About this project
The making of the Storybook "Ajijaak!"
FOUR Colours Productions is an aboriginal and non aboriginal collaboration of artists, language teachers, designers, elders, storytellers and more who come together to create Ojibwe Language storybooks and Cd's for sale in the community. The thing we have in common is an inherent interest in preserving creativity, culture and the arts in community- especially for the little ones!
What do we do?
We receive no funding help and we have no sponsors and hence have formed this Kickstarter project to assist in paying for the cost of printing and binding 100 full color paperback books for the first edition of "Ajijaak." We also would like to pay our translator, storyteller & artist for their efforts.
To make a book we come together and share our portions of the project- This happens in many ways. Sometimes a story comes forward, the artist suggests ideas for drawings, the translator points out items that need refinement or cultural issues, an elder advises on the project and the writer reworks their material. The discussions occur over the internet, in person and sometimes on the phone. The beauty of collaboration is that it does not take as much time & resources to make a beautiful artwork/book as it would alone and by yourself. The process allows us to feature great talent from across many communities and cultures as well and we are proud of that fact. Many of us would not be published or be able to produce a book alone but the collaborative process allows us to pool our talents and resources and shine.
Our Goal!
The intent is to assist populating the libraries, book shops, children's homes and schools with more Ojibwe language materials- the more the merrier. We reach a diverse audience from families on the rez to urban kids with awesome parents who want their kids to learn about all kinds of cultures. There can never be enough books, Cd's, videos, immersion classes and more. We feel we are a very small part of a large community trying to help save the language.The main thing we like about our process is that it allows us to do that- ''DO'' being the key word.
Where does your money go?
- Cost of printing 100 full color paperback books- it cost about $7-$8 to make one book! The books are full color, glossy paper, cardstock UV coated color covers with full ISBN numbers and pricing on them- ready to go to the library or book store!
- Cost of shipping the books to us from the printer.
- Cost for obtaining an ISBN number for the book & copyright.
- Cost of translation- we pay our valuable translators by the word. Sometimes payments are on a monthly payment plan- but at least we pay! They take valuable time out of their schedules to translate and proof read.
- Cost of story and artwork creation- we pay our artists & writers. Sometimes payments are on a monthly payment plan but at least we pay! They have to buy art supplies or use their time to write and re-write a story.
Please donate to this great cause!
Help save the Language today.
We ask that you contribute to our cause and we have a video showing our great track record to date of making quality books/cd's and featuring some incredible elders, teachers, artists and people from all over!
Miigwetch!
FOUR Colours Productions
FAQ
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
Pledge $4 or more Pledge $4 or more
Contributors of $4.00 will receive a FOUR Colours Productions ''Thank You'' card that has the words for the numbers 1-10 on it in Ojibwe. The card can be used as a learning tool for counting.
Pledge $10 or more Pledge $10 or more
Contributors of $10.00 or more will receive all of the above AND a FOUR Colours Productions color copy page of "Ajijaak" artwork from the book. The copy will be from a page in the book and have art and text on it. Great to frame for an artwork or classroom decoration.
Pledge $25 or more Pledge $25 or more
Contributors of $25.00 will receive all of the above AND a copy of the new "Ajijaak" book. The book will be paperback, full color, with Ojibwe & English text.
Pledge $50 or more Pledge $50 or more
Contributors of $50.00 will receive all of the above but it will be a signed copy of the new "Ajijaak" book, plus a matching coloring book, a CD of the book spoken in Ojibwe.
Pledge $100 or more Pledge $100 or more
Contributors of $100.00 will receive all of the above AND have their name in the front of the book listed as an "Ajijaak Contributor" and also listed on our Facebook page as a "Ajijaak Contributor." And of course, a huge HUG at every social occasion!
Project By
Connected as Brita Brookes (517 friends)
"An aboriginal and non aboriginal storytelling collaboration creating language learning items for children of all colours."
FOUR Colours Productions consists of an ever changing team of artists, language teachers and translators, designers and educators. Our mission is to help in the battle to preserve languages by creating language books and materials that utilize and employ local talent and create a new tool for expression and teaching. As language resources for languages like Ojibwe are far less than in English we feel this is a worthy and needed mission. We would eventually like to also utilize technology but will do so with the arts as a main item of focus as children respond to visual stimulus. We feel that the arts and language are an inherent right and part of one's being and culture. We feel that through collaboration we can create more books that are of a high quality at a lower cost of time and money than if one person were to do so on their own. We also feel that through this collaborative process we can attain new perspectives and ideas that we would not otherwise have attained alone.
