#buyfromthebush campaign

A wonderful new initiative is helping rural people who are suffering from the effects of the prolonged drought.  Most people can’t do much to help the situation, however everyone can buy needed items from individuals and small business in rural areas through #buyfromthebush.  This project started as a simple idea on Facebook, aimed at connecting potential buyers to the mostly unknown vendors in the rural areas.

Why support #buyfromthebush

#buyfromthebush vendors are often folk on rural and remote properties trying to diversify their income in the present drought, which for many landholders, has been many long weary years.  It was often necessity for the survival of their families and animals, that spawned their home based businesses.  Producers are always at the mercy of the elements; as well as commodity prices, trade agreements, and political decisions that have little regard for the interest of producers. Store keepers in many rural areas are also vendors as their incomes, and survival as a business, depends on the prosperity of their rural communities.

With gratitude from your country cousins

#buyfromthebush quickly gained momentum and is now sweeping across Australia like a bush fire.  To the folk of the rural areas it’s like a beacon of light at the end of a very dark tunnel. The campaign has given us an amazing increase in the reach of our products, without us having to spend on advertising, which we cannot afford.

My offering to this campaign

I am offering Giorgie’s Christmas Dinner as a gift idea for young children between the ages of three to nine years.  The book has full page illustrations by well known artist Laila Savolainen.  The story was written intuitively for a friend’s young daughter as he was distressed by the thought of eating the rather vicious farm rooster.

The story became an ideal venue to bridge the gap between rural producers and city consumers.  Giorgie’s guardian angel tells her of the circle of life, and how all species in nature help others to survive.  The angel told her a legend of how humans first came to eat meat during the great ice age when they were in danger of extinction. After the ice age ended, humans offered safety and sustenance to the birds and animals in their times of need.  Not all wished to accept the offer, but many did, and are now our domesticated species.

A signed copy is available on the website store .  $14.99 for a soft cover copy and $19.99 for a hard cover copy.