Villages in the Sky: DIY World Change

Being at east wind is important for me, and the delightful balance of my life continues.  it’s sometimes hard to get motivated to sit in front of a computer when there are so many easy distractions.  the downstairs kitchen in anarres* provides ample amusement for a slightly silly organizer who enjoys all things childish.  the other morning, a handful of us were making breakfast together, which led into a couple of games of rummikub, which, in turn, bled into a raucous game of ants in your pants.  yes, three adult bodied people sat around the kitchen table trying to shoot small, brightly colored plastic ants into a pants shaped bucket.  and the satisfaction of success was maybe a little too great.  it took all my will power to step away from the table after getting every last ant into the target.

but as fun as little kid games can be, i was moving off into the realm of equally exciting fundraising, with a success satisfaction level even greater than bouncing an ant off of the suspenders and into the pants.  villages in the sky is an ambitious project and we’ve got lots of incredible work to do.  which means we need some kind of funding.  i am currently working on grant applications for three different foundations, but i have little experience in this realm and am always seeking other editors and foundation leads.  if you know some more progressive foundations or have experience writing grants, i’d love to get your help!

and soon we’ll be creating mechanisms for personal donations, so that all of our funding doesn’t come with foundational strings attached.  slowly, we’re growing up and digging in.  but it’s going to take a lot of hands to help us thrive.

* annares is the anarchistic egalitarian planet from Ursala Le Guins brilliant science fiction story The Dispossessed.  It is also the name of one of the residential buildings at East Wind