The Nerthus Initiative

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Nerthus Initiative FAQs

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Hello everybody, since the announcement of the Nerthus Initiative as a project we have been inundated with lots of questions, offers to help and offers to invest in the land ownership project. Rather than continuously answering these well meaning and often helpful questions we thought it would be better to create a list of FAQs that can be referenced and added to as the project grows and develops.

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"How much are you intending to raise?"

We intend to raise as much as possible from here on out but as a base we will not begin to look for land until we have raised £50,000.

"What is the £50k currently being raised going to be used for?"

The £50k is the point at which we begin looking for land that suits the needs of the community. As for costs of the project we have options, we can front up money once we have a significant number raised and take a business loan or look to buy a small portion of land outright and then expand from there. The Nerthus initiative is in its infancy now but there’s constant meetings and work going on to make it as streamlined and informative as possible, starting with our website which will feature its own section on it with more descriptors and allowing for greater community involvement. It’s a massive task but one that is necessary in securing something that hopefully will outlast us all and help to build the foundations for the community we are a part of.

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"What time scales are you working on to purchase land?"

We have deliberately not set a time scale and will not begin looking to buy land until we hit our target. However we estimate that we will hit our fundraising target within 3-5 years but that's not including potential donors who have contacted us from within the community or the possibility of grants we can apply for.

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"Where will the land be"

As explained when we launched the Nerthus initiative Asatru UK has not yet got eyes on any single plot of land, we are in our fundraising stage to begin the process of searching. Our hope is to locate land for sale that is central or accessible to several of the larger kindreds or areas where there are many Heathens, this will ensure that the land is used for its intended purpose, cared for and managed regularly by members of the community with a vested interest in its success.

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"By taking on ownership of land you will have to have the required legal structures and liabilities to manage that will come with ownership. How will these be kept separate from the overall running of AUK to avoid people taking on unexpected libalites from the land."

We are currently have our resource and developments team managing the Nerthus initiative which contains a number of experienced people in the land purchases, contracts and fundraising. When we are ready to purchase land our strategy is to create a separate CIC (Non profit) or CIO (charity) that will specifically manage the land, raise funds to cover costs and account for any unexpected liabilities but remains under the domain of Asatru UK. And the fundraising will not stop once we have met our initial goal, the community needs more than just the land itself but also buildings, community structures and project areas etc

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"There will be a lot of expenses around the purchase of land, including legal fees, planning fees, how will these be addressed. It is likely that there will be a number of professional services required which will have to be paid for."

There is a lot to unpack in this question, certainly permissions will be needed for holding camps aswell as potentially building on it. Ideally we’d like land that can help to generate income and stand on its own two feet so to speak, use as a campsite to generate income is certainly on the cards and hopefully one that has buildings already situated on it which can be used as ACVs (Asset of Community Value).

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We have had several Heathens and pagans contacting us offering us various specialist services around land purchases, management, construction and investment that will help us to keep costs low, for which we are extremely thankful for and Asatru UK fully intends to utilise those offers when the time is right.

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We are also creating a separate membership/regular donation page for the Nerthus as seen on the web link below, that will generate regular incomes to the Nerthus Initiative that will be kept in a specific pot that will be for the land and its associated upkeep costs and fees foreseen and unforeseen.

It has always been our focus that any services Asatru UK requires are procured from within the Heathen community, as with our use of AUK funds we intend to put that back into the community such as paying Heathen carpenters, heathen labourers etc

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"How will AUK generate monies for this? can I donate? Regularly contribute or volunteer?"

We are looking at securing funding from the community through fundraisers, events, membership packages and grants. Many people have approached the committee and our officers looking to make donations on a monthly basis and or single donations and so a membership page is currently being made on our website for this specifically.

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"Will those who contribute and raise money be recognised for their hard work?"

Yes! We are looking at a package that recognises this to show appreciation and recognition to those who are going out of their way to raise money for the purchase of land or who dedicate their time and effort to making the community dream into a reality. When we do eventually own land we will commission a rune stone with the carved names of every individual who has worked on or donated to the Nerthus Initiative, there they will be immortalised in this way and remembered and honoured by those who come after us.

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"The purchase of land is a big commitment, and will require a lot of time and resources, I suspect much will be voluntary. How will you protect the rest of Asatru UK from the Nerthus Initiative taking all the attention and so not supporting other elements of AUK?"

With the portable Ve project now 3 years in we do not intend to stop having events outside of land we own either as that would negate the need for a portable Ve, funds raised from our AUK patron membership, events and merchandise are what pay for the running costs of organisation and that will not change.

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The proposed CIC or CIO will manage the land and profit from membership, events and merchandise specifically catered to the land. We are frequently asked about marriages, naming ceremonies and funerals, with land we can hold such important and sacred events for people this will come at a small cost but it will also generate income for the land and allow us to better assist the Heathen community in the UK.

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"Has there been any comparison as to the cost/benefit of owning land compared to working with an existing pagan friendly camp site where Asatru UK could establish a focal point and have a permanent presence. Could the objective of the Nerthus Initiative be delivered better by working with an existing camp site rather than AUK buying land and taking on all the associated liabilities."

This has been discussed several times both in the committee and in our community Thyngs, the answer is yes we have looked at the model of buying into an existing pagan friendly camp site and have decided that this is not an option we are going to explore further.

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In the last 5 years we have worked with no less than 4 pagan friendly sites and have held fantastic events on those sites and at the end of each event we have hoped to hold further events there only to find we are either no longer welcome or are being priced out.

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If we are raising money to buy land it will be owned through Asatru UK by the Heathen community and in service to the Heathen community. Having partial ownership of a site does not give us control of our destiny and may even lumber us with costs that are not in our best interest or of our own doing.

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"How can we see how much has been raised?"

Asatru UK held a design competition, won by Morgan Adams, in which we asked the community to design a graphic for the initiative. We have created an online graphic from the winning image that is live on our website, as we hit significant fundraising mile stones the image will move across the scale. Visit our website for more information

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"Is there a link to the donations page?"

Yes indeed, it's here on our website!