The Beta Project: Information

What is the Beta Project?

The Beta Project is a FREE 2 to 3-month hands-on program lead by Brandi Rollins, author of Raw Foods on a Budget and Confessions of an East Coast Raw Vegan, that will teach you how to live raw foods on a budget.

The project was initially launched Feb 1st, 2011 and a small group of applicants were accepted into project. However, now the Beta Project is being relaunched March 8th and made available to everyone! So, if you missed the first chance to enroll into the project, this is your second chance!!!!

Your first step is to complete the enrollment form! This will let me know who you are and what you wish to accomplish in the project! I will use this information to improve the Beta Project and the book!

Note that you can join the program at any time! So, if you just found about the program today, you can still come on board. You will just need to catch up by listening to the conference call recordings and completing the assignment. You can find this information on the Weekly Assignments/Conference Calls Page.

The project consists of 4 major components:

Conference Calls: There will be weekly conference calls to discuss the current week’s assignment/chapter from the book (i.e. Raw Foods on a Budget). The calls will be participant-driven and you will have the opportunity to:

  1. Ask me questions
  2. Share your experiences
  3. Tell me what else you would like to see in the book
***Weekly Assignments and Conference Call information is posted at http://www.rawfoodsonabudget.com/?page_id=1881***

The conference calls are scheduled for Tuesdays at 8-9pm EST (beginning March 8, 2011). Here is the conference call information:

Dial-in Phone Number: 1-712-432-3066
Code: 179684

ATTENDEE FEATURES 5* ASK THE HOST TO SPEAK: If you have a question or wish to speak, press 5*.

If this number is long distance for you, consider using Gmail’s free online phone service. You can find more information here: http://www.google.com/chat/voice/

If you are not able to join the conference call, the calls will be recorded so that you can listen to them at your leisure.

Curriculum and Weekly Assignments: The textbook for the project is the Raw Foods on a Budget ebook. If you have not purchased it, it is a good idea to purchase it before the first call.

Almost all of the weekly assignments will be derived from this book. These weekly assignments are your homework! Every week, you will set goals that will help you continue your raw foods on a budget journey, and then you have an opportunity to report your successes back to the group (via the conference calls or forum)!

***Weekly Assignments and Conference Call information is posted at http://www.rawfoodsonabudget.com/?page_id=1881***

Forum: I have created a forum where participants can share their goals, ideas, experiences, and ask me questions. Some individuals from the first cohort of participants have even started their own journals on the forum to document their progress. Visit the Forum!

Logging Your Weekly Food Expenses: One of the major activities in this program is to keep a log of your weekly food expenses. This will allow you to see the change in your food bills as you progress through the program. It is a HUGE source of motivation and will serve as a sign of your success!

You can download the Food Expense Log here. Also, to help me keep track of the group’s progress, I am encouraging everyone to submit their weekly expenses on the Weekly Food Expense Submission Form!

So, why am I offering this for FREE?

When I began writing Raw Foods on a Budget, I decided that it was going to be a book written by the readers for the readers. But, more recently, I have realized that I haven’t fully done my part in creating a space where you and I can interact and share ideas about the book.

So, in response, I created the Beta Project. Through the project, I hope to get a fuller sense of the tools you need to live a budget-friendly raw foods lifestyle and subsequently make Raw Foods on a Budget a rich resource for years to come! With this project, we both win!

What does this mean for the unreleased chapters and recipes, and will the book be released on time? The book release has been pushed back 3 months to July 2010 so that I can complete the Beta project. I apologize for the inconvenience, but I think the delay is well worth it! Image a book that has been tailored to fit the lifestyle of real people just like you…people who are trying to feed their families with raw foods or are living on a very low budget. The book will even contain stories and quotes from participants of the Beta project…people who you can relate to!

I will continue to write content, but just at a much slower pace, which means that the remaining chapters will be released at a slower pace. I want to focus on enriching the chapters that have already been released. After these chapters have been revised, I will re-release them. This means that the chapters will contain even more strategies to help you live raw foods on a budget!

And here’s some more good news: I will continue to release recipes every week until the book is done.

If you have any questions, please write them in the comment fields below or email me at brandi@rawfoodsonabudget.com! Thanks!

-Brandi