Page 4 - The Daily Builder - Day 09
P. 4

From page 3                                                                                                             the StarduSt arC:
          She will pass on the cassava next
          year as well.
            —She started a kitchen garden                                                                                           a Story about a Story
          behind her house, growing onions,
          cabbage, sweet potatoes, and
          bananas using the pit technique.                                                                                                                                                2008 – A missed opportunity
          Her family’s health has improved                                                                                                                                                  Pat started a fundraiser for Heifer International
          dramatically with the better food,                                                                                                                                              just to see if he could raise some money. He ran it
          especially that  of her adopted                                                                                                                                                 through his blog, working out of his living room, and
          daughter, who has health issues                                                                                                                                                 he figured he’d maybe raise a few thousand dollars if
          (Sarah was also able  to pay for                                                                                                                                                he was lucky.
          the medical attention her daughter                                                                                                                                                Well, word spread, people got really excited at the
          needed).                                                                                                                                                                        idea of donating, and a bunch of other authors sent in
            —She is sending all four of her     Sarah shows Maria her newest purchase: a mattress. The next thing on her                                                                  their own books to beef up Pat’s lottery library. It was
          children to school, including her     list is bedding—right now, she uses her skirt wraps to keep warm at night.                                                                hectic, but really cool. And then Neil Gaiman noticed
                                                Evenings can be chilly, especially during the winter months.
          adopted daughter, whose poor                                                                                                                                                    Pat’s fundraiser and told his fans to maybe check it
          health a few years ago made it  raising the piglets. Her more            She says one of the farmers is                                                                         out, and everything exploded. The fundraiser was a
          impossible even to walk.            immediate goal? She wants to buy  doing even better than she is. He                                                                         bona fide thing. And Neil even donated a book of his
            —In 2017, she bought a pig for  a bed and proper bedding. She had  has a big house, and raises a lot of                                                                       own to the lottery….which was caught up in the mail
          10,000  MWK  (about  US$13.25).  just purchased a mattress when we  maize, which is the primary starch                      There’s  a rather nice book that we can’t seem to   too long and didn’t arrive in time.
          The pig gave birth to seven piglets,  visited, and plans to buy a frame  in Malawi. Is she jealous? No, she               get rid of. It’s on a strange razor’s edge, both coveted   2009 – Time to shine
          which Sarah is currently raising,  soon. She also wants to buy proper  says. That just makes her want to                  and relinquished, welcomed and pushed away…and          The next year, Worldbuilders was still just Pat and a
          and she was able to sell the mother  bedding for her children so none of  work harder.                                    strangely enough, writing its own story year after    few of his friends running a crazy fundraiser. But now
          to another farmer.                  them are sleeping on the floor or    Maria  asks our translator to let                year.                                                 they had street cred–and a ridiculously rare, signed
            It’s three years later, and Sarah  pieces of fabric.                 Sarah know how impressed she                         We’re  talking about  an extremely rare, signed &   ARC of Neil Gaiman’s delightful fairytale, Stardust.
          is now an accomplished farmer        Before she took part in the Heifer  is—as a farmer herself, Maria                    numbered ARC that comes in a slipcase. ARCs are       They could auction it off and raise a bunch of money.

          and savvy business owner. Her  program, Sarah was sleeping on  knows firsthand how labor-                                 often printed before publication to send to reviewers   But that would make it completely out of reach for
          village  is also  prospering  thanks  the floor of her house, using her  intensive  farming  and  raising                 who might promote the book. They aren’t printed in    someone who didn’t have that sort of money to throw
          to Sarah’s generosity in passing  skirt wraps for bedding—and it  livestock is. When Sarah hears                          large quantities, and they often contain errors that   around. Pat decided that something this cool needed
          on the gifts she received, both the  gets cold at night. Being able to  Maria is a farmer, the smiles break               will be corrected before the book actually comes out.   to be available to anyone, and this beautiful collector’s
          physical gifts like goats and seeds,  buy a mattress and bedding is  out, and they start talking shop.                      They certainly aren’t given the Cadillac treatment                                   Continued on page 6
          but  also her farming and animal  almost more of a sign of success to    Three goats and some seeds not                   of having their own slipcase and being signed and
          knowledge. She’s even passing on  her than her plan to build a bigger  only turned Sarah’s life around,                   numbered by the author.
          gifts from  her own investments,  house. Sarah is always thinking,  it allowed her to help her entire                       But that’s what we got. Is it the most rare book we’ve
          like the tree seedlings.            and her plans include the other  village by Passing On the Gift,                      seen? No, but only barely. Is it the most high-profile

            “Everything  I do is governed  farmers in her village  because  both of her goats and seeds, but her                    book? Probably not. But it’s from a well-known author,
          by the 12 cornerstones of Heifer,”  she’s been impressed with what  knowledge as well. All it takes is a                  and at this point, the story it has woven throughout the
          she says. That includes passing on  they can accomplish by working  little opportunity and a lot of hard                  Worldbuilders fundraiser is almost more important, if
          the gift whenever she can to give  together.                           work.                                              for no other reason than that this story is filled with
          others the chance to improve their   “In the past,” she says, “I would                                                    wonderful folks who prove our assertion that people
                                                                                    Thanks to Heifer International for
          lives like she did.                 do things on my own. But with        introducing us to Sarah, and thanks              are, at their core, good.
            Her long-term plans include  Heifer, I work with the group and I        to Kevin Hearne for narrating our                 Curl  up,  then,  while  we  tell  you the  story  of the
          expanding her tree business and  have learned quite a lot.”                                        video.                 Stardust ARC…




             4                                                                                                                                                                     Donate!                                              5
   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9