A Wonderful Weekend

Friday 19^th of July began a wonderful weekend for the Lowlands Community Garden. 

Firstly, we have now signed the contract, paid the deposit and first months rent on the Lowlands site, which means we are in possession of the keys and we had our first working group of volunteers visit the site on Saturday morning.

Our volunteers can now see for themselves what needs to be done in order to make our dream a reality; a fully-working 400sq. meter greenhouse and aquaponics facility!  Register HERE to become a volunteer.

We continue to sign up new CSA members. We’ve now sold 35% of those available for our first 12 week ‘season’ that begins in January 2014.  Book your CSA share HERE.

In addition, we have reached our first milestone with our Indiegogo ‘crowdfunding’ campaign. We passed $1000 mark and the donations continue to flow in.  If you haven’t contributed yet, head over there now and join our growing team of supporters from all over the world.

It’s good news on the publicity front too.

The Lowlands Community Garden was the subject of a full page article in the Saturday supplement in our local newspaper, the Daily Herald.   We were also interviewed by a local cable TV company, who conducted the interview in our newly acquired and overgrown greenhouse.  We’ll be posting the video as soon as we receive the link.

Also, last week, our first press release was re-printed in Dutch, in a newspaper from the island of Curacao. What a surprise!

Finally, our friends at Caribbean Weeks, are having a ‘St. Maarten Vacation Give Away Contest’.  EVERYONE who makes a contribution to our campaign will get an entry for every dollar that they have given to our project and even those who have already contributed to our fund will be entered into the contest.

The awesome prizes include free accommodation, car rentals, excursions, nights out and of course, a free box of produce from Lowlands Community Garden!

So, there is much to be excited and delighted about, but of course, there’s still much more to do.

If you would like to join our team of supporters and make a real difference to the people on the island of St. Maarten, then make a donation to our cause TODAY!

All contributions will be greatly appreciated, no matter how big or small, and you could win your dream vacation too.

The History Of Bumper Stickers

The bumper sticker is as popular as ever in the 21^st century and that’s why we’re including bumper stickers in our perks for our IndieGoGo crowdfunding campaign.  To get yours, just go to http://igg.me/at/lowlandscommunitygarden to make your contribution of $25 or more and GET BUMPERED today!

Here’s a little more about how bumper stickers have developed since they were first attached to a bumper…….

In 1927, Henry Ford changed the way we got from point A to point B. We replaced the horse and carriage with the Model A and then we quickly found a way to turn these metal contraptions into a new way to express our opinions. Henry Ford also did something else for us with the automobile. He put them out for thousands of people to purchase and as people began to have accidents, he added the bumper to provide some protection to the front and back of the car. Combine this bumper with America’s keenness to advertise almost anything and people had found a new way to advertise their products and ideas.

The first bumper “stickers” were made of cardboard and metal. These were then connected by wire and string. In fact, they looked more like a license plate than a sticker. Nevertheless, these were the forerunners of bumper stickers, as we know them today.

A change to the way bumper stickers were made would come later.

In 1934, a man called Forest P.Gill made ends meet by printing everything from signs to can labels all made from canvas. The prints were treated with chemicals to keep them from running and to withstand the weather. Gill realized that this process would be perfect for printing bumper stickers and the rest, as they say, is history.  Read more HERE…………..

GET CERTIFIED and get EXTRA organic herbs

What better way could there be to bring fresh, organic, non-GMO produce to your table than to grow it right here on our lovely island?  This is our mission and the Lowlands Community Garden is just the first of the network of organic community gardens that are planned for St. Maarten.

The Lowlands Community Garden project funding goal of $160,000 may seem to be a big one for you but we know that with your help we will reach it.  We recognise that not everyone can afford to contribute $10,000, $1,000 or even $100 but we know that most people can afford $10.

We want to help you along and to thank you for making your contribution now.

If you live on St. Maarten and you make a contribution of $10 before Sunday, July 14th, that’s this Sunday, we’ll add a bunch of our own grown organic herbs to our ‘GET CERTIFIED’ perk.

Just make your contribution by clicking on the button to qualify for your organic herbs in addition to receiving a signed certificate of appreciation and recognition on our website.

Go for the “BIG ONE”

How would you like to take a vacation on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten?

With 37 wonderful beaches, turquoise seas, blue skies, stunning sunsets, and the best food in the region, St. Maarten has everything you could even want in a vacation destination.

Sounds like a dream come true?

Your dream vacation is here for you

We’d like to invite you to come to St. Maarten for the best vacation you’ve ever had.  All you have to do is click on the picture below, make your donation and choose the “BIG ONE” from our list of perks on offer in our crowdfunding campaign.  In addition to receiving a bumper package of tee-shirts, bumper stickers and shell jewellery you’ll also receive 6 months of weekly produce boxes that you can personally donate to your favourite island cause.  Your name will be displayed on our delivery vehicle, you’ll receive a signed certificate of appreciation and recognition on our website.  To top all this, we’ll fly you to St. Maarten!

Yes, we’ll fly to St. Maarten (subject to availability), we’ll meet you at the airport and take you to your choice of accommodation.  During your stay we’ll give you the island tour, provide you with all the organic produce you desire and you can spend as much time as you wish enjoying the lush, peaceful environment at the Lowlands Community Garden.

Maybe you’d like to personally deliver the very first organic produce boxes to the local orphanage.

Deliver your donation personally.

Maybe you’d like to spend a day on the water, sailing to another nearby island, snorkelling, swimming and sunning.

Take part in St. Maarten’s annual regatta – one of the biggest in the Caribbean

How about a day relaxing in a hammock?  We have one you can use and the trees to hang it from right on the beach.

Relax in our comfy hammock on the peaceful Nettle Bay beach.

Once you’ve unwound and relaxed, there’s also night life, parties and all the duty-free shopping you could hope for, right here on the Friendly Island.

Join the Carnival parade

Just imagine the fun you can have when you choose the “BIG ONE”

Help OUR garden grow

We’re so excited to have received our first crowdfunding contribution.  If you’d like to become a supporter and receive one of our wonderful perks just head over to our campaign, make your contribution and choose your perk.  It’s as simple as that.

Whether you contribute $10 or $10,000, we have the perfect perk for you.

Our Crowdfunding Campaign is LIVE

You Give and We Give Back.

You don’t have to live on St. Maarten to help fund the Lowlands Community Garden.  Where ever you live we have the perfect ‘perk’ to thank you for making a contribution to our campaign.  Every contribution over $10 will be recognized with a signed certificate of appreciation and a mention on our website.  You can also choose from bumper stickers, tee-shirts and, of course, a variety of our fantastic, organic produce.  We’ve teamed up with other non-profit organizations to help you to support two community projects at once by donating your ‘perk’.  We’ll even fly you to our wonderful island from anywhere on Earth!  Check out ALL our awesome ‘perks’ and  SUPPORT OUR CAMPAIGN  HERE………

“The Lowlands Community Garden is an exciting new initiative being set up to provide delicious, local, sustainably-grown produce to the island community of St. Maarten.  All of our fresh produce will be grown using the latest ‘aquaponic’ technology, which means that in addition to fruit, vegetables, and herbs, we will also be selling organic freshwater fish and eventually, langoustine.

The Lowlands Community Garden will play an important role in localizing, and strengthening, the local economy.  Island residents are currently almost totally dependent upon imported food and a significant percentage of every Euro or Dollar spent on food leaves the island.  The objective of the Lowlands Community Garden project is to increase food security for the people of St. Maarten by reducing dependence on imported food.  In addition, the money spent on locally produced food remains within the local economy and, as the Lowlands Community Garden is a non-profit project, all our revenue will be invested in establishing the next community garden on our island.

The proposal is to transform the derelict 400 m³ steel frame greenhouse on the site we’ve located into the Lowlands Community Garden, a working aquaponics community garden and education learning center.”  Read More……….