Hello, my name is Stephen Tolpinrud. I am 26 years old and I recently finished a certificate in Agroecology from UCSC. The certificate, which was obtained while living, working, and studying on a farm, taught me how to grow food using organic methods. The experience impacted me viscerally. Since then I have been impassioned to make a difference. That is why this spring I will be riding my bicycle from New York City, NY to Astoria, OR. I want to use the ride as a catalyst to bring awareness to and fundraise for the construction of a greenhouse and water well for a community in Northern Nicaragua. With the help and guidance of a local non-profit, Waves of Hope, I plan on completing the project during the month of July.
El Manzano Uno, the community I will be working with and the home of Waves of Hope, currently lacks the ability to grow food consistently throughout the year. This is due to pesky animals, extreme weather, and a lack of consistent water supply. Having a greenhouse will provide the community with the resources to grow healthy, sustainable, and consistent food all year long. This will undoubtedly have a profound impact on the local ecology, by decreasing the community’s dependency on packaged and processed foods, and it will help to create a healthier populace by providing a consistent source of nutrient rich, fresh, and organic foods.
What We Need:
Waves of Hope and I are asking for $4,000 dollars to complete the project.
$1,400 for the materials of greenhouse
- Structural supports
- Vented siding
- Polyurethane roofing
- Tables to place seedlings
- Architectural template
- Seedling trays, water cans, and etc.
$1,000 for the construction of a water well
This will be built by a third-party, but I will assist in it’s creation.
$1,600 for the financing of an individual to monitor seedlings long after I depart and to purchase and needed supplies.
- This will be monitored by the directors of the non-profit, Waves of Hope, whom I will be working closely with.
*Key component of the project will be that all funding will go directly to the construction of the greenhouse and it’s materials, a water well, and to an individual who will monitor the seedlings. No funding will go towards my travel expenses, nor will it be spent on the non-profits overhead; that is because Waves of Hope functions with zero overhead.
*Any access funding will be deposited into a Waves of Hope account, which will pay for an individual to monitor the plants and allow for the purchasing of any necessary supplies in the future.
The Impact and Other Ways You Can Help:
Every dollar that is donated will go directly towards the promotion of a more sustainable human society. Conventional food and agricultural sectors have an immense impact on the world’s life providing ecosystems. By creating more local sources of food that do not require thousands of miles of transportation; energy intensive pesticides; and monocultural practices, which inhibit natures natural tendency to diversify, we will be promoting a more stable environment, where by we can all thrive.
If a financial donation is not plausible for you then please do the next best thing and pass this site on to other folks by linking it to facebook, twitter, or by e-mailing who ever you think would be interested.
I am confident that with my previous experience of working on a farm and by helping a friend construct a greenhouse recently I have the skill sets to complete this project. All that is needed is the funding and with your help more people will be eating tomatoes from the vine, while promoting a more