Hello everyone.
For those of you who don't know me, my name is Tim and I've been hanging around these forums for over a year now. I discovered Bitcoin in 2012 and decided to start trading on localbitcoins.com to earn a bit of extra cash in the form of commission.
Since then, I have also found myself learning about how markets function, and how to trade on the exchanges. I've gradually become more and more involved in crypto-currencies - This year, I co-founded a joint venture with a friend, cryptoware.co.uk - a mining hardware reseller.
So that's a bit about me and my background. Now I'd like to share something else with all of you: A charity project involving the local scout group, which my sister is a part of.
The Hatters Explorer Scout Unit – A sustainable development project in Namibia (Charity Number 303656)
In 2010, a relationship began between
1) The Hatters Explorer Scout Unit
2) The people of a small village in rural Tsinstabis, and
3) The Scouts of Namibia
This has since enriched the lives of the 27 strong UK contingent, developed Scouting in Namibia and transformed a derelict plantation into a symbol of hope for the local Bush People who now manage it. The expedition in 2011 was the result of a long and arduous year of planning and fundraising.
The expedition in 2014 is no different.
The result will be no different.
The Hatters have been fundraising and supporting the partnership since 2011 and will return to Tsinstabis this summer to start a new project. This partnership now has the potential to change countless lives.
The aims of the expedition in 2011 were:
-To provide a sustainable and plentiful supply of water that could be used to irrigate the soil
-To plant the initial 200 orange trees on a plantation that would eventually host 800
-To start a new Scout Group in Tsinstabis
-And crucially, to initiate a partnership agreement detailing commitments of all parties
The expedition of 2014 is not only a wonderful opportunity for a new group of young people to change their lives; it is part of a commitment that The Hatters Explorer Scout Unit has made to the area. The targets for 2014 are:
-To complete any work that has to be finished on the original site
-To start a new plantation within Tsinstabis and leave it in the same excellent condition as in 2011.
This sustainable partnership has already had a vast impact upon the UK Scouts, has changed views towards projects like this within Namibia and already made a difference to the lives of the San Bush People on the first site.
The next expedition will develop another plantation, change more lives and provide more Scouts with a once (OK, maybe twice) in a lifetime experience.
Here is the web page for the project:
http://nambia.wordpress.com/I'm hoping to help them raise donations from the Bitcoin community. I'd also love to hear any suggestions from people as to how else Bitcoin might have a role to play in helping this project. I have a few ideas myself which I'd love to discuss with everyone here. My feeling is that there may be opportunities further down the line; for example, to sell the produce using Bitcoin? I also had an idea of maybe doing a 'sponsor a tree' program, perhaps using something such as Mastercoin to issue 'orange tree' tokens which would entitle the holder to a share of the harvest.
Thanks for reading, and I hope we can all help to play a part in the continuing success of this project!
