The Blue Marble Emporium is ARK’s online store and POS for our commercial operations. It was set up, as most are, as a mean to promote the brand and generate a revenue stream to nurture the growth of bigger and better things. However, it was also meant to serve as a platform for a new merchant class that serves the divergent communities and individuals the world over to harness their ability to convert their skill, talent, and experience into the primary means of making ends meet.

It takes a village not just to raise a child but to nurture healthy adults, as we all need ourselves from time to time. Beyond the artisans and micro manufacturers who by their supplies from corporate chains and factory farms, the goal is to nurture the material economy so local resources can create raw material for an on-demand market, of other local merchants, to close waste loops and invest in community self-reliance. This is which is why we are starting with Gelato and why we are lifting up Jess Friday to bring her energy, experience, and passion for lifting others to the core of our retail experience.

Thanks to the regular support from the $10 dues paid monthly by members we are able to sustain a Gelato account and use it to trickle charge our bank account. Alone, the online platform has the potential to earn a stream large enough to sustain a staff but that’s a group lift as part of the marketing plan. As anyone who wishes to can be a vendor, promoting the store that sells your stuff it and easy ask.

 Gelato isn’t a big, centralized plant with a huge footprint. They are regional and create more jobs for more folks. Furthermore, I have spoken with them, and they are open to introducing hemp and that means other local textiles as supplies and demand dictate. In time we can add other products and services to the inventory. We can sign people us for classes, sell tickets for events, and slowly build a vendor community the world over.

Most importantly is the work Jess has been doing with Villaj. The connections she has made to advance the new merchant class and providing option for people where they are to contribute their talents and earn a living in the process. Especially those who are neurodivergent, meaning people who do not see the world or process information in the same way as most people. Throughout history, these special individuals have contributed to huge advancements in science, philosophy, and culture but do so because of the village that surrounds them, lifts them up, and like any good teamwork with patience to match the strength of some to the skills of others, bringing new and beautiful things into the world.

$10 each month may not seem like a lot, but that’s $120 each year and multiple that by the growing number of people willing to invest to see a new dawn, a new economy, a new culture emerges. One in which taking care of each other, of the planet, and acting with consideration of future impacts isn’t divergent behavior but part of mainstream flow of consciousness. Nurturing a culture of caring is an investment in the perpetual profits of peaceful exploration. Exploring strange new worlds is a part of who we are as a species that keeps us looking up and moving forward.

As we get things moving, we have set up a special fundraising account, specifically for seeding the Blue Marble Emporium. If you would like to help kickstart this campaign, you can do so here.

Anything helps and everything is appreciated.