We encourage everyone to check out the new permaculture sustainability and social change crowdfunding site. www.WeTheTrees.com

The site was dreamed up and created by the Panya Project’s founder, Christian Shearer, so we are really excited and proud of Panya Projects connection to this site.

A great way to check it out is by taking a look at the Permaculture documentary campaign that was shot in part at Panya, and is led by some of Panya’s favorite family members, Christian, Geoffroy Goddeau, Matt Prosser and Taiga Marthens.

Please check it out and support the effort:

http://www.wethetrees.com/projects/33-seeds-of-permaculture-a-tropical-documentary

Here, you can read more about this campaign from that page.  Please share it with your friends too!

Seeds of Permaculture

A Free Documentary about Tropical Permaculture.

Over the last 7 months we have been working tirelessly on this tropical permaculture film project and working to create the highest quality permaculture film to date. Throughout the film we use the artistic eye (and HD film and audio) that characterizes Ahooha films to capture the sights and sounds of permaculture in Thailand.

In a previous fundraising effort this film has collected the support of over 25 contributors, generously donating $12,500 to make it happen.  This money cover the cost of equipment, travel, filming on location, scripting and much more over a 4-month period. Now we are on to the production phase.

To get this film through the final production phase and onto screens worldwide, we need to raise an additional $5,300- or the film will not get made.

And once that happens, we will register the film under creative commons license and make it freely available to all!  Truly in the spirit and ethics of the permaculture we are filming!

This goal is easily achievable with your help. If get 530 permaculture fans to contribute $10 a piece to this film, we will send them each an electronic HD copy of the film.  This alone would represent enough funding to hit our goal and that is only a tiny percentage of all the permaculture fans in the world.

YOU can help this film come to life by simply contributing $10, and we’ll give it to you for less than you would ordinarily spend on a film of this nature.  AND you will get it one month before the official release!  If you choose to give a bit more, you could get your name or your project logo listed in the credits of the film! The beautiful thing about this crowdfunding effort is that by donating to this film, not only are you receiving a copy for yourself, but you are helping to make the film free for all who want it.

We are purposely offering the film as a reward at the low level of $10, because we would love to see huge community support for this project.

$10 is doable to make this film free to the whole world!  Please chip in now!

http://www.wethetrees.com/projects/33-seeds-of-permaculture-a-tropical-documentary

The entire film is being crowdfunded. The first round was $12,500 and successful! It paid for the equipment, travel, expenses and a very low fee for the filmmakers, who are basically donating their time. (Incidentally, it was that fundraiser that inspired Christian Shearer to explore the idea of starting WeTheTrees, after the campaign proposal was rejected on kickstarter. And now, here it is. How cool is that?) This fundraising effort is for an additional $5,300 to cover the editing, production and distribution costs of the film.  No one is profiting from this. The filmmakers basically volunteered their time, and not a single person in the film took compensation for their time.  All of this for the expressed intention of giving this movie away for free!

The film has already been shot, and we literally have hundreds of hours of incredible beautiful footage of various permaculture (and other) sites throughout Thailand. The Film travels to Rak Tamachat just as this exciting permaculture site begins its transition from conventional farm to Permaculture. We visit the Panya Project, to see what is possible in as short as five years on an active tropical permaculture community.  We see the sights and sounds of Pun Pun Educational Center as well as a number of other locations in Thailand.  Christian Shearer (founder of WeTheTrees and the Panya Project) guides the film through the philosophy of permaculture and a number of tropical strategies to help bring health and resilience to the permaculture farm. The film also talks with Belgian natural builder Geoffroy Godeau, international permaculture designer and natual builder Matt Prosser, landscape designer and natural builder Taiga Marthens, soil scientist Marilyn McHugh and more about the various aspects of permaculture.

Your help in completing this project is sincerely appreciated and together we can make a film that will truly make a difference!

Thanks in advance for the support, and really the entire permaculture community thanks you for helping to make this film free for all!

Thanks for what you do in this world!

Any funding above and beyond the goal that we set will be put toward the making of the next film in our series, an exploration of Urban Permaculture. We are very excited about this one as well!

Please check it out and support the effort:

http://www.wethetrees.com/projects/33-seeds-of-permaculture-a-tropical-documentary

OUR GOAL FOR THE FILM

Simply put, we want to get the film out to as many people as possible. It is a film with a grounding in the principles of permaculture, set in the tropics.  It is a mixture of information and inspiration, and comes at such a critical time on this planet.  We hope that it is one of the thousands of efforts to move this planet in the right direction.

ABOUT THE FILM COMPANY:

Ahooha is a documentary film company that works to produce films of extremely high quality and impact. Our most previous film is the acclaimed film about life choices, Freedom Ahead. We intend to make a series of films about permaculture because we believe that these powerful design tools not only make the physical world a better place but also bring enrichment to peoples lives.  We aim to have our next film be focused on urban permaculture.  The second in the series of Seeds of Permaculture documentaries.

The people behind Ahooha Films are an inspiring and uplifting couple named Rogier van der Voort and Greetje Mulder. They have been traveling the world capturing the beauty and inspiration through their photos and films.

ABOUT WETHETREES

WeTheTrees is the only crowdfunding platform built by and for permaculturalists. We are excited to be one of the very first campaigns to be successful on this great site. However, every WeTheTrees campaign must be fully funded before its reaches its deadline, so please help us make that happen.

WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON’T REACH OUR GOAL

If we don’t raise our goal, we don’t get anything. Donors pledge the amounts, but don’t actually pay until the goal is reached and the funding deadline has passed. We want to avoid this so please spread the word. Everything helps! When we meet our goal we will begin the next stage of the film and keep everyone up to date about EVERYTHING along the way through updates to this campaign.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

This film is only going to be possible with the help of the permaculture community. We want this to be your film just as much as it is ours. The more people who participate the more chance we have of getting the film out. To help out please “Like” this page on Facebook (just below the video above), email this WeTheTrees link:

http://www.wethetrees.com/projects/33-seeds-of-permaculture-a-tropical-documentary

and let your friends, permaculture groups, and co-conspiritors know about the film and this campaign. We would love for people to get involved on a local level.

Thank you so much for contributing to this campaign. 
You truly are giving the gift of this film to the entire world. 

Please check it out and support the effort:

http://www.wethetrees.com/projects/33-seeds-of-permaculture-a-tropical-documentary