Help Avianna Give Goats Better Home
Donation protected
My wife, 10 year old daughter and 5 year old son live in the Songaia Neighborhood - a cluster of intentional
communities located just North of Seattle in the town of Bothell, WA. It's very fulfilling to live here, knowing we
are providing our 2 children a positive community based experience with good
values. And with life lessons, a big one
came to us last year that impacted us all.
Our 10 year old daughter decided her way of contributing to the community would be to assist in caring for the goats on the property. Two of the goats were pregnant and she witnessed the birth of both of them. She learned about life and creation. The goats became family to her. She was with them every day to feed them, take care of them and keep the older goats from being rough with the kids when they were old enough to all be together. And then one day, our daughter shared with us that she was worried for the baby goats safety. She was concerned that the adult goats were being too rough with them and they should be moved. We reacted by saying it would be fine and they be okay.
Within a week of each other, 2 baby goats were killed...and my daughter was introduced to the concept of death. We were devastated by the events, and that we let our daughter down by not listening to her intuition to separate the goats. It was a huge error in our judgement, and no amount of apology could match the emotional impact this had. And in a strange way it brought community together and offered my daughter leadership in community. Some community residents questioned if we should keep our goats after this incident. The result was different. Our daughter inspired intention for better care for our goats. Her actions rallied people together, motivated the need to create better housing and shelter for them, and justified why we should build better shelter for keeping hay/feed dry. This is what we are going to do. Our goal is to raise $2500, which will provide what we need moving forward for our goats to thrive. Breakdown of contribution needed:
· $150 "“ 1 workshop on goat health, care and maintenance for community
· $1400 "“ Repayment to the community for providing fencing, feed, and care...to be used to support the expanding garden, food forests and food program
· $75 "“ 4' Hanging Hay Feeder
· $379 "“ Calf"“Hutch Shelter
(http://www.ezhutch.net/)
· $500 "“ To build covered Bale Hay Storage
Your help to reach this goal will mean a lot to the goats, to us and to our little girl. You can see a short video she created that introduces Songaia and the goats here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dcwy5QqdmTU. There will be much sadness if we do not make this goal. We thank you for your support and time to share this with your friends, family and community. Check out our reward options for your contributions!
For more information about The Songaia Neighborhood, please visit www.Songaia.com.
About Songaia: My family moved here 3 years ago. We were drawn to the lush gardens, forest, and to the abundant philosophy of living and sharing of resources offered here. Last year we harvested 4,400 pounds of organic food, and used much of it in shared community meals 5 days a week. People engage and support community in different ways...all based on the Passion Principle. Some work in the garden, some help gather the food for each meal. Some cook and prepare food or help out maintaining the land, equipment and structures. Some assist with the care of our goats and honey bees. Since the land was purchased in 1987, Songaia has evolved into an internationally known community for its socially sustainable practices and for its uniquely abundant food sharing program.
Our 10 year old daughter decided her way of contributing to the community would be to assist in caring for the goats on the property. Two of the goats were pregnant and she witnessed the birth of both of them. She learned about life and creation. The goats became family to her. She was with them every day to feed them, take care of them and keep the older goats from being rough with the kids when they were old enough to all be together. And then one day, our daughter shared with us that she was worried for the baby goats safety. She was concerned that the adult goats were being too rough with them and they should be moved. We reacted by saying it would be fine and they be okay.
Within a week of each other, 2 baby goats were killed...and my daughter was introduced to the concept of death. We were devastated by the events, and that we let our daughter down by not listening to her intuition to separate the goats. It was a huge error in our judgement, and no amount of apology could match the emotional impact this had. And in a strange way it brought community together and offered my daughter leadership in community. Some community residents questioned if we should keep our goats after this incident. The result was different. Our daughter inspired intention for better care for our goats. Her actions rallied people together, motivated the need to create better housing and shelter for them, and justified why we should build better shelter for keeping hay/feed dry. This is what we are going to do. Our goal is to raise $2500, which will provide what we need moving forward for our goats to thrive. Breakdown of contribution needed:
· $150 "“ 1 workshop on goat health, care and maintenance for community
· $1400 "“ Repayment to the community for providing fencing, feed, and care...to be used to support the expanding garden, food forests and food program
· $75 "“ 4' Hanging Hay Feeder
· $379 "“ Calf"“Hutch Shelter
(http://www.ezhutch.net/)
· $500 "“ To build covered Bale Hay Storage
Your help to reach this goal will mean a lot to the goats, to us and to our little girl. You can see a short video she created that introduces Songaia and the goats here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dcwy5QqdmTU. There will be much sadness if we do not make this goal. We thank you for your support and time to share this with your friends, family and community. Check out our reward options for your contributions!
For more information about The Songaia Neighborhood, please visit www.Songaia.com.
About Songaia: My family moved here 3 years ago. We were drawn to the lush gardens, forest, and to the abundant philosophy of living and sharing of resources offered here. Last year we harvested 4,400 pounds of organic food, and used much of it in shared community meals 5 days a week. People engage and support community in different ways...all based on the Passion Principle. Some work in the garden, some help gather the food for each meal. Some cook and prepare food or help out maintaining the land, equipment and structures. Some assist with the care of our goats and honey bees. Since the land was purchased in 1987, Songaia has evolved into an internationally known community for its socially sustainable practices and for its uniquely abundant food sharing program.
Organizer
Michael Stein
Organizer
Bothell, WA