It's 3 months after the devastating earthquakes that shook Lombok in July this year. Many homes were destroyed and those that still withstood the quakes received severe structural damage. This has made it unsafe for people to sleep inside as tremors still continue to effect the island.

Although there has been plenty of food aid, there is still a pressing need for more waterproof materials to create temporary shelters as the raining season is setting in. Tarpaulin is very hot to sleep inside so we are making an appeal to raise funds for corrugated iron, bamboo and wood sheeting as well.

We also want to build 3 Earth Bag homes to be an example in three different locations, to give local people much needed paid work and an opportunity to learn this new building technique. Earth bag homes are a long term sustainable, safe and low cost solution to housing, that are proven to withstand high magnitude earthquakes.

• By supporting us, you can make a practical difference that can have a lasting impact.
• A small amount will go a long way!
• Your help will change real peoples lives and circumstances significantly.

OUR PERSONAL STORY: watch the video:

We are Nadine & James, friend's of Adi who lives in North Lombok, were we stayed during the 2 major earthquakes. We slept in a tent for a week and did not have electricity for 3 days. There was also no running water, we bathed in the local river and thankfully we managed to get drinking water even though all the shops were closed, Adi was able get some for us. He also drove us safely to the airport, despite there being a shortage of petrol and the route dangerous. The road between his village to Mataram was completely destroyed, we filmed the journey, which you can see in the opening video at the beginning of the appeal. You will also see that Adi's sisters house was totally destroyed and we hope that we can fund building her an Earth Bag home.

We first got to know Adi last year, he was a safe and reliable driver, with a lot of local knowledge, he taught us a lot about the culture of the island. A year later we came back to Lombok and Adi welcomed us into his village, he taught us so much about the local fruits and vegetables and we began planting seeds on his land to start an organic farm project. Many local people are using pesticides despite the abundance of natural alternatives. Adi was someone who totally understood the vision, he really wanted to go back to his life as a kid, living simply and naturally off the land. We also envisioned an education & cultural center for local people to re-connect with their indigenous practices and learn about sustainability.

One major problem is that most people rely on Tourism for income and with the major tourists attractions now all closed down, people are out of work. Our approach is a longer term vision where local people are able to make a fair income from sustainability projects.

Lombok is extremely fertile with its volcanic soil, food grows abundantly there. With the health food industry ever expanding there is even more need for products like coconut oils, cashew nuts, nut butters, dehydrated fruits and super-food powders all of which can be produced on Lombok. We envision creating organic, fair trade & sustainable products, giving local people sustainable all year round work. Our first phase is to build a sustainable organic farm with Adi. We are asking for donations to continue to get this project off the ground:

• We need to build a well
• Piping, pump and generator
• Water collection tanks
• One of the Earth Bag homes will be built on the farm for Adi. We hope it can be made 100% self sufficient using solar panels. This is critical considering that powers outs can last for days after an earthquake.

We also have an eco brick initiative to clean up the plastic problem that is destroying the natural environment and polluting the ocean. Currently people receive money to recycle plastic bottles but there is no recycling, collection or incentive for general plastics. With the eco brick all loose plastic can be stuffed into bottles, the bottles can then be used to build things, even a home. The process of filling the eco brick is quite time consuming and each bottle must be compacted tightly therefore we are offering a small donation for filling the bottles. This is aimed at the local children so they can learn the importance of recycling and carry that with them into adulthood. We would like to see the eco bricks made into a structure creating an education centre for future generations.

By supporting us, you can make a practical difference that can have a lasting impact.
A small amount will go a long way!
Your help will change real peoples lives and circumstances significantly.
THANK YOU !!!!!!!!