Ugh. Just heard back from the director of one of our local community education programs. She is new in the position as of December 2022. I had discussed the possibility of offering classes through the program with her predecessor, who was very enthusiastic. We decided to hold off until the new hire had a chance to get settled into the position before moving forward. That new director is now in place so I reached out to her to discuss arrangements.
I got a very enthusiastic response, with a "but". She is concerned about the price point. arghhhh.
The way I do these classes, or workshops, is that the cost of tuition includes two-hours of classroom instruction and bin-making, the bin itself, enough bedding to fill the bin to get it started (usually shredded paper and cardboard), some grit, and a half pound of red wrigglers. I charge $50 per student, which I think is dirt cheap considering that the only worm vendor in our area (50 miles from here) charges $58 for a pound of RW's (including shipping). I do all of the prep work of making up the bedding, plus I work on the curriculum to customize it a bit for whoever the target audience is (kids, adults, seniors, etc)., and I have to run around and collect the bins and other materials. On top of that I provide tools to make holes for ventilation plus screen material to cover the holes. This particular group is relatively close to us so I don't have to drive very far to get there, but still, I think $50 is dirt cheap and I only set it that low because this is a low-income area and I want to keep it cheap enough that just about anyone can afford to attend and get started with worm composting. At $50 per head this is not really a profit-making venture for me at this point. IF I had enough worms of my own to pull from then I would potentially make a little profit on the worms but at this point I am buying the worms from someone else so he is making the profit on the worms, not me.
There is a gal a few hours from us who sells worm bin kits and worms. She charges $185 for a 27-gallon tote (the black ones with yellow lids that Costco sells for around $8-9 on sale). Here is her description-
"Our 27 gallon standard household-size bin works very well for average households. This bin includes: a heavy duty 27 gallon bin; a vermicomposting booklet; a filter system; a spigot; black plastic sheeting to cover the bedding; peat bedding along with sand, powdered
lime, blackstrap molasses, and worm juice, which will get the bin off to a roaring start; and a pound and a half of worms. Depending upon circumstances, the worms may be shipped separately from the bin". 27 GALLON WORM BIN: $185, plus shipping.
I think my deal is a bargain!!!!!
Other than griping, lol, I posted this to ask whether any of you think this would be too expensive in your area?