Kalapana Organics has kicked off a fund raising campaign through the website www.indiegogo.com, with a goal of raising $24,000 in the next 41 days.

From the Organic Cane Rush Coast to Coast page on indiegogo:

Hi, I’m Jackie Prell. My project combines two passions: good, organic, nutrient-dense food and how to grow it.

I started a certified organic sugarcane juice business a few years ago. My husband and I grow the sugarcane, limes, lemons, tumeric and most of the other ingredients that go into the juice on our two farms in Hawaii.

People love the juice, it’s delicious and good for you. It’s a golden ambrosia, an ancient food that your body recognizes and assimilates easily, the opposite of the processed white sugar we’re all familiar with.

It’s got electrolytes, anti-oxidants, B vitamins and more. It’s low in simple sugars and rich in complex carbohydrates, sustaining your energy level all day long.

Our juice business has grown organically, with no debt, and being farmers first, we’d like to keep it that way, which is where you come in.

Last summer, in the midst of building a new certified kitchen for our juice operation, I applied for a USDA Producer Value-Added grant (matching funds…), which I was recently awarded. This is great news, except the matching funds have been spent on renovations and other start-up costs.

For every dollar I spend, I’ll be reimbursed by the USDA for half that amount. This means, every dollar you contribute will actually be worth a dollar and a half.

The $24,000 will go towards bottles and the $12,000 we’re reimbursed towards a new freezer and 2 cane cleaners, rounding out our business wish list and assuring us of a supply of bottles at the very lowest cost. If we’re partially funded, our project will be scaled down to match the funds raised.

Your reward? Juice, and lots of it! And a Cane Rush cartoon book. We’re also offering as rewards, organic dried apple bananas, spicy kale chips, tumeric-infused hot sauce, farm tours and lessons in Natural Farming, and private dinners at Sweet Cane Cafe. Cane Rush t-shirts too! Boost us with a large enough donation and we’ll name a juice after you!

And the how-to-grow nutrient-dense food part? I’m including instructions on making your own organic soil inoculant, which revitalizes soil by encouraging the growth of mycorrhizae.

Mycorrhizae form a symbiotic relationship between plants and the soil, benefiting both. They provide nutrients and water from the soil to the plant and they take waste products from plants, sequestering carbon in soil humus.

Check out my website and help spread the word about Korean Natural Farming.

Korean Natural Farming is awesome: cheap, effective and do-it-yourself. Even if you can’t donate, please pass on this information to all those urban farmers, school gardeners, roof-top gardeners, non-profits, ag professors, organic and conventional farmers, and other green thumbers that you may know. It’s knowledge that can help change the world.

The ripple effect of our success: we’ll support other local organic farmers by buying their produce and products. We’ll continue mentoring, provide jobs, and launch new products, such as kale chips, tumeric-infused hot sauce, and taro burgers.

My husband and I have been farming in Hawaii a combined 50+ years, a noble but necessarily profitable endeavor. Thank you for helping us to succeed in our farm-to-entrepreneur venture. You’re making Hawaii and the world a sweeter place.

— Find out more:
www.indiegogo.com/Organic-Cane-Rush-Coast-to-Coast
www.kalapanaorganics.com/