments losing their security, lots of people committed to this losing their opportunity to do something great this lifetime.
• Only having 60 days to make this campaign work, try again after that or realize that we need alternative ways to get support.

Other Ways You Can Help

If you find you do cannot contribute, not even a dollar, then as always, we would appreciate anyone with supporting in spreading the message, sharing this campaign, asking others to contribute, and being a positive move forward with us.

And that's all there is to it.

We need change to make a change - we all have change, together our change can become more than little-scattered amounts lying
around for a better day.