Kickstarter

UPDATE : to answer questions from the emails i have been getting: yes this is for real. no i am not dying and giving away all my possessions. yes even if you can't attend the celebration in december if you buy a ticket you own the land for life. now back to the show...

hello everybody.

we are just 5 months away so this has to happen internet fast. but then again that is the speed of life these days. digitally we are everywhere and physically and we can be on the other side of the planet in less than 24 hours. never forget that is amazing. and this is an all or nothing campaign because if there are not 500 people on this planet that want to take part in this, then I have seriously miscalculated things.

where i call home in belize is stunning and nature abounds and i know it heals and helps me on many levels. you really have to come and see. and as i grow and wake up more, i am reminded again the best way to be is to share.

so come join me in celebration as we pass through a world age of great speculation and excitement.  belize is rich in mayan history and culture and let’s honor and celebrate that as we are witnesses and participants to a new beginning.

i propose three days of festival - december 20th 21st and 22nd. on 54 acres of incredible land. global music. artists. performers. speakers. filmmakers. comedians. bonfires and laughter under the moon. ceremony at cerros maya temple site.

and here is the best part. after the festival you will own this land. always.

as a gift i am sharing this land with you. by december the property will be a land trust and more specifically owned by a newly created belize company called beyond 2012 belize llc. everyone that buys a ticket here and all the performers will each be gifted one share of equal ownership in the company. so you will legally own the land. not just a part of it. all of it. just as much as myself and all the other owners. this is not a timeshare deal as you own the land all the time. this is a festival ticket for life because you will own this land and the company for the rest of your life. and you are welcome on it anytime.

think of all the things we can create on our common space throughout our years.  the 2012 festival is just the beginning and every future celebration, party, lecture, performance, film screening, workshop, music show, every event will be free for you to attend as it is your land. right here. http://goo.gl/maps/0gCS

obviously this will take some coordination and there will be many brilliant minds to advise and together we can come up with some common sense rules so that no one owner comes and chops down all the mahogany trees or otherwise wrecks the land. quite the opposite. i expect this place to grow and be an inspiring example of how a global and digitally connected newly created community can evolve their common land.

and i know anyone with a kickstarer account and four hundred and twelve bucks can buy a festival ticket but please consider this. if you are not willing to share then please don't come. I am serious about this. ownership is ego. and it is hard to let go of. and while the land will be yours,  remember it is also ours. this space is the commons and collectively we own and evolve it. and i assume the other owners will want you to act with the same highest intentions and want to see this land achieve great use. and remember, it is ours for life so of course we are going to take care of it. it is our earth, our home. all of it is.

and that is certainly something we need to discuss amongst all humans. as a species we are not kind to our host and that has to change also. to be discussed further but back to celebration....

you ticket price includes all the rice and beans and fried plantain you can eat throughout the festival and all the water you can drink and bathe with. there will be lots of other food and drink available to purchase. there is room for camping on the land which most people will get to do.

and 100% of the money raised here will go to developing the land - your land remember - and producing the festival. i would not be giving away half a million dollars worth of land if i was looking for profit.  there will be open accounting of how the money is spent available for all to view on www.beyond2012belize.com i just bought this domain so it is not live yet but that site will serve us and the land and among other thing we can use it to have open forums and discussions on how to move forward with the land and our new community.

and understand this. as with the ticket bought here, your ownership is NOT transferable and the company shares and the land will NEVER be for sale. you can however, relinquish your ownership any time you desire.

so what i would like to see happen on the land after the celebration? food grown. buildings created. shared stories of origin and beliefs with our new neighbors. a place for educators to share their knowledge. an artistic play space. stages for music to be heard and learned and shared. a model of off grid sustainability. a local base for our digitally connected new community. a bioneers home. a couchsurfing spot. a wwoof farm. a google base.

but i will be just one of many stewards and collectively we will decide what to do.

and who would I like to see serve on a board of advisers and co-owners?

jonathon weisburger miller – a friend i implicitly trust, a permaculturist, and protector of land and animals.

marcin jakubowski – a brilliant engineer who is currently open source building the tools need to build societies

amy goodman – journalist, activist and fearless speaker of truth to power

graham hancock – explorer of myths and widely unknown histories

paul stamets – mycologist and educator

xeni jardin - an aggregator of wonderful things

joe rogan – an elegant proponent of perturbations of the mind and one hell of a funny guy.

there are so many more people that I think would be great additions to our new community but again, this is not just up to me and collectively we can come up with a list of who we think can best guide development. hopefully then whoever we vote for will want to be part of this grand experiment and owners of this land along with the rest of us.

Why am I doing this?

i know community can work on a small scale and i like life on the village level. i like that in belize i know most of the people i see each day. in the united states i spend most of my time in big cities and therefore i am absolutely media saturated.  screens and ads everywhere. it is practically unavoidable and i don’t care for most of it. i would rather be surrounded by nature and countryside and water. in fact, i think more time in nature is necessary to help people unfund planetary destruction.  when we are removed for the natural environment, it is easy to forget the industrialized damage that is causing rapid and detrimental effects all over the planet. out of site is out of mind and i think the same thing applies to diet. it is easy to eat animals that are sliced into circles wrapped in plastic with advertisement on it, it looks nothing like the animal it was. it is easy to forget that it was a living creature that came from birth and a family. i think more people, if they had to kill a cow, to cut her up, watch her bleed out and gasp last breaths of  life, clean her and cook her, well i think people would eat more fruits and vegetables.

same thing for the planet.  more time in nature, surrounded by the vast majority of our host that is not man made, will make people more protective of her. i know it has for me.

this celebration we produce together. we can decide who to invite and how to best invest the money raised here. i have spent months talking to producers and promoters and artists reps and management and lawyers and layers of people that are part of the usual festival production. and here is the thing. i don’t think it is necessary. now more than ever we are the media. there are no barriers to reach directly who we want to.  if you can’t speak with someone in person, there are 100 ways to reach them electronically and we live in hyper aware times. so to the artists – if you want to share your art and talent and knowledge than let us know. if you want to participate in the spectacle and own this land and be here anytime and contribute to the enrichment of the land and community then please join us. i have seen how festival budgets can balloon with hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on talent and production but i say we put most of the money into the land and future use and i know there are incredible people and groups that will participate for the cost of airfare and food and lodging. remember the whole point is to share.

it is a grand experiment but then again so is life.  and i am so excited to be here at such an auspicious and unique time in history. the end of the mayan long count calendar here in the heart of ancient maya land. i hope you join us in celebration here in december - on your land.

here are the pictures from the above video showing the land and surrounding area

http://beyond2012belize.shutterfly.com/