School kids tour Path to Freedom

About Path to Freedom
The Urban Homestead
Who We Are
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The Dervaes Institute was founded in 2006 to support the earth stewardship outreach activities and ministry of Path to Freedom, a grassroots, family operated, urban homesteading project located in Pasadena, California, U.S.A.

Dervaes Institute, an earthcare ministry, is registered as a California Corporation Sole under the jurisdiction of the State of California Corporation Sole Code. It is a tax exempt organization and is qualified to receive tax deductible donations under IRS Code Section 508(c)(1)(A).

Founded by Jules Dervaes, Jr., the Path to Freedom family homestead features over 350 varieties of edible and useful plants that grow 6,000 pounds of organic produce annually on 1/5 acre city lot. In addition, the intrepid eco-pioneers raise chickens, ducks, goats, and worms; brew their own biodiesel to fuel their diesel car; generate electricity with solar panels; cook meals in earthen and solar ovens; and maintain an extensive website documenting their journey. Through Path to Freedom, these modern homesteaders seek to inspire others to live a more simple and ecologically sustainable self-sufficient way of life.

Path to Freedom, although the work of a single family, reaches a global audience through many outreach avenues, including:

• Comprehensive website updated daily documenting life on the homestead
• Creation, printing, and distribution of brochures, presentation materials, and displays
• Participation in conferences and festivals
• Distribution of educational, “do-it-yourself” materials
• Presentations to schools and community groups
• Screenings of eco-documentaries

The mission of the Dervaes Institute is to expand Path to Freedom's worldwide outreach program, which will provide sustainable solutions in the present and for future generations, honoring the legacy of Jules Dervaes, Sr.

Path to Freedom was established in December 1999 and became an internationally influential website and e-mail campaign advocating the return of Elian Gonzalez to his father and home in Cuba, following the boy’s dramatic rescue at sea off the coast of Florida. The ensuing political turmoil and media coverage over the fate of a six-year-old boy prompted Jules Dervaes, Jr. and his family to use the Internet as a way to disseminate in-depth and up-to-the-minute information about the Elian story and to educate the public regarding the legal and moral issues of the case. By the time Elian and his father returned to Cuba in June 2000, Path to Freedom had collected and submitted over 21,000 signatures to government and news organizations.

Following the successful outcome of Elian Gonzalez campaign, the Path to Freedom website evolved into an alternative, progressive news site, which touched on issues such as genetically modified foods, pesticides in food, the environment, and Y2K issues.

In 2001, after bringing such important issues to the public, the Dervaes family determined they wanted to do more to fight the system and corporations behind many of the environmental and societal ills they had highlighted on their website. These homegrown revolutionaries decided there was no better way to protest against such injustices than by showing how they had been and were currently trying to live a protest by growing their own food; making a living with their hands; practicing voluntary simplicity; cooking from scratch; eating with the seasons; and becoming energy efficient.

Thus, the birth of what is now known worldwide as the Path to Freedom urban homestead model documented at PathtoFreedom.com Since its small beginnings, the intrepid pioneers have grown over 6,000 pounds of vegetables and fruit on their 1/5 acre (1/10 acre garden) in a year; brewed their own veggie fuel (biodiesel); installed solar panels; built an earthen cob oven (with the help from the community); raised a menagerie of farm animals; and cut their energy usage in half from 12 kwh a day to 6 kwh.

Since the public aspect of Path to Freedom began in 1999, the Dervaes family were often asked why they did not become an official non-profit organization. The family seriously considered such a direction but decided not to journey down that path.

On one hand, the family could possibly achieve more by becoming a non-profit 501(3)(c) organization with a governing board and outside resources. But, on the other hand, these eco-pioneers wanted Path to Freedom to be a true example of a single, ordinary family making a go at living a self-sufficient, sustainable life by the hard work and toil of their own hands and the innovation of their entrepreneurship.

They did not want to depend on --
1. tours
2. donations
3. going on the 'lecture circuit'
4. grants or memberships
-- to successfully achieve their goals and projects.

Path to Freedom is the Dervaes family’s personal journey of a lifetime, and they want it to stand on its own. However, Path to Freedom has grown bigger over the years and has expanded in many ways beyond just a documented example of one family’s personal lifestyle.

By 2001, the Dervaeses had expanded beyond their homestead by helping others through outreach, public education, and the increase of thousands of visitors to their website, where they freely offered advice, examples, ideas, tips, and contacts for sustainable living.

This led to --
1. drastic increase of Web traffic and bandwidth required
2. public outreach programs designed to educate and inspire
3. creation of event displays
4. printing of brochures and educational materials

Since 1999, outreach expenses were funded out of the family’s own pocket, with the exception of donations received at events hosted on the homestead starting in 2004 to 2006. However, much of the money raised at these events simply recovered the costs of promotional expenses, time, and licensing fees, or honoraria for visiting presenters. The donations helped sustain this outreach avenue.

The growth of the Path to Freedom website and the subsequent increase of bandwidth use led to a major price increase. The Dervaes family quietly absorbed the costs of the dramatic increase of transfer fees for more expensive Web hosting plans required to handle the number of visitors. The Path to Freedom website currently uses the top commerce plan (the next step being a costly dedicated server) and still runs monthly overage charges. The hosting and overage costs combined are currently over $2,000 a year.

With the increased expenses of outreach and the strong desire to keep Path to Freedom a family supported homestead, a "separate" path was created by establishing the Dervaes Institute, dedicated in loving memory of the late Jules Dervaes, Sr. The Dervaes Institute, a registered as a California Corporation Sole and under the jurisdiction of the State of California Corporations Sole Code -- 508(c)(1)(A) status, holds the monies for the outreach activities of Path to Freedom.

What does this mean? This means your donations for Path to Freedom outreach activities and events are now tax deductible.

Path to Freedom, a family run urban homestead project, will continue still to stand on its own - projects on the homestead will continue to be funded by the family’s own money. The only difference is that now the outreach work of Path to Freedom (the website, the events, the displays, the brochures) will be sponsored by the Dervaes Institute and donations will go into a separate account and will be tax deductible. This account will be subject to review according to the jurisdiction and laws of the State of California Corporations Sole Code -- 508(c)(1)(A) status.

The Dervaes family strongly believes that Path to Freedom, and now Dervaes Institute, is a way of life with a mission of earth stewardship – achieved by the family members, themselves, living the revolution. They strive to live by example, and their community outreach is the extension of their beliefs: that they should live and care for the earth and all that is here.

They are excited about this new step and hope you are too. The family thanks you for your support through the years.

GROW THE FUTURE

Has Path to Freedom been beneficial to you over the years? Has the Dervaes family taken time personally to answer your e-mail messages and questions? Would you like to see the outreach activites of the Dervaes Institute expand and grow even more? It can with your support. There are now TWO ways you can help keep this site and its outreach program going -- here's how

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