Project Gratitude - update 8#

4.11.14

Even when it's raining there's still lots to be done. Waiting for funds to come in this week so we can buy some wood treatment and paint...a few little creatures have nibbled the wooden beams in the main room over the years so we need to treat them and make them look pretty again.



The boys are bit tougher than me and are still persevering outside. Today they're extending the rain gutter from the back of the house to redirect the catchment close to the new pond area and away from the house walls and foundations.

My essentials - pen, paper and of course a mug of hot coffee!

I took time to start really designing the layout/plan today. First draft finished and ready to send off to my tutor to see how it looks permaculture principle wise.

The 'Plan' - oh wouldn't it be lovely!

Current area of concentration - it would be great if we could get an ariel view afterwards

  Now, even though I did the sketch, which did take quite a long time, I've still got some other element s to complete before I can submit my project. I've got the scribbles down for the zones and elements plans and lots of notes for the actual 'Project Plan' - what I need now is a little inspiration to get my bum firmly in the chair, a little difficult when it's sunny outside and there are lots of other things to do, like trying to raise some money through the fundraising or from pitching for work on Elance, not to mention the seed-saving, harvesting salad daily, baking gluten free daily on the stove-top (no oven), preparing dinner, general house work, laundry, decorating, planting and plant care (including daily chats!), daily replacement of the fat balls for the mirade of bluetits, robins and other lovely birds constantly in the garden, oh and making time to read either the Mother or Satprem daily, and some asanas. Hmmm...Not enough hours in the day, lol! I'm sooooo grateful!!!

Don't forget, you can really help by sharing and caring (aka DONATING :D)

http://www.gofundme.com/chezgratitude

Love & light
Louise (aka Mermie)

Project Gratitude - update 7#

2.11.14

Thankfully we've had a nice few days weather-wise, an unusual 21 degrees on the 1st November :) JC and Dennis have been digging...a lot!

This is just half of what it is now...the rainwater run-off, swale cum duck pond

It works! The rainwater harvesting system part I (it's been expanded since...watch this space)

The chicken coop is almost finished now and they've managed to incorporate a rather ingenious rainwater harvesting system which will not only provide a little pond, made out of an old kids sandbox, inside the coop for the chickens to drink and for ducks (if we get them) to have a little dip - but will also drain off into a bigger pond just on the other side of the fence. Hoping to create a nice little micro-climate there.

The pool inside the coop...nice and shallow and good for a drink!

The best bit of all this is that it's only taken the cost of a bag of cement as we had all the other materials in our recycled/reusable store.

Thanks for all the support ^^

...Actually, I added the last sentence with a little sarcasm as, apart from a family member and a few (actually 3!) encouraging comments the only other support we've had has been from the 2 strangers who made donations.

Hardly a share or a like on FB despite having over 150 friends, hardly a share but at least a few likes from posts on LinkedIn groups with a reach of thousands...to say that our enthusiasm took a hit would be a little of an understatement. Even sharing on EMF awareness group pages generated little or no response. However, saying that, none of the so called 'friends' have ever enquired about the nature of the disability we suffer...even family don't take an interest so...what to do, humans are like that.I'm resigned to the fact that most of all human relationships are superficial. Once you can accept that it makes life a lot easier. I'm so very grateful that JC arrived in my life and that we have the support of each other. Being EMF sensitive is a lonely business...nowadays where there are people there are waves, hence we spend as little time in places where there are people as possible.

We'll make it, of that I'm sure - even if it takes 10 or 20 years (Divine willing that we're around that long, lol).

So here it is 'The Link' - share, share, share and please DONATE! Consider 5 Euros as the price of the coffee you would most probably offer to buy us should we meet.

http://www.gofundme.com/chezgratitude

Love, light and hugs
Louise (aka Mermie)

Project Gratitude - update 6#

28.10.14

The broken part of the roof is finally covered, though we had to make do with the cheaper quality cover as the really good stuff is over 100 Euros. Hmm...12 Euros or 100 Euros let me think ^^ Anyway once the cover was on we had a storm and incredibly high winds so it was put to the test...it's still there so fingers crossed it'll last till next summer when hopefully we'll have raised enough to fix it. Plus the landing and stairs won't get all slippy and wet now either so we can use the first floor a bit more easily and safely.

The cover, which unfortunately already has a small hole in ir!

Not looking forward to deep winter though as the 'open part' is unfortunately above the passage to the bathroom! Eeks...HELP!

So, as I mentioned in a previous update of the updates, there's a hole already appeared at the top of the apex due to all the rubbing from the high winds which batter this side of the house (damn HAARP!). Plus we get a lot of clunking from the bricks holding down the corners. You'd think they'd be heavy enough not to move...but no! We did manage to secure one end using a couple of tyres, though they too tried to wave around, incredible strength nature has.

As always, here's the important link to share, if they can raise $70,000+ for the family of the pilots of the space flight that crashed (even though I'm sure they'll get well compensated by Richard Branson) and if a chap who lost his dog in the Lake District for 3 days can raise $50,000+ - surely we can get enough to cover our roof and plumb in the toilet and shower!!! HELP!!!

http://www.gofundme.com/chezgratitude

Always smiling and always grateful,
Love & light,
Louise (aka Mermie)

Project Gratitude - Update 1#

Just 3 months after the project page pic and you can already see the difference a bit of hardwork, some recycled materials and some sand and cement can do...the roof panels on the barn were purchased new. Still need to get real windows for the veranda to replace the plastic sheets.

The gravel areas in front of the house are actually 2ft deep berns to help restock the water table with rainwater runoff after the water collectors are full.

The circular 'green' area is my 'herb' circle, presently planted with black radish, salad, rosemary and some flowers.

Love Louise (aka Mermie) & Jean-Christophe

'Project Gratitude' is born!

After returning to Europe in 2012 after living in India for 7 years I very quickly began to develop EMF sensitivity to the point where I can no longer support being in an environment where there are mobile phones, wifi, dect phones...and the like. As you can imagine it means there aren't many places left other than home. Home in Ile de France, Paris for almost a year was the in-laws 3rd floor apartment 50 metres over which loomed 3 mobile phone masts. There were 2 'smart water meters' in the toilet...and that was just our apartment. The minimum RF(microwave frequency) measurement, all day long, was 0.25vm2 (Bioinitiative safe level being 0.02vm2!) Needless to say I was tired all the time and didn't go out much.

Hubby is also a sufferer and his lymph nodes had swelled to a worrying size and neither of us are able to work outside home because most places (offices, trains, planes and even the local doctors surgery) now have wifi and nearly everyone has a smartphone/tablet...all of which causes me to get an instant headache, nausea and worst of all heart palpitations which can be very frightening. It takes a day to recover from a short supermarket trip. It's a debilitating and very real malady, and it causes us to be severly disconnected from the world.

So, we finally managed, by the grace of the divine, to find an old farmhouse in the remote Auvergne countryside, 4km from the nearest mobile tower and with a calm 0.01vm2 reading. However, using all our funds to purchase we have run out of resources to repair and to build our dream - which is to create a self-sustaining, profit generating homestead where other EMF sufferers can take long or short term refuge away from the waves (nearly all hotels now have wifi too!).

Here's the deal....There's just the two of us; we survive on around 500 Euros a month (from the state, which doesn't pay me because I'm not French) - which is ok and we're very grateful; I've managed to grow enough food to sustain us in the 5 months since we came and am studying permaculture and medicinal/wild plants; and we've repaired as much as we could before our budget ran out. We're recycling all the materials possible and have found free sources for certain things like wood and tyres for future building.  We're not lazy and I try to get freelance editing/VO work but it's slim pickings I can tell you.
Project Gratitude is a project being built on thanks and with love and sincerity.

We desperately need funds to:
- fix the roof - 15,000 Euros
- get the bathroom plumbed and a shower installed (presently taking bucket baths and flushing toilet with waste kitchen water) - 3,000 Euros
- create an income generating food forest and aquaponics system (a la permaculture) - 2,000 Euros
And then, if we are blessed to do so and because we are so thankful that we have a safe environment, we would love to be able to offer others a microwave free place to stay which would consist of four double occupancy solar powered cabins with individual shower/toilet - approx 20,000 Euros.

As it seems that crowdfunding is the way to go to raise cash for viable projects I searched around and found 'Gofundme.com' which seems less comercialised than the likes of Indigogo.com who seem to send marketing only for the techie projects, nearly all of which are based around 'wireless' (read 'wifi and microwave emitting') techology. And so 'Project Gratitude' is born! There are a few updates I posted there which I'll continue to repost here for now until we set up a separate blog - not having time to sit at the PC much (nor the inclination to be honest).

Check it out and please, please, please donate and share the link...if you can spare the price of a cup of coffee or lunch we'll use the cash for cement and roof tiles :D

Every euro, every cent, every blessing is received with gratitude!




DONATE NOW!

http://www.gofundme.com/chezgratitude

Love & Light
Louise (aka Mermie)