Dear Sanctuary Supporters,
"Sanctuary" is a music and educational festival that was to be held over the weekend of July 10-12th 2015. It is a private undertaking by a international team. Our festival was granted access to use the land of a small farm and animal sanctuary in rural
Alentejo, Portugal.
In order to fund the festival setup, we have chosen to operate a crowd funding campaign. Our Tipping Point Goal (£3,168) will fund preparation of some areas of the land for the festival.
UNLESS WE REACH THIS GOAL, WE RECEIVE NONE OF THE DONATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN PLEDGED SO FAR.
The Ultimate Goal (£12,182) will fund more expensive infrastructure for the festival. However, we've had some unfair issues thrown at us. If you'd like to avoid reading about it, please skip to "A MESSAGE TO EVERYONE ELSE..." below.
Unfortunately, some pre-existing politics between the local immigrant population and the farm we are using for the festival, has tarnished the reputation of the festival and its team (As you can see by the comments below). I emphasise that we (the festival
organisers) are a separate entity to the land that we have been allowed to use. That said, we have full confidence in the farm owners and if we doubted their integrity, we would not hold the festival there. We have and will continue to produce multi-media
evidence of the health and happiness of the animals at the farm. Some of the money we raise will go towards basic fencing and landscaping that would make the site safe for festival goers (and animals that are already there). This of course would benefit the
farm, however no money will go to the farm or its owners directly.
Commenters have been targeting this website and many others (our target audience), which has lead to us postponing the festival this year as we feel it would be beyond our ability to sell enough tickets to make the festival viable. Again - Sanctaury is a
separate entity. You can see references to our work here - www.iamloffa.com, www.towardcommunity.com, www.sanctuaryfest.org. My name is David Schofield. I am in charge of the finances for the festival and am currently volunteering on the farm in question.
This is the only other connection.
As you can see from the comments below, I have been more than reasonable in answering questions that in reality have nothing to do with me or the festival. They are unproven private concerns, in the form of gossip and hearsay. However, that ends now.
A MESSAGE TO THOSE SUBMITTING THESE NEGATIVE COMMENTS...
You are:
1. Tainting the festival with your unproven personal disagreement with a separate entity entirely
2. In doing so, you are defaming the character of the sizeble Sanctuary team
I have sought legal advice. Your comments will stop now. If you fail to comply with this legal requirement you will be reported to the police in Portugal (GNR) and Britain. The GNR have assured me that any more comments aginst my (separate) organisation
will be treated as dafamation. You will be reported and arrested immediately, with the possibility of a sentence in prison. The Portuguese laws that this demand relates to are: Articles 172-174 especially.
Further to this (speaking separately in this case as a volunteer, for the farm and its owners) - any more claims made without the back-up of legally verified documentation (photographs of documents is acceptable) regarding animal cruelty or anything else
(heresay and links to privately established websites do not count) will also be treated as defamation, leading to the same results as mentioned above.
A MESSAGE TO EVERYONE ELSE...
I'm sorry to have washed this laundry in public, however my hand has been forced...
Please join us for a bring-and-share party at the farm on the weekend of 10-12th July. We will be keeping you all aprised via the Facebook page here (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sanctuary-Festival/1558698711058831). Please also promote and donate to the
campaign here (http://startsomegood.com/Venture/sanctuary_festival) as we will continue ahead with the work as planned. Then the festival will be held in full force next year.
Please help us counteract the unfair negative press that the festival has received. let's Start Some Good!
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You can see the original campaign text below
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Sanctuary - what's it all about?
Do you care about animal welfare? Are you passionate about supporting local people and developing sustainable infrastructure? Are you eager to see a shift towards a more compassionate, environmentally-respectful and joyful future? If this sounds like you,
then we need your help!
We're hosting a very
special festival on the site of an
animal sanctuary and budding eco-community in idyllic rural Portugal; to fund the development of a succesion of future sustainability projects.
The site already offers a loving home to many neglected and mistreated animals - not to mention our vibrant community of dedicated volunteers! With your help, however, we can achieve so much more!
The small farm is located in Setubal, Alentejo, Portugal. We're in a small hamlet called Areal, close to Sonega.
Local work - global impact!
We want to create an environment that truly serves everyone in our extended community - both locally and globally! We plan to help locals to grow their own food and make them more resilient to climate change, to preserve and increase biodiversity in the
area and to create a refuge that can provide education and inspiration to visitors from around the world.
The festival itself will increase awareness of our work, attract volunteers to the site, bring tourism to an area greatly in need of financial aid and will forge strong connections between existing eco-villages,
community groups and other sustainable development workers scattered throughout the country (and the world!). Your valuable contributions will help us to:
*** Develop vital infrastructure, both to make the festival site safe for visitors and to lay the foundations for forthcoming projects
*** Construct innovative and pragmatic eco-structures
*** Take care of existing animals and expand upon the sanctuary to accomodate more furry (and feathery!) friends in need
*** Support our volunteers, helping us to grow enough food to sustain them and offer them other material provisions to carry out wonderful work on site
A quick recap!
By contributing to our campaign you will be helping animals desperately in need, supporting impoverished locals and ensuring they're resilient to climate change, creating a haven for all-comers to stop, stay, learn and grow and funding an event that promises
to be an inspirational experience for all - forging new friendships and associations to build a brighter future!
In short, by supporting us you will be building an educational, motivational sanctuary for all!
Check out the website - http://www.sanctuaryfest.org/
and Facebook page - http://on.fb.me/1JoFwGm