BAREFOOT CONSERVATION LIMITED

BAREFOOT CONSERVATION

Marine conservation company tackling plastic pollution and providing community support in Indonesia

Revenue

Capital at risk

Est. Months

11.0%

apr^*

Successful

Capital at risk

Amount

You make

Successful

Minimum investment is £100

Total return

Est. Monthly repayments

Our APR explained

Barefoot Conservation is a not-for-profit organisation in the stunning Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Their mission is to apply the skillset of volunteers to aid the community, scientific research, and preservation of the world's most bio-diverse region. In turn, trip-makers gain practical experience and the reward of making a significant difference to the island. Your investment will be used to purchase a boat and facilitate further expansion, and may earn you an exciting reward!

Tell me more

Make a difference. See a difference. Be the difference.

At the moment, there is a huge problem with pollution - primarily plastic - in the oceans which is largely self-inflicted; as writer of southeast Asian travel guide, Stuart McDonald says, the answer is in education. We started Barefoot Conservation to give people the opportunity to explore, but most importantly to help preserve and sustain the stunning Coral Triangle of Indonesia. This area has the highest known concentration and diversity of marine life on earth, and surrounds the remote island of Raja Ampat; whale sharks, manta rays, sperm whales, turtles, and tropical fish - you can find it all here in the Coral Triangle! We need all the help we can get to clean up these beautiful oceans, plus while exploring this underwater world, our volunteers can gain scuba diving qualifications, as well as the field skills essential for those pursuing marine biology careers.

We are a non-profit organisation, so the fees that our volunteers pay are used to fund the projects we embark on. Each project is designed to meet both the immediate and long term needs of the island and its inhabitants, and we work in partnership with the Raja Ampat government. Aside from marine conservation, environmentally, this extends to river and beach clean-ups, renewable energy programmes, and climate change research. We encourage our volunteers to also engage with the islanders through teaching English and educating them on environmental issues. Over-tourism is an extremely damaging factor contributing to the environmental crisis, but our mission seeks to encourage an entrepreneurial spirit in the community so as to discourage unsustainable ways of living and combat poverty.

The money raised in this campaign will go towards the purchase of a new boat, something that is paramount to our diving excursions. We also intend to extend our cause to an additional location, Komodo. This is a fast-growing market that is nowhere near saturated, so we intend to take advantage of this. As a 'thanks' for your pledge, we are offering rewards - you can even join us on our stunning island and see for yourself how your money is used!

Business keeps the raised amount even if target is not met.

Maximum

£ 107k

Raised

£ 107k

Investors

345

Estimated close date

Funded 2 years ago in 20 days

Where will the funds go?

Purchase of new boat

£70,000

Working capital

£36,500

Key people

Simon Barden

Director

Investor rewards

Come and join us!

If you invest £500 - £999

10% discount for a trip (1 week) + free t-shirt

Dig out your diving gear

If you invest £1,000 - £4,999

20% discount (1 week trip) + free t-shirt

Make a difference

If you invest £5,000+

50% discount (1 week trip) + free t-shirt

Q. If i buy for £107 and return it says i earn the amount of £72 is that £72 ontop of the £107 i buy for and if so how do the repayments work monthly or in one go?

Q. There are confusions. You are described as not for profit within your own written description, yet in your answers, you say you aren't. You mention pollution, but it's not clear what your company will do about this. A pollution reduction project isn't on

A. Hi Jocelyn,
Thank you for your question.
We are a not-for-profit NGO, this is different to a non profit NGO. As a not for profit, it mean we still run like a normal business, with the aim to make a profit, so we can then use that profit to run our science research, conservation & community programmes.
We are not trying to reduce pollution in a general global sense, we are educating remote communities about plastics specifically, how to recycle & not pollute the oceans with plastic.
KR
Simon

Q. What kind of assets (property etc) is owned by the company in Indonesia?

A. Hi Keonne,

We have around £50k worth of assets in the form of 2 dive boat, 2 compressors and diving equipment. And the boat we plan to purchase as part of this revenue loan is worth around £150k which will form part of our assets.

Kind regards

Simon

Q. Hi, we posted some questions that you may not have seen or been able to respond to while the campaign was still pending, can you take a look again please.

A. Hi Jakob,
Thank you for your message.
Yes, sorry I was not able to response to the earlier questions as I had not received a log in from Crowd2Fund.
I believe I have now answered all outstanding questions, but if you have any more, please do not hesitate to send them via this platform.
Kind Regards
Simon

Q. hello how does this company https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/08237883 relates to NPO you are raising funds for?

A. Hi Nadya,
Thank you for your question.
The company and NGO are one in the same. We are a registered charity in Indonesian, but as yet we are not registered as a charity in the UK. This is because we run the not-for Profit NGO more like a normal business so it can make profits, that we can then use to fund the science/conservation research and community programmes we run.
This gives us a lot more freedom to do the conservation/community work we want to do.
Kind Regards
Simon

Q. Can you tell me about your current income please. Is it UK based, How do you get clients/customers/participants etc.

A. Hi Bernard,
Thank you for your question.
Our income comes from customers that are all over the world, and they all pay in to our UK HSBC bank account.
We get our customers via google, and we promote our project on various gap year/volunteer programme websites like Gap360, Gapyear.com and Volunteer world to name but a few.
We also have various booking agents we use in the UK, Australia, Europe and USA.
Kind Regards
Simon

Q. How will you cover the interest on the loan being non-for-profit venture?

A. Hi Andriy,
Thank you for your question.

We are a not-for profit NGO and not a non-profit. The difference being that we can and do make a profit each month/year and we then use that profit to fund our conservation research and community programmes. We can also put these profits in to our cash reserves, working capital and use it to cover the interest on the loan.
Kind regards
Simon

Q. How come you have a profit accounts being a non-for-profit organisation?

A. Hi Andriy,
Thank you for your question.
We are a "not-for Profit" NGO rather than a 'non-profit' NGO.
The difference being that as a not-for profit NGO we can have profit accounts. We then determine where those profits go, like science/conservation research, community programmes we run, it can be used for working capital, go to our cash reserves, or be used to make revenue loan repayments.
Kind Regards
Simon

Q. Good Day, who receives a "salary" within this company ?

A. Hi Alan,
Thank you for your question.
Only the director receives a small salary of £600 a month. All other positions are voluntary.
Kind Regards
Simon