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One of the nice things about owning a small business is that we can flex and adjust on a dime in response to some outside situation. For example, Perelandra responds to emergencies such as floods, fires, earthquakes and to emergency responders. We lend a helping hand to our customers affected by these disasters by helping them deal with the crisis and replace their lost Perelandra products. Well, now we are all faced with a new disaster, something we've not faced before. Of course I'm referring to the global economic crisis.

I've been watching this crisis build and define itself and we have made the adjustments in the company that will help us weather these times. So far Perelandra is thriving! We are one of the relatively few small businesses who are doing well. (Personally, I think the fact that the Perelandra business has been operating as a soil-less garden for the past twenty-seven years has something to do with our current strength and health!) Now that the U.S. Congress has passed the stimulus bill and President Obama has signed it into law, I feel a new window of opportunity is facing Perelandra as a small business.

You see, we still are a healthy business — really. We're not going out of business or trying to clear inventory off the shelves. If Perelandra holds its current level, you won't be seeing major 80% clearance sales from us that you can take advantage of. So I'm faced with a decision about how to respond to the economic crisis as an ongoing healthy small business. I could either thank my lucky stars, isolate Perelandra from the crisis and hope that everyone makes it through on their own; or, Perelandra could respond to the crisis in the spirit of this new stimulus bill and join in President Obama's direction for getting us out of this mess. I don't think it will surprise too many of you if I said I choose the latter option. As I said, a small business is capable of flexing and adjusting on a dime. It's not like trying to turn the Queen Mary in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. So I say it's time to get creative.

In order for us to remain thriving as a business, we need your continuing support. Your support keeps the Perelandra business healthy and the Perelandra business sends you the tools needed for maintaining your health and the health of your environment. Such a deal. Now I want to add to this exchange. All the economists I've listened to say that 2009 is going to be a crappo year. Here's what Perelandra is going to do for the rest of the year 2009. It's a "stimulus" exchange: you keep us healthy with your support and we help your finances with our support.

1. Starting now, we are going to expand and increase the discounts to:

Orders of $95 to $174 = 5% off the subtotal
      (Previously, no discount was offered for this subtotal range.)

Orders of $175 and above = 15% off the subtotal.
      (Up from 10%.)

WebSaver = additional 10% off online orders.
      (Up from 5%.)

New Customers = additional 15% off first order.
      (Up from 10%.)

Chronologically Gifted (65+) = 20% off each order.
      (Up from 15%.)

Maximum Total Discount: 20% (Up from 15%.)

2. Shipping and handling rates are a nightmare because they just keep going up. As a rule, we try our best to hold down what we charge to as reasonable a level as possible. But I'm not sure the word "reasonable" can be applied to shipping costs. (We just got a 5-lb. box of seeds from a major seed company and they wanted to charge us $105.00 for shipping. Jeannette talked them down to a "reasonable" $78 — for a 5-lb. box.) I can't give you a consistent break on shipping in 2009 because the cost for us is so fluid. But what I can do for you, which is something we've tried to do a lot lately, is give you shipping and handling breaks for some of our monthly specials. We will keep this practice up as often as possible.

In addition to the 5% discount we already give to international customers, we will continue to consider the extra customs and shipping fees that you are paying and help you with that in our shipping specials.

3. We will continue our regular monthly specials on the products and, whenever possible, throw in an extra special in the middle of the month. This way we can continue giving you breaks on the products themselves. Also, the discounts on the combinations that are listed in the catalog and on the web site remain as is. (NOTE: Discounts do not apply to sale items as they are already discounted up to 50%.)

4. On a personal level: Lately I have ventured out of my cave more and sent you several EarthSave / Health Watch emails letting you know how best to use a Perelandra product to address some current situation that is in the news. A little to my surprise, the strong response I've gotten back tells me you folks appreciate my help and ideas in these areas. Now I'm "emboldened!" So I will continue to be more hands-on when it comes to helping you use the products in ways that help you maintain your equilibrium and balance during this tricky time. If I can help you maintain your health and the health of your loved ones, this means you'll be spending less on medical bills. If I can help you garden and farm in more balanced ways, this will increase your produce and reduce grocery bills. Also, the quality of your food will be better, you'll be healthier and you'll have fewer medical bills. If I can help you use soil-less garden principles for your businesses and jobs, this means you'll still have an income.

Now, here's the kicker. There's always a kicker. The changes I'm now putting into place are not permanent. They are for 2009 only. At the end of 2009, I will review the situation and see if I need to continue them (or change them) in response to what the global economy is doing. If we are "near normal" when it comes to economic growth and health, I will be shifting everything back to Perelandra's "normal" discount levels and activity. As a rule, we work hard to give you our products at the best possible prices. What I'm doing now is in response to an urgent need for everyone to give a little and for everyone to help one another out.

P.S. If you are one of the fortunate ones who are doing fine financially in this crisis (and there are some of you out there), it would be great if you took the extra savings that you will be getting from the Perelandra economic crisis response and pass it on to your local food bank or other charity organization that is helping those in deep trouble. These organizations could really use all the help we can give right now.