10,000 refugees lived in Turkey in 2012. Within five years, as the Syrian conflict raged and destroyed lives, the number of refugees has swelled to over 3 million. The vast majority of these refugees struggle to find the work necessary to support their families and provide meaning in their own lives. They are forced to depend on others for their own well-being. Ms. Hind weaves a Shirvan carpet Sanliurfa refugee camp The Anka Cooperative is a social enterprise created to empower Syrian women refugees by teaching them transferable skills, providing them dignifying work, and enabling cultural integration into their new society through the creation of fine carpets and traditional crafts. We currently empower 250 weavers in two camps. By pledging for a world-class quality carpet through this campaign, you'll allow us to expand into a third refugee camp and employ more weavers. This Kickstarter will sustain our initiative and move us towards our goal of impacting 20,000 refugees by 2020. Join us! One weaver can knot about 10 sq ft per month; this rug will employ these women for nearly a year   Our Rugs We have partnered with Woven Legends, an industry leader for decades, to make the highest quality rugs in the world. Hertz 8x10––Woven in Adiyaman Camp, this rug employed one refugee for over 8 months and contains nearly 650,000 knots   This peaceful Ushak is both calming and inspiring   All our rugs are painstakingly designed and inspired by carpets made in the 14th to 18th centuries   Wool: we only use hand spun, lanolin rich wool sourced from sheep free grazing in Eastern Anatolia. The wool is never treated to chemicals through the cleaning process, resulting in lustrous and stronger yarn, giving the finished rug a glowing aura that will last for a century or more. Dyes: we only use the highest quality natural, vegetal dyes. Naturally-dyed carpets will not fade and the colors will never run––they blend poetically and the color and richness will last for generations. Naturally Dyed Handspun Wool Weaving: we partner with master craftswomen to train, supervise, and instruct our weavers. Progress and quality are examined multiple times per day. Our refugee weavers respond well to the challenge of learning this skill. Finishing: when a rug is finally cut from the loom after months of weaving, we triple wash the rug using cold water, then press it to ensure it retains its intended shape. Over one million knots in this rug have been individually inspected for quality prior to final shipment The Anka Cooperative has already had an extraordinary impact on women’s lives. One of these women is Neriman from Damascus. Neriman is in her early 40s and has six children. Unlike many of her unfortunate relatives, she made it safely to the Adiyaman refugee camp in Southeastern Turkey. Neriman is college educated, and prior to the war she worked for many years as an accountant. But in the camps, of course, there are no accounting jobs, no freelancer websites to apply her trade. Idle time brings painful memories. She jumped at the chance to work at the carpet workshop. It’s a new skill, but she is learning and just as important, she is earning. Neriman is paid the same as her Turkish counterparts. She is saving to buy gold earrings for her daughters, and hopes to save for a home for when they return to Syria. Neriman represents the 250 Anka weavers who have chosen to make the best of their difficult circumstances, and are the reason Anka exists. Where We Work Our workshop in Sanliurfa empowers 25 women in a safe, clean environment Sanliurfa: The Sanliurfa camp has a capacity 10,000 and a current population 14,000 living in containers. The camp has paved streets, lighting, water, sewer, A/C, and even a TV. It's a secure facility but residents can come and go as they please. The weaving workshop is in an activity center that also houses an art room, restrooms and laundry facilities. We employ 25-30 weavers in a well lit and ventilated hall with windows and A/C. Neriman weaves with her daughter after school in one of our six workshop tents in Adiyaman refugee camp Adiyaman: The Adiyaman camp has a capacity of 20,000 and a current population 29,000 living in tents. It has paved streets, lighting, water, sewer, A/C, and TV. It's also a secure facility but residents can come and go as they please. The weaving workshops are in six tents. We employ 225 weavers in a well lit and ventilated tents with windows and A/C. Our future site in the Gaziantep Refugee camp in S/E Turkey Coming in 2017, Gaziantep: This campaign will allow us to expand. We have been approached by camp management to expand our training and empowerment model the refugee camp in Gaziantep, Turkey. This expansion will cost the Anka Cooperative over $100,000 for looms, supplies, training, transportation, instruction, etc. The Three Pillars of The Anka Cooperative Empowerment Through Employment: The weavers love their work, not only for the income, but also because it provides companionship and a place to share laughs and to stay active. As a skilled weaver can weave up to 10 sq feet per month, an 9'x12' rug will employ one weaver for nearly one year. Weavers are paid the exact same as Turkish weavers. These women proudly display this rug they crafted for an Embassy in Turkey Cultural Integration: The Anka Cooperative helps refugees learn traditional Turkish language, culture and customs by learning the craft of weaving and by interacting daily with Turkish teachers. We partner with other charities to expand our reach beyond the refugee camps. Many of our rugs will delight children of all ages Education & Awareness: We use our proceeds to support charitable organizations that tell stories of refugees' lives and struggle for dignity. We further strive to share our fundamental belief that empowerment and dignity comes from work, not a handout. We teach women to fish, we don't give them fish. Teaching Her How to Fish   Rewards   $25: Rug Coasters Reflect on your impact with every sip when you back us at this level     $50: Framed Rug Fragment Show your support for Anka by hanging this handmade carpet fragment in your home or office     $250: Carpet Christmas Stockings Stunning and meaningful Christmas stockings are made from world class handwoven rug fragments. We have a variety of already woven rugs we are offering as rewards. See them below, and click on each tier link to see more options. You will be able to pick your rug during the survey after the campaign. Risks and challenges Our co-founder is Turkish-American and has been training women to weave rugs for 35+ years. We have excellent relations with the management of the refugee camps, and have been working there for 5 years. We currently have over 500 existing rugs that are awaiting a new home. The risk and challenge we may have is keeping up with demand. We're hopeful to take on this challenge as we will then be able to sustainably empower so many more refugees. We feel confident we will be able to follow through, and will keep you updated along the way.

In Upper Jay, New York, on the bank of the East Branch of the Ausable River there is an old wooden building. Four stories high, this old warehouse has been many things in the past—a Model-T assembly factory (built by Henry Ford himself), a pine cone threshing plant, an antique store and an upholstery studio. Now you have the chance to help make the space anew by taking part in an exciting experiment that we, a collective of 13 seasoned artists, are calling collaborative community performance. And we want you to be involved. Here's your chance to partake in a truly revolutionary kind of performance piece, not just with your dollars but with your ideas as well. Who We Are? We are a group of artists—some of whom have worked together in the past, some of whom are just getting to know each other for the first time. We are dancers, actors, writers and musicians. We come from Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania and Oregon. We each inhabit our fields in different ways, and define our craft in our own terms. What we share is a deep commitment to community art making. And this summer we have made an agreement to work together in the spirit of true collaboration—and we want you to be part of it with us. The collaborating artists are assembled and led by Simon Thomas-Train, a dancer and choreographer, and Caitlin Scholl, a poet and musician, both of whom hail from the Adirondacks and currently live in New York City. The other collaborating artists include: Sophie Maguire, John Hoobyar, Emma Wiseman, Emma Judkins, Lea Fulton, Hanna Saterlee, Jenna Riegel, Sophia Levine, Richard Vaudrey, Branic Howard, John Mosloskie, & Philippe Bronchtein. The Space The walls of the Upper Jay Art Center (UJAC) have seen thousands of different parts come together and rise, piece by piece, throughout its long and varied past. Today, they hold and support the work of performers from around the country, bouncing words and thoughts back into the ears and minds of watchful audiences. This place has always been a confluence, a coming together of disparate pieces with the goal of creating something new. The Space We Make will premiere at the Upper Jay Art Center's annual fundraiser, thereby adding yet another layer to the building's already storied walls. We are simply trying to write the next page in that story... to bring together the disparate stories of our contributors in the spirit of creating something new, something more. The Performance A new work of performance—dance, movement, spoken word & song, images and relics from your own lives—in a space with a rich history of creative confluence. We want you to help us fund it. But that is not all we want. With each dollar you push in our direction, your creative impact on the final product will increase. In this, you are not just giving us money and wishing us good luck, hoping that what comes out the other side is interesting to you. You are saying, "I want to be involved in the work and this is how … these are the words I would like you to say … this is how I want you to move. This is something that you should wear. This is my story that I want you to tell." Each level of donation begets varying levels of input into the content of the performance that we—the artists—ingest, mold, and process through our chosen mediums into a cohesive and interactive piece. Then we perform the piece and show it to you via film documentary. Every piece of community input intact, every idea carried through from your mind to our bodies, voices, thoughts and movements. This work will be yours just as much as it will be ours. How To Be Involved Take a look at the video posted above. Think about the unique space in question. Try to imagine the Adirondack Mountains in far upstate New York. And ask yourself if you want to have a say in the performance we’re going to build there. Take a look at our list of ways to contribute, both financially and with your own creative input. Each of your donations will have a real and permanent inmpact on the creative direction this piece takes. And every donor will be able to see that impact by being provided access to the documentary we will be creating, charting the creative process and performance from beginning to end. You will be able to look at the screen and say, “that is there because of me.” For some of the higher levels of donation, admission to the UJAC’s annual fundraiser will be included, allowing these donors to partake in the action in the first person, living what they have helped to create. Where Your Money Goes Each dollar that you give will directly fund the travel, room and board of the collaborating performers. We are not seeking to profit in this, only to not operate at a loss. Any additional funds we are able to raise over our goal will be divided among the performers and donated to the Upper Jay Art Center. That is where your money will go. But with each dollar raised, you will also be given the opportunity to shape the direction, the tenor, and the focus of the piece we are making. Shortly after making a donation you will be contacted by us to discuss your creative input into the performance! Tell us about a physical memory you have....that time you fell off your bike, or watched your mother drink coffee by the window, or stretched up out of bed in the morning light. Tell us about music you want to hear or about some piece of clothing that holds certain memory for you. Send us an object from your past, or from your future. And trust that each piece that you send to us will be carried, intact, from creation to performance. You and your input will be with us from beginning to end. The Space We Make will also, we hope, help raise annual funds for the Upper Jay Art Center; it is part of our mission to help them continue to bring vibrant arts programming to the Northcountry. Tickets to our performance on August 25 will be $50, and are being sold by UJAC. If you want to RSVP and purchase a ticket to the fundraiser event,

At Poplar Wood Farm we love growing high quality produce more than anything. For the past few years, we have focused on doing exactly that. Prompted by an extensive agricultural background and desire to own a business, Poplar Wood Farm was founded by Al Esposito in 2001 in the scenic Highlands region of Warren County, NJ. The farm has since been involved in a variety of agricultural endeavors, challenges, and successes and has evolved into a fertile hub for organically managed vegetables and flowers. Poplar Wood Farm provides this delicious and beautiful produce to customers across New Jersey through farmers markets and a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Program. We are actively involved in the Northeast Organic Farmers Association of New Jersey. We are also pursuing organic certification through the New Jersey Department of Agriculture certification program. Since we started, we have come a long way, acquiring a tractor, implements, irrigation system, green house, and other equipment and are now one step away from having everything we need to operate efficiently and the capacity to grow more healthy food for the local community. We need to produce a pole barn, one thing we can’t grow ourselves, and we need your support to do it. Why a Pole Barn? The building will serve as the heart of our farm. It will enable us to clean, sort, pack & store our vegetables and flowers in a more efficient manner. It will also allow us to load our trucks under cover in inclement weather, store supplies in a dry environment, work indoors on small building & maintenance projects in the winter and protect our equipment from the elements in the off season . In addition to the activities described above we will be able to host small groups for educational workshops. We are currently limited by the size and location of our existing barn. Because of its limitations, the process of cleaning, storing, and preparing our produce for market is much more labor intensive. The space is undersized and our business is expanding so we are in serious need of a better equipped space. Having the ability to wash, sort, and pack all under one roof streamlines our operation and makes for lots of happy smiling faces when trying to meet delivery deadlines. The barn will house a wash station consisting of stainless steel sinks and drain tables. We will also be building a walk in cooler that will be heavily insulated so that we can keep our energy usage to a minimum. We will be constructing this unit ourselves utilizing a Coolbot to achieve professional grade cooling at a more affordable cost. Coupled with the equipment and infrastructure that we already have, this building will give Poplar Wood Farm the ability to operate more efficiently and the capacity to expand and provide wholesome food to more people. Summary of Project Expenses Pole Barn Structure: $14,480 Permit: $200 Excavating: $1,200 Floor: $2,200 Electrical: $2,475 Wash Station: $800 Walk–in Cooler $1,600 Kickstarter Fees: $2,045 Total $25,000 Join our community Your participation in our pole barn project helps build our community of like minded individuals intent on making a statement about food production in the United States. Our success with this project will enable us to bring more food grown using organic methods to the communities we serve. It will also enable us to bring others to our farm, whether interns, volunteers, shareholders or other farmers to learn about what we do and see how we do it. This connection between the farm and community will strengthen the ties between all involved. The reality is that our region needs many more organic farms, projects like this, and people willing to support them if our local food system is to continue to grow. Food security and safety is a growing concern for many and this project will advance our efforts to address those concerns. Join us today to build this pole barn and build our regional food based community. See what our CSA members think of us Rewards for backing our project (full descriptions in right hand column) Examples of note card images See more from artist Madeline Taranto Market bag and organic cotton tee shirt Name a goat kid (don't worry, you'll get a cute one like Penny) About our videos Our videos were produced by Jan McLaughlin and her team at Sounds Good, LLC. Throughout the process, Jan’s experience, creativity, and flexibility were an excellent guide and an asset to our project. We had a great experience with Sounds Good, LLC and highly recommend them. Risks and challenges There are always risks associated with new construction projects, including the following: Completing the project on schedule – We intend to have the barn complete by May so that it is operational through the heart of our growing season. Weather conditions may slow or stop progress in the early spring. Completing the project within budget. Mitigants Our many years managing landscape design / build projects gives us the experience to manage this project effectively and respond to unexpected changes. We have padded our timeline with a couple of extra weeks to allow for weather related or other unexpected construction slowdown. We have researched construction materials pricing and spoken with all parties who will be involved in construction in order to accurately project all costs.

Join me as I expose the history, politics and secrecy involved in raising money, building & operating presidential libraries. With your backing I will be able to complete my research and write The Last Campaign: How Presidents Rewrite History, Run for Posterity and Enshrine Their Legacies. To do that, I need to visit and examine the six presidential libraries that made major changes in the last few years. As a backer, you'll become part of the final phase of my ten-year journey to research and write this book. THANK YOU to everyone who backed and supported this project! WHAT Presidential Libraries Are Presidential libraries seem like innocuous tourist attractions. The older libraries are modest, valuable repositories that contribute greatly to our understanding of presidents, politics and events. But the modern ones are oversized taxpayer-funded legacy-burnishing monuments full of skewed history...and hundreds of millions of important presidential records that won't be available for decades, if ever. Few understand the hidden history of the libraries - federal institutions operated by our tax dollars - and the level to which money and politics play a role in everything from exhibits, public and educational programs to the choice of location and even personnel. This is because the story of presidential libraries – the documented, historical story – has never been told. Until now. The Last Campaign: it's about our history, and why it's different from how it's told to us. Accountability. Transparency. Freedom of information. And what presidents do to keep us from knowing what presidents do. WHY the book is called The Last Campaign When presidents run for re-election, they often call it their "last campaign” because no future electoral contest awaits them. However, they do engage in the fight to shape their legacy: to rewrite it, control it and enshrine it. For decades, former presidents have seen their approval ratings rise each year they are out of office, due directly to the aggressive, ongoing campaign at their library - and the fact that their most important records are not available to us. There are now thirteen federally-run presidential libraries in the United States, from Herbert Hoover to George W. Bush. President Barack Obama has begun plans for his own, and locations across the country are vying to be selected as the site. The libraries are the greatest sources of popular American history of the last eighty years, through their exhibits and educational and public programs, and the books, articles, theses and films produced using their resources. Yet few books have been written about them, and none has examined the libraries’ politics and political history – especially the role that big, private money plays in their planning, development and operation, and the way that political parties use some of these federal institutions for their own purposes. WHO I Am I'm a recognized expert in presidential libraries. I've managed oversight of the presidential library system for the U.S. House of Representatives, directing hearings and investigations of the National Archives (NARA) for the Committee on Oversight & Government Reform. I've researched the presidential libraries - and this book - for over ten years. See my full bio for more details. WHEN I Have Worked On This Book Since 2003, I've spent about a month in each of the twelve presidential libraries from Hoover through Clinton, and I've taken more than 50,000 photographs - and hours of video - of the exhibits, architecture and records at the libraries. I've interviewed dozens of researchers and historians, and current and former presidential library directors, curators, archivists, exhibit specialists, educators and public affairs officials. I've worked on the book at night, on weekends and in lieu of vacations and financed my research and travel to the presidential libraries with my savings. But in just the last few years, five of the libraries have renovated their permanent exhibits, and thousands of records have been released. And a new library – for George W. Bush – just opened in Texas. I need one more round of visits to explore the records and the new exhibits, see how they tell their stories, and compare them with their original displays – and with the objective histories of their eras. This will be the first book ever written with primary research at all the presidential libraries. HOW The Last Campaign Will Make a Difference In The Last Campaign, I will demonstrate how the influence of private contributions and political parties have radically altered the look and purpose of presidential libraries, from archival storehouses of history to extravagant, politicized showplaces where the goals of the party, the family and former officials intent on future promotions trump the historical – and often inconvenient – facts. This influence also has altered the way presidents and officials create records - or don't - out of concerns over possible future disclosures. And it's altered the process by which presidents release - or hold back - their own records. I will tell the story of presidential records, and how it relates to open government, transparency and freedom of information. And I will reveal major previously-unreported stories about presidents - using their own records from their libraries - shed new light on some well-known controversies, and demonstrate the negative effects of unregulated presidential commemoration on our political process. Most importantly, drawing on my experience as a Committee staffer and Legislative Director in Congress, I will provide a legislative and governmental blueprint for successfully reforming the presidential library system - and returning us to Franklin D. Roosevelt's original goal of preserving and making presidential records available to all. WHERE I Will Visit for My Research To complete the book, I must travel to document the new exhibits and research in the archives at: the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library in Hyde Park, NY; the Lyndon B. Johnson Library in Austin, TX; the Richard Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, CA: the Jimmy Carter Library in Atlanta, GA; the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, CA; and the George W. Bush Library in Dallas, TX. My photograph of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, Hyde Park, NY Risks and challenges The vast majority of the research for the book is complete - except for these last visits to six of the libraries. There is little risk that I will not complete the research. I have an excellent literary agent, and we are in the process of negotiating with a publisher. A successfully funded Kickstarter project would enable me to finish my research more quickly, but I will publish this book.  

his request will fund the creation of an open source wildlife tracking collar, developed to protect the last lions living in Kenya. This request will help fund the creation of an open source wildlife tracking collar. The system is being developed to help save the last 2000 remaining lions in Kenya and is a continuation of work done in conjunction with the Lion Guardians Program and the Living with Lions research group. These organizations work to protect the last lions living in Kenya as well as the Maasai herders' pastoral livelihood. The pledged $9000 would help fund the cost of parts, travel expenses for testing and labor in building the prototype. The project consists of two parts, a tracking system that utilizes GPS/GSM technology to locate and track wildlife and the open source documentation of the work. The first $1200 dollars over the target amount will go directly to sponsor a Lion Guardian for a full year in Kenya.This project resulted from a previous trip to Kenya where I, Justin Downs of GRND Lab, built a solar-powered tree-house for the Lion Guardians' research camp. The Lion Guardians program focuses on mediating the conflict between the Maasai herders and the lions who prey on their cows. The Maasai, in retaliation to killed livestock or political conflicts, poison or hunt the lions, causing a disappearance of the lions in the wild.While there, I learned that the conservation techniques having the greatest effect in Kenya are those that look at the ecosystem as a whole. In other words, all information collected about the local environment from elephant data to cattle data - two species that co-exist with the lions - is now integral to the understanding and effectiveness of lion conservation efforts. Because of this it is now common practice for researchers in inter-related fields of study to share data after collecting and analyzing it. This project’s technology and open source development was conceived specifically to address this method of working.How is this tracking collar prototype different from the current tracking technology in use today? It differs greatly because it will remain an open source technology, making it free and easily accessible to the public. This has the effect that if the technology is used by the large community of researchers in Kenya (i.e. lion, elephant or climate researchers) they would be able to share valuable data in real time, rather than delaying the process with incompatible technologies. This would save these foundations large amounts of time and money, while expediting finding solutions to the ecological/conservation problems. Also, by open-sourcing this technology anyone who is interested in data aggregation and tracking (from technologists to small business owners and even artists) would finally have open access, bringing a larger audience into the development of these technologies, reducing cost and speeding up innovation overall.So any help you could give to this venture would be very appreciated and we will keep you up to date on all the changes and status of this project and the wildlife it involves.

public art project that represents the VERY tall tale of Jack and his Beanstalk using tens of thousands of balloons. Who are you guys? We’re 2 artists from Rochester, NY, working collectively under the Airigami, who specialize in making ginormous & awesome sculptures entirely out of balloons. You might know us from our previous (and successful!) Kickstarter project, “Once Upon a Time” or may have seen some of our projects making the rounds on the web. Acrocanthosaurus at the Virginia Museum of Natural History made with 5000 balloons. Mona Lisa - Part of the Airigami Masterworks series What did you two come up with now? We want to continue our exploration of fairy tales and create a full scale installation of Jack & the Beanstalk, entirely out of balloons! We’re talking a four-story beanstalk complete with a Giant’s Castle in the clouds above! We’ll be enlisting the help of community volunteers to help create this massive sculpture and we want you to be a part of this project. Initial sketch for the massive project. A much smaller beanstalk shot in the limited space of our studio. Imagine this on a much grander scale with garden and house on the ground and a castle above. Why on earth? If someone says they’re going to build a five-story beanstalk-castle extravaganza entirely out of balloons, do you really need a reason? Where did this idea come from? One of our most popular projects to date was a series of giant balloon castles. It’s been five years since the last Balloon Manor, and we’ve been begged (that's no exaggeration) to bring it back. This castle will provide a chance for artists and community members to work together, once again, on a huge scale project for everyone to enjoy. What do I get? Above all else, your contribution results in a spectacular public art project that will be built Feb 1-4, 2014, with the resulting sculpture remaining on display through Feb 9. But we do have a series of rewards that we think you'll enjoy. For starters, we're holding spots on the build and popping crews for those that want to join the fun. We also have fine art prints, balloon twisting kits, T-shirts, and other unique items to make your contributions more memorable.   Where's the money going? This giant community art project is going to be open for all of the public to enjoy, free of charge. Therefore, there are a bunch of things things we need to pay for. We’ve set a low goal to cover the bare essentials, but we’re hoping, with your help, to become a Kickstarter dream story. Project costs include: Balloons Location rental Security Rigging equipment Artist fees (if we go above the $6000 we've set as our goal) Aside from the many hours that the two of us will put into this by the time it's completed, there are a number of key crew members that will also be putting an enormous amount of time into the project. We're committed to completing this even without payment, but we're hoping that the Kickstarter community will go above and beyond our goal so that our key crew can be paid and reimbursed for travel costs. How many people are on this crew? There are artists, team leaders, and tech crew that are needed to make this happen. The size of the crew will depend on the amount of funding we receive, in part because the crew will come from our Kickstarter backers, but also because the funding we receive will determine how large this project can grow. In the past, we've had up to 450 people, including artists, and members of the local community, take part in construction. Can I be on the crew? Yes! Please become a backer of this project. At this time, the only way we are adding crew members is through Kickstarter and outside sponsorship. What happens to the sculpture? This sculpture will be built using compostable latex balloons. At the end of the public exhibition we will have a Popping Party to take down the sculpture. All backers, at all levels, will be invited to join in on the fun! Can I come and see the sculpture? Yes, please do. The sculpture will be on public display February 5-9. You can even come and watch us as we build it February 1-4. Viewing of the sculpture will be FREE! If you have the means, please contribute so everyone can enjoy this work. Risks and challenges Every new project is a new challenge, simply because it's an untested design. We know that each small component of the design will stand on its own, but there's simply no way to accurately prototype a piece on this scale. It will be built for the first time in the days leading up to the public display. This is, of course, what makes this such an amazing project. We will follow our design as closely as possible, but in the end, it's a work of art that will take on a life of its own as it grows to its full height. We will continue to sculpt up until the day it opens to the public. Our team of internationally renowned artists have the skills and experience to make it look spectacular, even if the final form is slightly different from the original concept drawing. Constructing something large with balloons requires that everything be built at the last minute prior to displaying it. Years of experience has made it possible for us to build to something of this magnitude with reasonable certainty that it will be completed as we desire. But the short, inflexible timeline always means that equipment failure (balloon pumps and air compressors), damaged product, and mistakes leave us with no head room for recovery. So let's look at each of those: • equipment failure - We have a mechanic on our crew, RIchard Hughson, that carries the title of MacGyver. To date, we've never had a structure or piece of equipment fail that he hasn't been able to get working. And yes, that has even involved duct tape and chewing gum. • damaged product - The folks that make Qualatex balloons have always stood by their product. Whenever we've needed more balloons, either due to damage during shipping, our error, or some other disastrous situation, they've found ways of getting replacement materials to us in time to complete the project. • mistakes - Oh, no! An artist misread the plan and used all of the red balloons while making something four times the size it was supposed to be. That's happened. But we're a creative team, and this is an art project. What's important is that it looks amazing. We can change and adapt and usually use what seemed like a mistake to make things even better. Spontaneity can be fun. In other words, our biggest challenge is time. But we always make our installations work out. The dates are set. We can't move it. It will happen on schedule and it will be awesome!

We’re CORE Foods, and we’re creating the world’s most nourishing restaurant. Literally every ingredient we use is 100% produce. Seriously. Over the past 5 years we refreshed your breakfast on-the-go with our award-winning CORE Meals, and became the 29th fastest-growing company in the Bay Area. Now we're revolutionizing your lunch with the world's first produce-only restaurant. We've secured a prime downtown Oakland location, Whole Foods and the City Council are on board, and we already have health and planning department permits. Come this Fall you'll be able to stop in for the most nourishing lunch you've ever experienced, have us cater your next meeting, or find our most popular items in grab-and-go retailers and food carts around the Bay Area. But we need your help to begin this revolution in fast food - please contribute now! Menu Preview (all ingredients 100% organic) Signature Combinations 12 explosively delicious global cuisine recipes like Thai, Mexican, or Italian served in your choice of container, like: Collard Leaf Burrito packed with potatoes and avocado Stuffed Bell Pepper overflowing with plantains and black beans Zucchini Pasta drenched in freshly cracked coconut lime sauce Grill Items Warm, hearty produce-only meals hot from the grill, like: Sweet Potato Black Bean Patty topped with tangy BBQ sauce Teriyaki Veggie Kebab with pineapple, mushroom, and onions Portobello Pizza with marinara and cashew cheese Everything we serve is at the foundation of your health. No sugar, flour, oil, powders, additives, preservatives—nada. This is the most nourishing food ever created! Launch Plan Our first CORE Kitchen location will be at City Center in downtown Oakland right above the 12th St. BART Station, serving the thousands of people that work for Pandora, Clorox, Kaiser Permanente, and hundreds of other local businesses. We've signed a lease for this space right here! We’ll then be opening locations in major cities across the US. Your contribution today will put you on the ground floor of a national revolution in our food system! Over the past 5 years we’ve grown a nationally distributed packaged food business and we’ve put years of research into planning the CORE Kitchen. To make this dream possible we need:   $120,280+ for construction costs to retrofit the Kitchen in our leased space $90,288+ for specialized equipment like dehydrators and refrigerated prep stations $24,300+ for architecture and engineering design County Health Department-Approved Architectural Plans Funding And Goals CORE Foods is a not-for-profit business, which means your health is the only bottom line. 100% of our profits are reinvested back into our food, our community, and our movement to cultivate a healthier planet. But that also means we need your help. You, our supporters, are our sole investors, and you're the ones that can make this a reality. We need at least $234,868 total for this project. We've secured loans for a large part of it, but we'll still need at least $90,000 to make this happen. Help us meet our initial and stretch goals to grow our distribution even further! Goal#1: Equipment - $90,000 Funds our initial equipment purchases and installation so we can serve you at our City Center location! Goal #2: + Grocery Delivery - $135,000 Fund the retrofitting of our company car, new production line, packaging, and ingredients so we can deliver our items pre-packaged to grocery stores across the Bay Area! Goal #3: + Food Cart - $150,000 Funds food cart equipment, packaging, and permits so we can serve you at other great locations across the Bay Area! Help Make This Vision A Reality Some more info about our rewards: Any of our Lunches in the Kitchen pre-sold for rewards such as the $10 and $25 levels mean you get a Free lunch combo certificate to redeem for a full meal any time after we open! For the Long Distance packages, our packaged CORE Meals are a full bowl of hearty oatmeal shaped into a meal-to-go. Simple ingredients with no garbage, these are perfect for breakfast, workouts, travel, outdoors, busy days, and anytime you need a portable nourishing meal. CORE Meals come in your choice of Almond Raisin, Walnut Banana, and Cashew Cacao flavors! (see below) Special thanks to: Our local workforce partner St. Vincent dePaul Kitchen of Champions Lynette Gibson Mcelhaney, City Council President Erin Harper and the Whole Foods Market Local Producer Loan ProgramJimmy Collins and Giant Slice ProductionsSean Mcdow and DueDrop Productions The countless others who have helped get us here! Risks and Challenges We’ve worked hard to mitigate our risks - a few major points: Getting Funding: We’re diversifying our funding by receiving financial support from Whole Foods, Bank of America, and the SBA in addition to these critical Kickstarter funds. Legal/Permitting: We’ve mitigated a lot of logistical issues already by signing a favorable lease, completing architectural plans, and receiving Health Department approval. Budget/Business Model Viability: We’ve carefully budgeted our model through extensive foot traffic surveys, menu tastings, market research, and supplier pricing comparisons. Our strategy also balances multiple income sources through direct sales in the restaurant, catering, wholesaling packaged food, food carts, and more.

Hand Picked Farm will construct a hoop-house to extend the growing season and provide more organic food to the community year round. StoryHand Picked Farm is the culmination of my growing experience.  From being a child in my Pappou's (greek for Grandfather) garden, to engaging in a full time apprenticeship in Sussex County, NJ, I have grown food with care and love.In order to share this love with the community year round, Hand Picked Farm will construct a hoop house to extend the growing season, and more importantly to increase the capacity of the local food system to feed those in the community.  Pairing my knowledge and the protection the hoop house provides, I will be able to grow some excellent produce every month of the year!The first harvest will be complete by August 2013 which is projected to be 2 tons of organic, heirloom tomatoes.  Varieties include Brandywine, Moskvitch, Red Pear and SunGold.  It does not end there though, once the tomato vines have had their run, zucchini and summer squashes will take over and harvested in late october, providing a taste of summer as the seasons change.  Through the cold winter months I will produce organic greens: spinaches, kales, chards, cress's, asian greens, etc.  Once the greens are harvested transplant production will start for 2014, then tomatoes in the spring, and the cycle continues!$1000 will get all of the material to construct a 15'x65' hoop house, irrigate it using water-saving drip irrigation, and cover all of the fuel cost for driving around getting all of this.  I already have 432 tomato plants in plug-flats ready to move in!  This is a small sum in comparison to the bounty of fresh, organic and unique food that I can produce within the hoop house.I will construct the hoop house over a 5 day period with the help of friends.  I have already tested the soil, spread manure, and tilled the site to a fine tilth.  Your support not only directly helps my efforts, but keeps the agricultural tradition alive by ensuring the viability of farming as a career for a young farmer like myself.  Your pledge is a vote that strongly says "I support small scale sustainable agriculture!"Risks and challengesFarming is risky business - lets be up front! This hoop house and irrigation are a big part of risk mitigation for the farm, as it allows me to control a few of the variables in the growing process. That being said a hurricane could potentially damage the structure, and if we have a serious drought I will have limited ability to irrigate. I have a good deal of experience and endless enthusiasm and love for growing food! 

A special reward for the last 48 hours of our campaign, as we try to reach our stretch goal of $130K: Your choice of a package of Little Lotus swaddles or sleeping bags, or the cozy blanket AND the magical "Spread the Warmth" hardcover children's book, the story of Embrace helping babies around the world (pledge $130 - regular price will be $175)! Keep your baby at the perfect temperature with Little Lotus, a new line of baby products by Embrace Innovations. Each purchase will help a vulnerable baby with the Embrace warmer. Why Moms & Pediatricians Love Little Lotus: "I never thought as a pediatrician I would be so concerned about my baby while she was sleeping. But quickly I learned I wanted to make sure her temperature was just right. Despite being well dressed with other swaddles & sleep sacks, her little hands & feet are frozen in the morning. When she wears the Little Lotus, her whole body feels perfect to the touch. The fabric is made of the highest quality & gentlest material. The best feature for my sleepy daughter at bedtime is that it is easy on/easy off. There is no need to pull anything over her head, just a few snaps and a zip." Elizabeth B. "When I tried the Little Lotus sleeping bag I felt like I had discovered a natural winner. Unlike sleep sacks I have used in the past, it is clearly designed with the practical needs of a parent and baby in mind. My son often falls asleep while nursing…it takes some serious ninja moves to slide his arms through the holes of our usual sleep sack without waking him. The Little Lotus is different. I can just lay him on top of the product and quietly zip him into it. My son had taken some great naps in the Little Lotus and I can only assume that it's because his little feet are always warm. When you touch the fabric of the Little Lotus you can feel the difference Note: Our products include a swaddle (0-3 months), sleeping bag (3-12 months) and cozy blanket (0-5 years). The Little Lotus products are special because: They use proprietary fabrics inspired by NASA spacesuits to keep your baby at the perfect temperature, so they can rest better & you can have peace of mind. Studies show that SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) is linked with babies being too warm or too cold. With Little Lotus, your baby will stay warm without overheating. Our swaddles & sleeping bags have a unique design that make them easier to put on and take off than existing products, with a bottom zipper that allows for a diaper change with the baby is still inside. "When the name of the game is don't wake a sleepy baby, no other swaddle works as well as this one." - Little Lotus mom For every product purchased, a baby will be helped in a developing country by the Embrace infant warmer.The Embrace warmers have already helped 150,000 vulnerable babies across 11 countries. We hope to drive this number to 1 million with the help of Little Lotus. What makes Little Lotus products different than other baby products? Little Lotus products use a proprietary fabric that is super soft and baby friendly. Originally developed for NASA, these materials are designed to help balance your baby’s skin temperature to reduce overheating & cooling. The technology draws excess heat if your baby is too warm, and releases the warmth if they start to cool down. This means less temperature fluctuations and your baby staying more comfortable. Studies show that SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) is linked with babies being too warm or too cold. With Little Lotus, your baby will stay warm without overheating. n addition to the proprietary fabric, the Little Lotus swaddles and sleeping bags have unique features that make them extra easy to use. The bottom zipper and the enclosures on both shoulders allow you to take the swaddle/sleeping bag on and off much more easily than other products. You can do a diaper change with the product still on. The swaddle has wings that can be folded back, when the baby's arms want to be out. Please Help Us Spread The Word! Risks and Challenges Little Lotus Baby has a team with extensive manufacturing experience. Specifically: 1. We have a top tier team with many years of experience bringing new products to market. 2. We have deep expertise creating products for babies. 3. Little Lotus Baby products is the result of detailed planning. We’ve spent a lot of time designing, prototyping, testing, and re-designing to achieve the final designs. Despite our expertise and careful planning, there are risks to the project: RISKS IN MANUFACTURING Although we’ve carefully selected a factory that has a history of producing high quality baby products, this is our first time working with the factory and we can’t anticipate how well their production quality will satisfy our strict QC standards. There may be production delays if we need to address quality issues as they arise. Little Lotus Cozy Blanket (0-5 years) The Little Lotus cozy blanket has a layer of premium cotton on top. The bottom layer, which contains our proprietary technology, has a soft and luxurious texture. The blanket is finished with a satin border.