The Swiss Edelweiss Village Foundation, the institution behind the push to save the historic Edelweiss Village on the outskirts of Golden, has secured the property and has launched a crowdfunding campaign today (April 13).
The crowdfunding will help formally purchase the property to preserve it.
The deadline to come up with the funding has been set for mid-July for the first deposit, and mid-December for the purchase.
The campaign features a GoFundMe page and a Swiss Guides NFT collection. The GoFundMe goal is $2,300,000, with $900 raised to date from 10 donations.
The digital art collection is inspired by the Swiss Guides‘ mountaineer look. Each NFT purchase comes with an original art piece associated with one of the village’s 10,000 symbolic plots.
The foundation has partnered with the Blockchain for Climate Foundation to help offset the carbon footprint generated by blockchain technology.
“It’s exciting to see that our actions are making an impact,” said Dr. Ilona Spaar, one of the Swiss Canadians organizing the push to save the village.
“We are thrilled to move into the next phase of our strategic plan,” said Dr. Johann Roduit, another of the organizers behind the movement.
“Creating a digital art collection using blockchain technology is very exciting. It brings innovation to history and culture and is built on the innovative legacy of the Swiss mountain guides.”
The first phase of saving the Swiss village involved an awareness campaign, successfully resulting in the National Trust For Canada recognizing Edelweiss Village as one of the Top 10 Endangered Places for 2022.
The Edelweiss Swiss Village is comprised of six Swiss-inspired homes on a 50-acre property. It was constructed between 1910 and 1912 for the Swiss Guides.
The guides were brought to Golden to guide tourists through Rogers Pass, Banff and Lake Louise.
The property first went up for sale in early 2021.
