The latest progress I have made is to attempt to help fund my environmental effort in the traditional open source way — by asking for donations. I have set up a PayPal account and this little button below will appear on my new site sidebar. I am placing it here to make sure it works!

I was inspired by their tagline, “Connecting You to Communities of Action”, so I developed a more modest motto, “Changing the World One Small Action at a Time.”  I don’t think it’s perfect yet, but it’s a start.

I have observed many individuals who are very successful in promoting their projects and it seems that joining networks and having lots of ratings and comments really helps. I continue to be inspired by Diane McEachern of Big Green Purse as she starts a women’s business initiative, Big Green Breakthrough. She is an author that has built on her success to make a real difference to the environment by offering a list of green products and rating claims of “earth friendly” and “natural”.

As I am looking for more work right now, I am going to try the Bright Green Talent site to try to obtain enough contract employment to support my project and myself with environmentally friendly work. Due to the downturn in the economy and the fact that I have not received any funding, I have had to reconsider my idea of riding my motorcycle across Canada. I still might be able to achieve this goal, but I really need to establish some financial stability before I can bring my workshop to the people.

]]> http://www.livemorelightly.com/blog/2009/05/joining-the-wiser-earth-network/feed/ 1 http://www.livemorelightly.com/blog/2008/10/knight-challenge2008/ http://www.livemorelightly.com/blog/2008/10/knight-challenge2008/#comments Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:35:43 +0000 victoria http://livemorelightly.com/?p=291 It is time again for the Knight News Challenge, a contest that funds ideas for using open source internet tools.

Funded by the Knight Foundation, the contest seeks to assist the development of internet news that serves a constituency of readers.

There are only four rules. Winning entries must:

   1. Use or create digital, open-source technology;
   2. Use news and information to serve the public interest;
   3. Benefit at least one specific geographic community;
   4. Be innovative.

The Live More Lightly Project entered an application last year, but was unsuccessful. This year, I will try to make the case that I [Victoria] am an internet griot or troubador who is delivering the message of personal responsibility for the environment. Changing the world, one personal action at a time.

The project has evolved since last year, but because I have received no funding, my progress has been slower than I hoped. I will post my application here for comment.

Live More Lightly Knight News Challenge Application — You still have time to vote for me.

I only asked for $5,000. because that would be enough to do the tour and really investigate the on-line streaming video concept. Unfortunately, I have been turned down again. I will keep on trying to get the needed funding to complete my project.

The basic version of the book is almost in manuscript form and ready to start editing and moving forward to the next stage. I really want to spend time now recording the music and preparing a draft of the disk that will be a companion to the book. However, before I do anything else, I have to finish doing my taxes for 2007. This should not be a difficult undertaking as I do not have a lot of money to count, but I am always overwhelmed by book-keeping and even have trouble keeping up with invoicing for my work hours and keeping track of receivables.

This is where “CGA Man” should swoop in through a handy open window and say, “I’ll save you!”, but no. Accountants work in mysterious ways and I have to produce many spreadsheets to get the job done. I have to force myself to do this as the little neat piles of paper all over the studio are driving me mad.

If I can get my taxes done, I have prepared the draft of a business plan so I can get a line of credit to produce “The Live More Lightly Songbook and Workshop Guide” and have a financial cushion in case someting unexpected happens on the tour. As a responsible parent, I have to make sure that I can afford to be safe and I am not placed in dodgy situations due to lack of funds..

It would be nice to get sponsorship or a grant, but I can’t count on it. This project is my dedication to do what I can to help the environment and I am using every bit of my skills and some of my non-skills to achieve that goal. Time is not on my side here as July is coming to a close and August is making an entrance. It is foolish to plan to ride too late in the year, so I will not be going completely across Canada. I know the “iron-butt” endurance record is something like 72 hours for a motorcycle ride across Canada, but my purpose is different. I want to show the beauty of the country I know so well and have seen so many times.

As a touring musician, I have travelled over most of Canada, covering the geography week by week, as we moved to a new venue. The bands I was part of rarely played one-nighters, we were road wariors who pulled into town Sunday, set-up and played all week and pulled out Saturday night or Sunday morning. We drove vast distances sometimes to arrive at the next venue, sometimes hundreds of kilometers to play in another town. I would joke we got paid for driving at a dollar a mile plus for hauling gear and then played for free. I feel better when I’m playing for free, but it is usually not possible. I would like to give my music out and share it with everyone, but I have to make money somehow so I can make more music.

It is shocking to me how little I have produced of my own work and what brief hours I actually spend playing. I must remain dedicated to producing this one song as the first completed release. First I have to do my taxes.

I have applied to several arts funding programs and have recently received notification of a few more that I can try. So far I have not been successful in obtaining funding, but it has been really encouraging to be considered for project support by the Second Inclusiva-net Meeting: Digital Networks and Physical Space. The project development would have occurred in Madrid, Spain, which was a bit daunting as I do not speak Spanish. I planned to collaborate with European artists using internet translation similar to the service provided when the flags on the top left of my blog are selected.

The Live More Lightly Project has already opened horizons for me as I investigate the work of other artists internationally. I am still hopeful that I will obtain support to produce the project the way I envision. Even if I have to scale back due to self-funding constraints, I will still do my best to realize the spirit of the project.

The idea is to change lifestyles in the developed world one action at a time. We are each capable of doing some small effort that can add up to a big difference.

I am using the ancient methods of the musical troubadour combined with all of the most powerful modern technologies of the internet to deliver the message “We can live more lightly upon the land”. I believe this is an important message and I hope that some of these funding and sponsorship coordinators will think so too.