Initial design of the Watershed Fund
The Watershed Fund [[1]] is a project of Eagle Market Streets, [[2]] CDC and Kevin Doyle Jones of Neighborhood Economics [[3]] is working with them to build the community engagement around this new project.
As a thumbnail: the loans are zero interest, and farmers have a year’s grace period before they have to start paying them back, then have two years to repay the loans. Eagle Market Streets is doing the due diligence and underwriting. Our idea is to do a lot of $10,000 loans rather than larger loans to start out in order to socialize the concept of this new source of capital and see the idea spread broadly. In initial talks with farmers, most have a pressing and immediately pressing $10k capital need, along with much bigger needs. ASAP thinks a $5,000 emergency mid crop year loan for, say when the road to market washes out and the entire crop is at risk is also needed.
One of the first loans was to Belly Full Nursery [[4]]. The second was to Rayburn Farms [[5]]
The Ager family, owners of Hickory Nut Gap, [[6]] gave us enough money to do two $10,00 loans but none for the fund raising campaign.
Partners of the Watershed Fund
The Watershed Fund will focus on BIPOC farmers and places they farm around North Carolina. We are also focusing on the growers of biomedicinals in the food forest in the Asheville economic bioregion. We are working with Warren Wilson College to build out their Guaranteed from Seed propagation system of biomedicinals.
We are also highlighting groups working on food security, and their links to local farmers. That also relates to potential recipients of some of the #WatershedDividend. Farm2Foodsecurity
Both the landback tax and WatershedDividend will be levied from the Watershed Fund’s management fee and from the management fee the fund takes for managing the carbon payments from ReSeed. The carbon payments are paid to the farmers and growers from ReSeed. The fund takes an administration fee for reporting and calculating and allocating the carbon payments.
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Funds focused on Black Farmers