Cycling2Connect
Cycling to connect
We are a couple with the goal of biking in South America (initially) to connect NGOs and people together to be able to get more good things done in our planet.
Versión español
Svensk version
We are Jonna from Sweden and Francisco from Venezuela.
We are a traveling married couple who are ready to fire up our traveling lifestyle and use what we have learned into something that we believe in and that could make a difference for others. 
Connecting good forces
We have both been traveling for many years now. We have been volunteering and visiting places where we’ve met amazing heart-driven people who are working very hard to help other people, animals and the environment to make changes for the better.
The work that they are doing is very important for all of us and for the coming generations to have a much brighter future than the one we are facing now.
There’s one thing we’ve noticed along the way. Even though there are many great organizations doing amazing work-there’s no an easy way for them to connect with each other. There is also very little information about what they are doing for the rest of the people that don’t participate directly in their actions.
We believe that if they all could be gathered in one place online to start communicating and working easily together- so much more could be done for the common wellbeing.
Our goal is to make this connection possible.
But, how?
We are going to jump on those bike saddles to start a journey to connect organisations in a social network-like online platform so they can do even more good things- connecting and working together with each other and also with you and I.
Initially we will biking around the Spanish speaking countries in South America to find and research non governmental organisations (NGOs). The data collection will include interviews, volunteering work, photos and videos. It will be gathered and a platform will be created to start the connection.
In the meantime, everything we will be experiencing is going to be documented and you can be part of it here: http://cycling2connect.com
Why does this mean so much for us?
We met in an Volunteering Academy in the Caribbean where Jonna was working with horses in liberty and Francisco was the team leader for one of the climate change teams.
Since then we have lived in India practicing yoga and meditation, played music in Argentina and recently started an organic vegetable garden in a farm in Uruguay.
Francisco has a lot of experience working online and creating websites and Jonna has a background in Media. She’s also being working with animals and people with disabilities as her profession is Occupational Therapist.
Our personal travel experiences and the ones we have gathered together have made us realize that we are ready for a challenge like this one- where we can use what we have learned in a way that could benefit many.
It is something that we have been talking about for some time and that we believe in very much and now we have the chance to finally make it happen. It will challenge us to use ourselves in the best possible way and we do have a lot to learn and many challenges that await us- but we couldn't feel more ready to meet all of that!
We are in a perfect moment in our lives to make this dream come true. But we could really use your support to be able to make it happen. 
What is needed to make this happen?
We are going to embark in the first phase of our project which is research and investigation.
For this we will need bike equipment, insurance, filming equipment and to cover some of the traveling expenses.
We’ll use CouchSurfing, Warmshowers, friend’s places, camping, hostel’s deals and busking to lower the amount of money needed for our traveling expenses as much as possible.
In fact we are planning to spend in average about 15 USD/day for both of us, which is really low, but because of our traveling experience we know it is very possible.
You can see how the money we are asking for is going to be used in the following chart:
When, where and for how long?
We are going to start the data collection already on the 27th of December 2017 here in Durazno, Uruguay, where we are right now. And the 5th of January we will start the bike journey heading to the east of the country to then follow the coastline towards Argentina.
We are going to bike for 10 months initially. After that point we will see if it’s needed/possible to continue.
How can you help?
We really believe that great changes can be made by working together, just as the goal with our project.
If you believe that our project can make a difference and you would choose to help us out economically, we would really appreciate it. We cannot do this alone and the more support we can get- the more and better we can do it.
If you don't have the opportunity to contribute with money we will appreciate just as much if you want to put some of your time to spread and share what we are doing to people you think would be interested of being a part of this too.
If you need more information or have any kinds of questions or curiosity- we are more than happy to get in contact! (see contact information further down)
Rewards
You can choose to just donate to our cause without expecting anything in return. But if you allow us, we would love to give you something in return - even if small - as a token of appreciation!
Below you will find the rewards we will be giving to the donors who choose to receive them:
(As of 12/21/2017 the exchange rate for Swedish Krona is 1 usd=8.4kr)
50kr - Website wall of gratitude.
Your name in our wall of gratitude forever.
250kr - HandMade Thank you Card
Above reward plus we will handmade a thank you card and send it to you.
500kr - Social Media Shout out
Above rewards plus a personalized mention in our social media for you or your company (if it’s aligned with our values).
700kr - Postcard
Above rewards (From this level of rewards we’ll include the thank you note in the postcard) plus we will send you a postcard from anywhere in South America that we are going to be and you would like to have a souvenir.
1000kr - Postcard Series
Above rewards plus we will send you a postcard from each country we visit.
2000kr - Music Video
Above rewards plus we will make a personalized music video for you with the song of your choice.
5000kr - Videos Credits
We will give you the above reward plus your name or your company’s immortalized in the credits of all the videos we make through our journey.
10000kr - Monthly Skype call
All of the above rewards plus 1 on 1 monthly skype call for updates in our journey and to just speak about anything really.
More about us and our adventure
We have lived in a farm through the organization Workaway for almost six months now. The farm is located five kilometres from a village in the middle of Uruguay.
We have two bikes to get around with; to be able to buy food, to get internet access and do all kind of errands. By having those bikes as our transport, this idea we have had of traveling by bike turned more and more into a realistic plan.
We have been feeding ourselves with good nutrition for our bodies, minds and souls and gotten deeper into farming, meditation and yoga. During our time here we have challenged ourselves with a 108-day yoga program which we are finishing at new year’s. Call us crazy if you like, because we will be doing 108 sun salutations 00:00 on the 1st of January!
In this journey that we are about to get on, we want to travel as cheap as we can by exchanging services and using all the amazing organizations to support travelers such as Workaway, Warmshowers and Couchsurfing.
We think traveling should be for everybody and shouldn't be something someone cannot do because of lack of money. To meet people in different cultures and see new places, nature and animals are some things that can give so much value, perspectives and lessons to one’s life. 
Besides our main project, we are up for having experiences such as surfing, rock climbing, dancing, diving- you name it! We will be doing this ONLY by exchanging skills, honest reviews, playing music, online support, etc. We believe that the purpose of life is to experience it and that is what we are going to do and money should never be an obstacle.
We will definitely be documenting our experiences, so we hope you follow us along the way!
To connect with us:
Web page: http://cycling2connect.com
Facebook: Cycling2Connect
Instagram: Cycling2Connect
Thank you so much for reading and for the consideration to support us!
Much love
Jonna&Francisco
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Ps. Many thanks to our friends Fede and Fefa in BiciFan for their support and the helping out with the bikes!
