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Oliver’s Hens an impressive venture from innovative school student
HI, my name is Oliver Bora. I am 17 years old, and my mission is to set up a pasture- raised egg farm at my school, Shearwater Steiner School in
Mullumbimby.
Oliver’s Hens will provide
fresh, local, organic and truly free-range eggs to my local community.
I believe young farmers are the future of a sustainable food system, and I want to lead by example.
I need your help to get Oli- ver’s Hens off the ground.
The Oliver’s Hens story
I grew up in China and have always had a love for animals and the outdoors.
Moving to the Byron Shire when I was 12 years old opened my eyes to a whole new world and I now have the privilege of understanding where our food comes from.
I believe sustainable and ethi- cal farming is the future and everything I’ve learnt has in- spired me to create my own ethical farming enterprise.
Over the past year, I have been working hard on develop- ing my business idea, incor- porating my different school subjects, attending community programs, working with local business owners and involving other students at my school.
I have learnt that following your passion and finding a pro- ject of interest to you allows you to get the most out of your education.
Education and enterprise
By relating subject tasks and assignments to my business idea, I have been able to ex- plore paths that will lead me beyond school.
For example, in English, rath- er than write a short story, I wrote my crowdfunding video script and developed the whole
crowdfunding campaign.
I have involved my peers at
school as much as possible. Rather than employ an exter- nal filmmaker, I worked with a talented Year 8 student from my school to bring my vision
to life.
I created a logo competition
and invited students from Year 1 to 12 to enter their designs.
Seeing the excitement on the children’s faces as they submit- ted their work made me realise this project is bigger than me.
I want to inspire other stu- dents to follow their passion and think about education in a new way.
In future I see my business supporting other young start- ups in the local community, with funds from my egg sales going directly towards an en- terprise competition I will run for school students.
If you believe in what I’m doing, then get behind me and be part of this unique school community project.
Budget overview
I need $45,000 to get Oliver’s Hens off the ground and I’m hoping to raise at least $38,000 through this campaign to put towards these costs.
I have done over 12 months of research, including ongoing meetings with local farmers and entrepreneurs.
I am confident in my budget and have been working hard to save my own money for this project but need your help. Timeline
Once this campaign reaches the target I will be able to order the hens and caravan, allowing me to get started.
It will take three to four months from this point to have Oliver’s Hens in production, fulfilling the pledges and selling eggs in the local community.
I already have support from local outlets including San- tos Organics, Mullumbimby, who will act as one of my pickup points in Byron Shire for campaign backers who pre- purchase eggs during this cam- paign.
I hope to have my eggs avail- able in Byron Shire within six months.
What makes Oliver’s Hens different
In my system, each hen will have at least 4sq m of fresh pasture to roam.
In conventional free range systems, hens are only required to have 1sq m to move.
My hens will be fed high- quality organic grain and moved every two weeks to keep them happy and healthy.
Regularly moving the hens will allow grass to regrow and soil to regenerate.
A big plus with this method is the hens will have access to fresh forage.
This means they will be hap- pier and healthier, and their eggs will have about 400 per- cent more omega 3 than stand- ard cage eggs, making them a lot tastier and better for you.
Operating my business at the school I have attended offers unique and exciting education- al opportunities for the whole school community.
The kids can’t wait to see the chickens and be involved in the future of Oliver’s Hens, and I can’t wait to get more kids involved in sustainable agri- culture!
Challenges
Being young and still at school can make starting your own business challenging.
Attending school every day and keeping up with the de- mands of the HSC makes it hard to find time to work and save the money to get my busi- ness off the ground.
This is where you come in, to help bring this project to life.
I’ve almost completed my studies and I’m looking for- ward to contributing to the school community in a whole new way with Oliver’s Hens.
Once up and running, I am confident I have the time, skills and knowledge to successfully run this business.
I have the support of my school and local farmers.
I am truly passionate and de- termined.
With your help, we can make Oliver’s Hens a reality.
Please pre-order your eggs or donate to my campaign today to support me in building my farming operation.
Let’s show other young peo- ple thinking about their future that we can create a sustainable food system together.
For any more information and to donate today, visit pozi ble.com/project/olivers-hens Oliver Bora
Oliver Bora is a school student on a mission.
Oliver already has the land and business plan, now he just needs the funding.
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National Poultry Newspaper, September 2018 – Page 11