https://www.mixcloud.com/upload/TraceyArial/reid-allaway-and-tourne-sols-elec-truck-project/edit/
The Tourne-sol Farm Cooperative won’t use petroleum to pickup and deliver their vegetables to CSA clients this year, thanks to an Earth day project last year.
The project involved contributors to a crowdfunding campaign to turn a 6000kg box truck all-electric, a contract with an innovative Quebec conversion company, lots of work, three years of planning and about $30,000 additional investment beyond the cost of a used truck.
I spoke to project head Reid Allaway about Tourne-sol’s operations, protecting farmland as a commons, producing organic seeds, and their elec-truck campaign. Their crowdfunding campaign went live at the beginning of April and raised $23,425 by the end of the month.
My interview with Reid took place last summer when he still hoped to begin using the truck by the end of the year. Due to battery limitations and farm needs, in the end the truck went in for the conversion in mid November. He’s looking forward to being able to do all their deliveries in an electric truck in 2022. The rest of Quebec’s agricultural community can’t wait to see how it goes!
View their crowdfunding campaign here.
The Tourne-sol coop main farm page is here.
Here’s a couple of articles about the project:
https://www.facebook.com/FermeTourneSol/posts/10159632720666458 https://www.laterre.ca/utiliterre/equipement/le-projet-elec-truck-dune-cooperative-maraichere
Reid also has a Youtube channel.
