E-mail in my inbox says:
“Congratulations! I am delighted to inform you that following this months Grant Committee meeting, you have been awarded a grant from Keep Wales Tidy.”
Woo and indeed hoo! Pond, hedge and compost bins here we come.
(Also, please continue to pray for us as we take significant steps forward. I get a little anxious (understatement!) at times and need to know that God is in control. Thanks.)
I, Dith, have been doing some very serious thinking recently. This tends to make my brain hurt, but is necessary at times. Here’s the result of these thoughts:
I would like to be able to concentrate my efforts and energy on this project full time. In order to do this, the ideal solution would be to find funding for a small salary and thus be in a position to quit my current job. Accessing streams of grant funding could be less than ideal, however, as awarding bodies may wish to place conditions on any salary they fund. This has not been a problem with requests for equipment etc, but is far more likely in the field of employing staff.
Consequently, I would prefer to approach God’s people to request financial support. This blog entry is really my way of dipping the first of my toes in the water. If I have sufficient positive response to this, and other feelers I will be putting out, then I will feel able to follow it up. So, with a little discomfort in asking, I have a question for you WibFriends.
Would any of you be willing and able to support me in this endeavour?
You need make no more commitment at this stage than a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ in the comments box. Any comments will obviously have their e-mail addresses attached and I will follow up any positive replies with more details via e-mail at a later date.
The other thing I would ask of you all is to pray for us as I consider this step. I suppose it would be called ‘living by faith’, but at times it feels more like ‘taking a risk’ and ’scrounging from friends’! It is not something to take lightly and believe me when I say that I am seeking real guidance with each step.
Thanks for your support, WibFolk, it helps!
Just a quick prayer request. I recently submitted a grant application to an organisation called Keep Wales Tidy. If it is successful, we will be able to fill the gap in our native hedge, build a wildlife pond and construct compost bins for the plot. Good, eh? We should have a result by the end of the week.
Thanks.
Apologies for being away for so long. Here is a brief update of the recent allotment stuff and our hopes for 2010.
The raised bed materials, formerly at the side of our house, have now been turned into the raised beds. The green manure seeds have been sown and are currently growing into some rather lovely grazing rye plants. We have also sown some wild flower mix, with the intention of attracting bees and butterflies to the plots in the spring. We now have a lovely flagstone path leading to the shed, which currently contains the materials for making the greenhouse.
Our key volunteers have recently gained certificates in First Aid, which is lovely for them. Environmental Chris has now got a full time job locally, which is really good for him as our funding for his work had ended. He is enjoying being part of the project, tho, and intends to continue to support what we do.
In terms of forward planning, we need to complete the paths and also to get the greenhouse erected. Naturally, the next few months will see the sowing of seeds and hopefully being able to bring some of them on in the greenhouse. We also have the arduous task of ensuring that the funding we gained last spring is spent on the items we outlined before the deadline in March 2010.
Other important plans are for the forthcoming Annual General Meeting (scheduled for Feb/March) and for raising awareness of the project. We hope to gain support from the local Christian community, in terms of prayer and perhaps volunteers and finance. We also need to publicise the project amongst potential service-users.
All we need now is for the snow to thaw thoroughly in order to get back to the allotment!
Hello, WibFolk, sorry to have been gone for so long. Chasing my tail, plus some technical problems, have caused the prolonged absence – but here we are again with a lot of news. First, the building of the shed:
Work begins on the base
Hmm, it would seem that technology prevents me from posting any more pics than that rather fine one of Environmental Chris. Rest assured, the shed is practically finished. Once we have got hold of a long enough ladder, we will be able to put the final trim on and it will be done, dusted and waterproof. (Please be praying that the roof does not blow away in the meantime. Seriously, I just had a phone call from the Allotment Sec warning me of this while typing the blog post.)
Other progress has been in the form of some lovely crops – a bountiful amount of spuds, lettuce and radish, plus our first pickings of cabbage and courgette in recent weeks. We also managed to harvest a few blackcurrants too. Mmmm. The sweetcorn are looking promising and the rather bizarre looking Jerusalem Artichokes planted very early this year have done a brilliant job of growing into a very effective windbreak.
The raw materials for the raised beds currently occupy a fair amount of space at the side of our house and we have other items in our garage and at the plot itself awaiting the opportunity to become pathways – both of paving slabs and of woodchip on membrane. Some organic grazing rye seeds delivered the other day are in a box in the back room for the time being. We plan to sow them this coming Thursday in order to form ground cover over the winter. Come the spring, the resulting plants will be cut down and dug into the plot to add nutrients. This is known as the process of adding green manure – clever, eh?
Other matters have progressed regarding raising awareness of and support for our work, as well as moving towards a time (alebeit slowly) when we will be able to take referrals for people to attend the allotment as therapy. Watch this space and I will tell you more details . . . I may even be able to find a way to add the shed photos too!
We’re in the money! We’re in the money! We’ve got alot of what it takes to- um - put a greenhouse and shed etc on the plot!
Yes, you’ve guessed it, our grant application was successful.
Now I really need to get my backside in gear in order to co-ordinate the obtaining and installing of various items of equipment and structures. First thinngs first, get the Trustees together for a meeting to discuss our priorities. (Thanks to those who prayed for the last Trustees meeting. We finally got together on 6th March and had a very productive time. Prayers for more of the same, please!)
I am both excited and nervous – I feel like this is a big step for Sustaining Life, and for little me.
Help! / Yippee! (In approx equal measure.)
The seed order arrived a while ago, sorry that I forgot to tell you. Very exciting, potential plants contained in little specks. I find that kind of thing just stunning!
Also, the Trustees meeting had to be re-scheduled. We are now planning to meet on Friday 6th March. Please pray that it does not get postponed again, as this would be the third time.
Thanks.
Met with Chris yesterday, at a local caff bearing the fabulous name ‘Bread of Heaven.’ He, I and our two faithful volunteers munched on bacon butties and talked allotment. It was a productive chat, the main result being his willingness to become involved in the project again. He is planning to volunteer at a work day in a couple of weeks and appeared most enthusiastic about the opportunity to work as a trainer for us.
Now all we need is a successful funding bid so we can pay him!
…our allotted dough.
Okay, so that is more than a bit of a paraphrase, but yesterday I finished a grant application for a substantial amount from a Trust Fund and handed it over to the helpful Communities First worker, Lisa. She should have added the finishing touches and put it in the post today. So, the waiting begins.
A successful application will result in us being donated sufficient money to put a large greenhouse, shed and some raised beds on the top plot. Also, we will have enough cash for some more tools and equipment, plus we will be able to lay some paving down and edge the veg beds.
The most exciting thing, from my point of view, is the fact that we were encouraged to bid for the means to pay someone to provide training. In effect, this means that we would be able to employ someone to lead a three hour allotment session per week (currently led by myself or the volunteers). If this goes through, then I have it in mind to approach Chris from BTCV (remember him?) and offer him first refusal. I bumped into him in the supermerket last week, after not being able to get in touch with him since his contract ended earlier this year, to find that he is at a loose end and in danger of retreating from S Wales completely. As he was such a great asset to the area when he worked here, I would like to at least offer him some incentive to stay. I would be very happy indeed if we were able to take him on, as he has extensive experience in leading community allotment projects already, as well as being an all round Good Bloke.
So, there you have it. Prayers for grants to be granted, please!
Btw, the new pic at the top is from the Big Dig.
2009 Targets
WORKING ON THE PLOT
The first activity planned for this year is the collection and spreading of manure tomorrow (Sat). A team of us will be collecting the muck, kindly provided by a couple of local horses, delivering it and putting it on the plot. This will rot down in the course of the next few months, adding condition and nutrients to the soil. Mmmm (the plants will say!)
The plants in question are currently in the form of a seed order which is due to be sent very soon. The focus for this season will be to grow a number of more traditional, hopefully easy, crops on the bottom plot. Also planned is the establishment of some boundary plants for shelter on this plot, and perhaps a pond and some fruit bushes. The hope is also that some funds will come through to allow the purchase of a greenhouse, shed, raised beds and other essentials for the top plot, which is looking to be the location for permanent structures. I, personally, would like to see these things in place by the end of this year, so that they are in use by next season and we will be able to concentrate on the planting around them.
ADMIN, FUNDRAISING AND THE LIKE
Lisa, the Communities First worker, is in the process of putting a Trust Fund bid together for us. If this is successful, then the plan is that it will pay for all of the above! I have a copy of the funding bid so far, she and I need to work on it together next week and have it submitted by the end of Jan to reach the next round of applications (otherwise it will be a case of waiting ’til April). Please pray.
We are also working on our corporate image. Well, okay, we are sorting out a logo to use as a letterhead etc. One of our Trustees has a friend who is happy to do this for a nominal fee, so this should hopefully be sorted with very little difficulty.
The next Trustees meeting is planned for the beginning of Feb. This will be the forum where any other major decisions for forward planning are agreed upon.
Of course, this is simply the allotment side of the whole thing. Watch this space for other developments in areas already mentioned by Jeff. Also, do not forget to look out for the ‘Things Unknown’ . . . we certainly will!
Dith