So at this point we have purchased a little house on .53 acres that is in need of some serious TLC.  With your continued support we will be able to turn this little homestead into a excellent opportunity to learn & teach the basics of permaculture.  

The last 4 years of testing aquaponics here has been wonderful and I have learned a great deal but now it is time to move somewhere larger, grow bigger crops and push farther into what we can grow with some fish!  

Once we have our Aquaculture permits in place we will begin the process of getting our breeding stock for the Koi and I anticipate we will be able to sell our own, bred in house, Koi within a couple of years!  

It's all very exciting, thanks for being a part of the solution!  

John Tumbling Bear

Since I can't seem to close this, there will be HUGE changes coming.  The land was sold and I'm sure the new buyers will be very happy however it is not us.  We have some different ideas for new perks and the business plans need to be completely revamped but things always work out when you have enough faith & tenacity!  

I have already looked into a new piece of land but it has a much larger price tag.  On the plus side, I'm been able to make some steps towards being 'allowed' to get a mortgage from the bank!  What this means is now instead of needing to raise moeny for the whole thing, raising a decent down payment might just do it!  Excellent news really.  

The plan still includes permaculture, aquaponics, earthworks building, workshops & classes, onsite tiny house rentals and the whole package but I will need to look at how that would play out on a different piece of land.  Long term plans still include the koi breeding & oriental tea garden area so fear not, we'll get those flagstone marked yet!  

Look for updates on the Clean Valley Farms channel and check back in a week or two to see how we've changed the numbers for the new acreage!  Stick with us and we'll get there someday!

Why Does Clean Valley Need Help?

Without a piece of land of our own, Clean Valley Farms can never expand beyond a 10 x 8 poly tunnel hoop house.  The amount we have been able to learn about aquaponics in the past 3+ years is wonderful but being unable to expand means that the learning will soon come to an end.  In order to continue with our research into making aquaponics something that truly anyone can get involved with, land is required.  I have found some acreage in the mountians that is currently selling for $160,000.  That's about half of what a broken down house would cost in the town we live in at the moment.  Usually people would just get a mortgage for something like this but really that's not an option for us without at least 25% down.  

How Can You Help Clean Valley Farms?

Every single dontation helps to narrow the gap between Clean Valley Farms being a dream and it's becoming a reality.  At this time, I have found a nice sized piece of greenhouse farmable land (approx. 37 acres) for a price that is not unreasonable.  Since there are currently no buildings on the land, we will have the opportunity to start from scratch and post various videos of the many projects involved.  The more you can give, the sooner we can begin!

If You Can't Afford To Donate, Will You Still Help?

If you can't afford to contribute with a donation, there are still many ways that you can help Clean Valley Farms reach this important goal.  The easiest way to help would be to share our cause with your friends.  It's fantastic how rapidly ideas can expand in our modern world and just how quickly something can be spread around the world by just sharing the idea.  For example if one person shares this with 5 people, and they share it with 5 more people, who share it with 5 more people that's now 126 people after only 3 shares.  After 2 more it's over 3,125 people who have seen what we are trying to do based on your sharing.  That's awesome math and it's greatly appreceated.

What Do You Get For Helping?

If you can afford to help us more directly, I cannot even begin to express how much I would appreciate that.  The perks program offered by these various crowd funding sites are both very open minded and yet somewhat restricting.  For example, I cannot offer you a cash return, as if it were an investment, but it would be totally okay for me to give a gift certificate if I were that type of company.  I can't offer you a piece of the land but all of good intention will be welcome to visit and stay on the farm.  I want to make my gifts to you either something I can make with my own two hands, something that can be a marker on the land or something of real value to you personally.  The basic costs of production and shipping must, logically, come from the value of the donation.  This means that in the long run, if I offer something fantastic as a perk it really just means we need that many more donations before we can start to build.

A less obvious return on your investment, of a donation, would be all of the practical videos that will be produced developing the farm and our aquaponic systems.  As a farm we will have a variety of small livestock, a wide range of plants and will be constructing many different buildings in several different styles.  From livestock pens to greenhouses to guest houses to the main earthship home, these buildings will be designed to be easily repeatable by almost anyone with the desire to try.  By using geo thermal heating & insulation in our constructions Clean Valley Farms will be helping to create the new farming pattern that our planet is in great need of.  Perhaps even helping with your own future farm build!

What's the goal here?

The long term goal of Clean Valley Farms is to become the finest koi farm and supplier of locally grown, high quality green produce that British Columbia has to offer.  While there will be meat fish grown in the aquaponic greenhouses as well, we will be breeding the koi as a value added type crop.  Pound for pound koi are some of the most profitable fish that can be bred and with out profit, farms fail.  The cabin/guesthouse is also part of the safety net to provide a small but steady income and help ensure we get to keep the land we build on.

Coupled with some basic business skills, these two income streams can ensure that aquaponic learning is allowed to continue without bank related setbacks.  Solid profits in these areas will allow us to also create an area on the land which can be treated as 'the commons' were all are welcome but no fences may be constructed.  In all of this there are some perk ideas that come to mind, but would take many years to achieve so they feel somewhat unusual for this platform.  However, for those who may be interested in something long term, those options will be available.

Would You Like To Visit BC's Wine Country?

I love my YouTube community and as such, something that we would like to offer at Clean Valley Farms is a guesthouse for you to come visit.  This would allow us the chance to finally meet in person and share ideas while we tour the farm and greenhouses.  The building of the guesthouse will take some time, but not as long as breeding the koi or developing the greenhouses.  Perks will include a key to the guesthouse (at max donation level) or a personalized invitation to come and visit with us for 3 days and 2 nights here at Clean Valley Farms, which also allows time for a scenic tour of the many fine vineyards in the sunny Okanagan valley!

When I say a 'Key to the guesthouse' that's exactly what I mean.  That space will always be available for you to stay in, for up to two weeks at a time with advance notice, free of charge due to the value of your assistance in our efforts.  10K is a HUGE bit of help.  As we settle in to the land and develop more of it, other guesthouses will also be built in some of the more scenic locations.  37 acres, which is the land we are currently looking at, allows for a wonderful collection of guesthouse possibilities and I would prefer to ALWAYS have one ready for a keyholder.

Perhaps You Would Like One Of These Offers Instead ...

If you would like to donate, but are unable to take advantage of those other offers due to oceans, borders or a desire to just not travel ... fear not!  We have perks so you can donate for a flagstone on the garden path, take advantage of the postcard offers (all my own photographs by the way), have a bench or willow in the ornamental garden dedicated to a loved one or simply just give a little to feel good about helping us out at Clean Valley Farms!

Where Will The Money Go?

The bulk of the money being raised goes directly to the purchase of the land.  $160,000 for 37 +/- acres with a well is a great price around here.  Anything left over will go towards the purchase of a used Bobcat for the huge amounts of landscaping and leveling that will be required, a used jeep & travel trailer to use on the land while accommodations are being built and things of that nature.  Basically it all goes straight to the farm.  No 'administrative fees' by us here or anything underhanded like that.

In Closing

I look forward to finally getting to meet many of you in person at the Grand Opening BBQ Event so please share this to help make that happen!  I thank you so much for taking the time to visit my FundRazr campaign and offer you a whole hearted, Blessed Be!