NEW ZEALAND CROWDFUNDS $ 1.7 MILLION TO BUY A PRIVATE BEACH AND GIVE IT TO THE PUBLIC

After raising over 30k pounds through our Kickstarter campaign, we have kept checking innovative and sustainable crowdfunding projects taking place in the world.

One of the most impressive campaigns recently happened in New Zealand, where 2 million dollars was raised by inhabitants to purchase private beaches. The idea was to turn private lands into a public National Park, in which fauna and flora will be conscientiously protected.

Around 40 000 contributors pledged for the project, including a $254,000 investment from the government.

Buying Awaroa beach thanks to crowdsourced funds enabled Abel Tasman National Park to grow in size. This pleased the indigenous Maori who are particularly interested in protecting the land, as it contains native burial grounds. Some locals insisted for the beach property to be entirely let to the Maori people, it was eventually agreed that the land will be open to the general public.

The property is not accessible by vehicle and its remote location and limited access help ensure that it will remain “a remarkable seven-hectare utopia,” as it was described in the real estate listing.

Original article by fastcoexist

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