Hello community,

We find ourselves in the midst of an emergency. Our water well, despite being brand-new (dug in July of 2021, just weeks before our stewardship of this land begun), has failed. As we're writing this, it's been four days of zero water to our home & farm. We must proceed with a new water well, which has been quoted for an approximated $16,000 - $19,000. This unexpected bill is one we are not in a position to make.

Caring for this land, this home, the many people who enjoy the bounty is our greatest honor & a task we do not take for granted.

The history & state of our well summarized:

The well that has run dry was contracted by the previous owner of our home, a landlord who was legally obligated to provide a proper source upon sale of the property (MI real estate law). In his decades of previous ownership, the well his tenants had been made to use was unsafe for continued use. In fact, we have been working with groundwater stewardship experts for months in order to create an action plan for closing this old well as it poses a groundwater pollution risk. This work will be done by us this November, in partnership with MAEAP. Their engineers & consultants have been incredibly insightful, guiding our goals for long-term aquifer care.

We did not expect the well drilled in 2021 by the previous owners to pose any concerns, however, we have learned that it was dug to a depth of only 46’. Compare this to our two closest neighbors, whose wells are dug to 85 and 126 feet, respectively (for home use). We've tried at length to come to a solution with the company who drilled the failed well. Unfortunately interactions have been dishonest & uncompromising. Given this & the urgency of water access we have pursued a quote for a new well from a trusted and highly recommended well digging company, who predicts that the new well will have a finishing depth of 165 feet and will cost roughly $16,000 - $19,000.

In creating this fundraiser, we are asking you to help cost-share this massive, unexpected expense for a ridiculously basic need. The farm can cover the first ~$5,000, but the rest will need to be covered by loans and/or gifts made towards this fundraiser.

We are feeling very vulnerable, disheartened, uncomfortable, confused, trying so hard to problem solve, etc. in this moment. An up-front cost so large morphs the future of Stillwind drastically. Small-scale agriculture, especially in the early years of an operation, is very financially strenuous, and we've carried these challenges with help from you all along. You have all helped us make the move to Belding, clear the ½ acre land we grow on, install electrical, build a greenhouse, build out our cute trailer cooler, make do with lots of tools and no barn, spread yards & yards of compost, shovel walkways in the clay, the list goes on.

Thank you for this trust, and although it pains us to ask for more, we are faced with very few other choices. The winter salads crave a long water, the storage crops & market harvests must be washed (thank you to our neighbors who have given us late night access to wash/pack), our dishes need a wash, & our bodies must be bathed.

Water is life, power, change, necessary. A flowing force of connection.

xoxo,

Mik & Brian