The Stratford Butterfly Farm has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help raise funds for the tropical butterfly farmers that they work with.
Most of the 250 different species of butterflies found at the Butterfly Farm and around 2,000 individual butterflies, are imported from butterfly farmers in the tropics.
Stratford Butterfly Farm buys their butterflies from either community projects or village projects which provide the local people with a sustainable income and helps to preserve the rainforest.
These projects do not benefit from any government support and may not survive the economic impact of COVID-19.
Due to the disruption of COVID-19 the tropical butterfly farmers and breeders have been left unable to earn a living since the exports were suspended in early March.
These small community projects are in danger of collapsing and being lost forever.
There are already reports coming out of the Arabuko Sokoke forest area of Kenya that the rainforest is being invaded for firewood and timber which poses a serious threat to the local ecosystems.
The GoFundMe campaign looks to raise awareness and funds for the butterfly breeders.
The projects that the Stratford Butterfly Farm works with include:
- Bioproductores de El Salvador in El Salvador :www.butterfliesofelsalvador.com/main_about.html
- El Bosque Nuevo in Costa Rica : www.elbosquenuevo.org
- The Kipepeo Project in Kenyawww.kipepeo.org
- The Amani Butterfly Project in Tanzania : www.africanrainforest.org/portfolio-items/the-amani-butterfly-project
- Heliconius Butterfly Works in Ecuador : www.heliconiusworks.com/new_Page/pages/home.html , and
- Alas de Columbia in Columbia - http://www.alasdecolombia.com