Cultivando Futuros

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Finished 29 / 07 / 2019
Funded!
Received
$ 23,271
Minimum
$ 21,028
Optimum
$ 46,989
174 Co-financiers
  • Contributing $ 5

    Credits

    Thank you mention on the La Bolina website

    > 06 Co-financiers
  • Contributing $ 11

    Credits + Personalised digital photograph

    Thank you mention on the La Bolina website
    Photograph with a personalised message from one of La Bolina members

    > 11 Co-financiers
  • Contributing $ 26

    Credits + Bag + Postcard

    Thank you mention on the La Bolina website
    Unique La Bolina screen-printed bag
    Signed postcard

    Includes shipping to Spain, outside Spain adding shipping costs.

    > 24 Co-financiers
  • Contributing $ 53

    Credits + handbook + bag + postcard + L veg box + bookmark

    Thank you mention on the La Bolina website
    La Bolina agroecology handbook (pdf)
    Unique La Bolina screen-printed bag
    Signed postcard
    Large organic veg box with our delicious veggies (to be collected in El Valle, Granada, Orgiva or Motril)
    La Bolina bookmark

    Includes shipping to Spain, outside Spain adding shipping costs.

    > 19 Co-financiers
  • Contributing $ 79

    Credits + handbook + bag + postcard + L veg box + bookmark + tshirt

    Thank you mention on the La Bolina website
    La Bolina agroecology handbook (pdf)
    Unique La Bolina screen-printed bag
    Screen-printed La Bolina t-shirt
    Large organic veg box with our delicious veggies (to be collected in El Valle, Granada, Orgiva or Motril)
    Signed postcard
    La Bolina bookmark

    Includes shipping to Spain, outside Spain adding shipping costs.

    > 03 Co-financiers
  • Contributing $ 106

    Credits + handbook + bag + postcard + tshirt + bookmark + set of conserves

    Thank you mention on the La Bolina website
    La Bolina agroecology handbook (pdf)
    Unique La Bolina screen-printed bag
    Screen-printed La Bolina t-shirt
    Signed postcard
    La Bolina bookmark
    Set of conserves

    Includes shipping to Spain, outside Spain adding shipping costs.

    > 15 Co-financiers
  • Contributing $ 264

    Credits + handbook + bag + postcard + tshirt + set of conserves + S veg box subscription (or recipes' book)

    Thank you mention on the La Bolina website
    La Bolina agroecology handbook (pdf)
    Unique La Bolina screen-printed bag
    Screen-printed La Bolina t-shirt
    Signed postcard
    Set of conserves
    Small vegetable box subscription x 1 year if based in El Valle, Granada, Orgiva, Motril or a digital copy of the limited edition La Bolina recipes' book with traditional recipes shared by local people and migrants living in the area

    Includes shipping to Spain, outside Spain adding shipping costs.

    > 03 Co-financiers
  • Contributing $ 528

    Credits + handbook + bag + postcard + tshirt + set of conserves + L veg box subscription (or recipes' book) + La Bolina visit

    Thank you mention on the La Bolina website
    La Bolina agroecology handbook (pdf)
    Unique La Bolina screen-printed bag
    Screen-printed La Bolina t-shirt
    Signed postcard
    Set of conserves
    Large vegetable box subscription x 1 year if based in El Valle, Granada, Orgiva, Motril or a digital copy of the limited edition La Bolina recipes' book with traditional recipes shared by local people and migrants living in the area
    Exclusive half-day visit to La Bolina + 5-courses home-made lunch

    Includes shipping to Spain, outside Spain adding shipping costs.

    > 02 Co-financiers
  • Contributing $ 1,056

    Credits + handbook + bag + postcard + tshirt + set of conserves + L veg box subscription (or recipes' book) + La Bolina weekend

    Thank you mention on t La Bolina website
    La Bolina agroecology handbook (pdf)
    Unique La Bolina screen-printed bag
    Screen-printed La Bolina t-shirt
    Signed postcard
    Set of conserves
    Large vegetable box subscription x 1 year if based in El Valle, Granada, Orgiva, Motril or a digital copy of the limited edition La Bolina recipes' book with traditional recipes shared by local people and migrants living in the area
    Weekend getaway in El Valle de Lecrin with La Bolina team

    Includes shipping to Spain, outside Spain adding shipping costs.

    > 00 Co-financiers
  • Contributing $ 5,281

    Credits + handbook + bag + postcard + tshirt + set of conserves + L veg box subscription (or recipes' book) + La Bolina weekend + tailored-made workshop + lifetime membership

    Thank you mention on the La Bolina website
    La Bolina agroecology handbook (pdf)
    Unique La Bolina screen-printed bag
    Screen-printed La Bolina t-shirt
    Signed postcard
    Set of conserves
    Large vegetable box subscription x 1 year if based in El Valle, Granada, Orgiva, Motril or a digital copy of the limited edition La Bolina recipes' book with traditional recipes shared by local people and migrants living in the area
    Weekend getaway in El Valle de Lecrin with La Bolina team
    Tailored-made workshop for your organsiation, foundation or friends
    Lifetime membership to La Bolina

    Includes shipping to Spain, outside Spain adding shipping costs.

    > 01 Co-financiers

About this project

Migrants and refugees enterprising in ecological agriculture

Needs Material Minimum Optimum
Land Material
Seeds, seed trays, materials for 12 months
$ 317
Water pump
Cost to fix our water pump and improve the efficiency of our irrigation system
$ 475
Second-hand Van
Van to deliver organic vegetable boxes, conserves and olive oil
$ 6,337
Electric bikes
4 electric bikes to allow our growers to move independently and ecologically (325€ average cost for one bike)
$ 1,372
Bike trailers
Two bike trailers to transport materials, tools, vegetables, veg boxes
$ 232
Rotary row-crop cultivator
To till the land
$ 1,267
Irrigation systems and tools
To prepare new lands for cultivation
$ 5,492
Needs Infrastructure Minimum Optimum
Transport
Minimum costs of petrol and maintenance for 12 months
$ 528
Project Fixed Costs
Rent, expenses, maintenance costs for 12 months
$ 7,626
Rehabilitation Greenhouse
Fixed costs to rehabilitate an existing greenhouse on the land to start our own organic seedling production
$ 824
Needs Task Minimum Optimum
Contribution towards growers' living expenses during start up period
150€ x month x 4 people for 6 months
$ 3,802
Water fees
Average cost of using water for 12 months
$ 338
Contribution towards living expenses during start up period (additional 2 growers)
150€ x month x 2 people for 6 months
$ 1,901
Project Manager
500€ x 12 months to cover project administration and management
$ 6,337
Agroecology and permaculture teacher
500€ x 12 months to cover teaching and mentoring on the land
$ 6,337
Commercialisation Support
300€ x 12 months for consulting and support in establishing channels of commercialisation
$ 3,802
Total $ 21,028 $ 46,989
Necessary
Supplemental

General information

La Bolina is a migrant-led intercultural project and Veg Box enterprise

We need your help to:

  1. Support at least six more migrants and refugees to join La Bolina's veg growing team and root their lives in El Valle del Lecrín in 2019/2020

  2. Electric bikes for producers to get up and down the hills (they are steep!) to the various pieces of land spread across El Valle donated to us by the local authorities

  3. Van to deliver Veg Boxes

  4. Tools, seeds, a water pump and an irrigation system

  5. Contribute to support coordination and training costs (including awareness-raising workshops in schools and internships for migrants and refugees)

Ultimately creating a thriving intercultural community in El Valle del Lecrín!


Who are La Bolina?

Association La Bolina was founded in 2016. Today we are a team of 12 people from Europe, Africa and the Middle East, working together to increase opportunities for migrants and refugees to learn and teach ecological agriculture and develop sustainable enterprises in the rural areas around Granada, Spain. You can find us in El Valle del Lecrín, between Granada and Motril - where the red flag is on the map.


What is our vision?

“Our vision is to initiate a regenerative revolution in the rural areas based on a strong network between locals and newcomers; as well as bringing delicious ecologically grown food to more people! We want to show that migrants and refugees can be an ecological and economic solution, not a burden to their new country.
Last year we set up an ecological food enterprise to provide a living for myself and four other migrants and refugees. We produce ecological veg using agroecology and permaculture techniques, and we are regenerating 6 pieces of land donated to us by the local authorities and our neighbours,” says La Bolina Producer and project member James Gibba.


How do we do it?

“Each year our team of experienced teachers, including migrants and refugees, run Cultivando Futuros - a training and internship programme for migrants and refugees in Permaculture, Agroecology and Commercialisation. Following this, we support participants who want to become part of the La Bolina team long-term to relocate to El Valle del Lecrín, joining the team of La Bolina producers and taking responsibility for their own piece of land. Several more migrants and refugees will join us in 2019/2020.” explains La Bolina co-founder and agroecology teacher Habiba Youssef. (centre back)

Janna Herzig coordinator of the Veg Box scheme adds, “The weekly Veg Box comprises of seasonal vegetables, cultivated using 100% agroecology and permaculture techniques by the La Bolina team in El Valle del Lecrín and La Vega de Granada, emboding the values of local, social and solidarity economy.

Want to find out what the La Bolina producers are harvesting this week!? Check out our website and facebook page!”


We believe big change comes from networks of small-scale projects, rooted in community - acting locally, but thinking globally.

Main features and goals of the crowdfunding campaign

We commit to:

  • Create sustainable livelihoods for migrants and refugees through the marketing of La Bolina's Vegetable Box scheme.

  • Empower more refugees and migrants to join / collaborate with our project.

  • Provide training to migrants and refugees on agroecology with the aim of joining our project or finding other sustainable and dignified work.

  • Identify and recover abandoned land, regenerate by cultivating it according to the principles of agroecology and permaculture with the aim of producing ecological products.

  • Encourage a sustainable lifestyle, respecting all forms of life, taking into account the limited resources of our planet, reducing our impact on the planet as well as our carbon footprint.

  • Address the depopulation of rural villages, land degradation, high level of local unemployment and unmet basic needs of migrants and refugees.

  • Work according to the values of local, social, sustainable and solidarity economy. Use new economic models and look for unused resources from the area.

  • Set up a social housing cooperative and coordinate social and cultural integration to transform problems at all levels into real opportunities.

  • Improve the well-being of all participants through work in nature, creative activities in the community and personal fulfilment in an environment of support and respect.


LA BOLINA'S IMPACT SO FAR 2016-2019

  • 60+ migrants and refugees participanted in our trainings
  • 5 migrants and refugees earning a living as producers with La Bolina
  • Launch of La Bolina Veg Box enterprise
  • 500+ Veg Boxes sold
  • 7 internships with local enterprises and cooperatives, organised by La Bolina for migrants and refugees
  • 500+ people actively engaged in La Bolina activities
  • ongoing collaborations between the local population, migrants and refugees
  • 10 plots of previously abandoned land being regenerated in El Valle del Lecrín
  • 1 motion written by La Bolina unanimously passed in Granada regional government
  • 3 Cultivando Futuros trainings
  • 1 Permaculture Design Course with Candela Vargas Poveda and Gilbert Jassey
  • 1 Permaculture Teaching Matters course with Alfred Decker (certified by Rowe Morrow)
     - Social Permaculture Course in September with Starhawk
  • 2 MA's written on La Bolina and 1 PhD in progress
  • 7 articles written about La Bolina
  • 5 interviews on national radio
  • 9 films / TV documentaries about La Bolina
  • 1,785 followers on facebook

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

Contact us on participa@labolina.org

www.labolina.org

La Bolina on CanalSur

La Bolina FACT SHEET designed with International Permaculture Education Network

La Bolina articles and Blogs -
Habiba Youssef, On her role in the regenerative revolution
Ruth Cross, On a new approach to migration - Transition Network
Gilbert Jassey, A better way - Redpepper
Phoebe Hunter Mcilvee, What's it like to visit La Bolina?

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Why this is important

FIGHTING INEQUALITIES

We believe that every human being has the right to a dignified life and that refugees and migrants should have an opportunity to create a new life in their country of residence. This project aims to give them that opportunity, whilst at the same time creating positive consequences for the environment, the rural areas and communities into which they are integrating.

LOCAL FOOD SYSTEMS

How we grow, package and transport food, and how food shapes our communities, are some of the most important aspects of life; all across the globe. Closing the gap between producers and consumers increases our knowledge of where the food we eat comes from and lessens the environmental impact of large-scale industrial food production.

AWARENESS AND CONNECTION

We collaborate with local people, organisations and schools to increase knowledge of climate change, regeneration and also migration and diversity. We bring people together playing sports (we have a football team!) and theatre events (and a theatre show!), growing friendships between migrants, refugees and local people as well as leading and joining ecological and solidarity campaigns.

PROMOTING RURAL REGENERATION

In El Valle del Lecrín, as is the case of many rural villages, there is an aging population and many young locals move to cities to find work. By creating new enterprises here in El Valle del Lecrín, we are bringing economy to these villages and more young people to regenerate rural life.

LIVING SYSTEMS MODEL

La Bolina systemic change model was co-designed with migrants and local people, and is aimed at supporting a regenerative revolution in rural communities by connecting, educating and empowering people to sustainably enterprise.
La Bolina focuses on multiple intersecting problems that share root causes: rural areas degradation and depopulation and increasing migration to specific areas, proposing whole-of-society solutions grounded in systems thinking and complexity theory.
Though documenting and sharing our project we hope to act as a living example of a small-scale solution that can be adapted by other communities and projects across the globe.

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Team and experience

Who are the co-founders of the project?

The co-founders met in 2016 during a residency hosted by Eroles Project with the purpose of designing a win-win project responding to the global challenges of migration, rural depopulation and climate change.

They are a group of highly experienced practitioners with diverse ages, nationalities and backgrounds ranging from: Co-founders of projects, movements and collectives including Eroles Project and the African Ecovillage Network, International Development Workers, Lawyers, Arts and Cultural Pracitioners, Agroecologists, Growers, Teachers, Anthropolologists...

Meet the team!

For the English version of our team bios please see Who Are We? on our website.

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Social commitment

Sustainable Development Goals

  • Decent Work and Economic Growth

    Sustainable economic growth will require societies to create the conditions that allow people to have quality jobs.

  • Responsible Production and Consumption

    Responsible Production and Consumption

  • Climate Action

    Climate change is a global challenge that affects everyone, everywhere.

  • Life On Land

    Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss