Good Morning, SuperForest!
For the past several days, SuperForester Vanessa has been telling me all about an exciting project she and SuperForester Derek have decided to take on with their friends Ryan and Mandy. Even more exciting is the fact that she thinks SuperForest can help them out! So naturally, I asked her if she would do us the favor of writing up a guest post to tell us all about it. And she kindly agreed. Here’s what she had to say:
Imagine giving up everything you own to only a few bags of necessities. Imagine traveling over 6,500 miles around the United States for over two years. Imagine finding hundreds of neo-villages practicing sustainability in food, work, and communication. Then imagine doing this on bicycles.
Meet Ryan and Mandy.
Their story goes like this: Years ago, the two found themselves lacking zest and fulfillment for the everyday humdrum. Wondering what it is they truly wanted out of life, drastic changes were made. Both managed to minimize to only what would fit on their bikes, said good-bye to their old lives and hello to the open road.
Along the way they met thousands of people following their bliss, interviewed many iconic sustainability figures like Bill McKibben, Richard Heinburg and Diana Leafe Christian, and experienced an adventure that would change their lives forever.
I first made contact with them over the internet when I stumbled upon their website. Excited for this couple, my partner who is a filmmaker, offered his services for their project Within Reach, a soon-to-be documentary about their experiences on the road and the communities they visited. They responded with an enthusiastic yes and so began a beautiful friendship.
That’s why in May of this year Derek, his little brother, and I took off in our veggie-powered mobile to meet Ryan and Mandy on the road and help film the last leg of their journey to their new home, Hummingbird Ranch in New Mexico.
We managed to successfully drive cross-country with our 30 year old car multiple times. We adopted a nomadic lifestyle, staying in a different State Park everyday when we weren’t staying with the communities, and we sought to maintain a healthy diet even with such uncertain circumstances.
Our trip was an adventure that I will never forget. For me, the month and a half we spent on the road was one of the most life-changing experiences I’ve ever had. We were able to witness first-hand, humans co-creating a new reality; harmoniously building a better world for tomorrow. It wasn’t until this trip that I realized how important building community really is.
The intentional communities we were able to visit restored a fire in me. As much as I love the internet and it’s ability to share knowledge, it was amazing to see proof of communal living that is working to build something beautiful. The energy that vibrated within all of the people we met was so refreshing.
Now that the journey is over, it’s time to start putting Within Reach’s final edit together. But we need help. We’ve started a fundraising campaign over at Kickstarter, an amazing platform for funding creative projects. Our goal is $25,000 by Christmas…and we need all the help we can get! We’ve already raised almost $10,000 in just over two weeks. Mindblowing! What’s super rad about Kickstarter is that when you pledge you also get rewarded. The rewards range from getting a DVD copy of Within Reach to a personal consultation with Ryan and Mandy about living in sustainable community. On the site you can see the campaign video, the rewards, and you can also read a little more about Ryan and Mandy’s adventure. The response has been amazing so far and I’m so proud to be a part of this creation. Whatever you have to offer, whether it’s an encouraging comment or merely passing the site along, we’d appreciate it more than you know.
xo,
Vanessa
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