We just got back from Ecuador and were wholeheartedly inspired by a local community reforestation project we believe the world must absolutely know about. With all of the heavy news related to the state of our planet, this was an energizing ray of hope, which we became resolute in magnifying. We have committed to helping get this story out in one of the most inspiring and engaging ways we know — creating a short documentary film — and would love to invite you to be a part of it, too.
These are times of regeneration and reforestation and the way in which this story is told will make all the difference in how this conservation effort grows. The organization behind this mission, TMA (Third Millennium Alliance), would like to:
- Update their narrative framework so that it can be as engaging as possible
- Develop a compelling storytelling plan
- Inspire a more expansive audience to support this crucial work
About the reforestation project.
TMA created and manages the Jama-Coaque Ecological Reserve, which is 1,500 acres of protected rainforest. It's equipped with a scientific research center that attracts biologists from around the world. It also includes a regenerative agroforestry demonstration site that features the country’s largest repository of the most endangered heirloom cacao variety on earth.
Their Community Reforestation Program has the potential to reverse deforestation and steer the regional economy onto a more sustainable course. It’s a model that can be replicated in other endangered ecosystems throughout the world.
All of the above is in service to the ultimate goal of creating a large-scale conservation corridor in northwest Manabí that connects the last surviving remnants of the Pacific Forest of Ecuador.
About the filmmaking team.
We are raising funds to send a small team of seasoned filmmakers, led by award-winning director Natasha Deganello Giraudie, deep into the Jama-Coaque Ecological Reserve to create a micro-documentary about TMA.
TMA created and manages the Jama-Coaque Ecological Reserve, which is 1,500 acres of protected rainforest. It's equipped with a scientific research center that attracts biologists from around the world. It also includes a regenerative agroforestry demonstration site that features the country’s largest repository of the most endangered heirloom cacao variety on earth.
Their Community Reforestation Program has the potential to reverse deforestation and steer the regional economy onto a more sustainable course. It’s a model that can be replicated in other endangered ecosystems throughout the world.
All of the above is in service to the ultimate goal of creating a large-scale conservation corridor in northwest Manabí that connects the last surviving remnants of the Pacific Forest of Ecuador.
About the filmmaking team.
We are raising funds to send a small team of seasoned filmmakers, led by award-winning director Natasha Deganello Giraudie, deep into the Jama-Coaque Ecological Reserve to create a micro-documentary about TMA.
Here's our plan and what we need to raise for the film:
- Phase I: Creating a Narrative Plan. *We're starting here.* This phase includes pre-production, guided ideation, trainings and narrative consultations with Natasha. Fees: $3,750
- Phase II: Creating a Distribution Plan. *And here.* This includes discerning timing and locations for the release of the film (in media outlets, film festivals, etc.) with Natasha and her team. Note: This is important to do before film production to determine how and when to premiere the film. Fees: $3,750
- Phase III: Production of the Film. After completion of Phase I and Phase II, fees will be determined for two to three (2 - 3) filmmakers, including director Natasha, to travel to and film at the Jama-Coaque Ecological Reserve and, afterward, edit the footage and create the film. Fees: TBD
Here's how you can help.
If you are in a position to contribute and have the means to take action, we hope you will donate today. No dollar amount is too small.
100% of donations (less the 2.9% and $0.30 per donation transaction fee to this platform, GoFundMe) will go directly to Third Millennium Alliance and will be earmarked for the creation and production of this short film.
Our goal is to send the filmmakers to Ecuador by May 2022. We ask that you share this widely with your connections. If just one more person helps carry this forward, we have moved ahead together.
Thank you for your consideration.
We have so got this.
For a better tomorrow,
Gabe & Alexis
Thank you for your consideration.
We have so got this.
For a better tomorrow,
Gabe & Alexis
Third Millennium Alliance is a registered 501(c)3 in the United States. All donations to TMA by U.S. citizens are tax-deductible.
About the director of the film:
Natasha Deganello Giraudie is a mother, award-winning filmmaker and teacher of nature practice. Combining her passion for film with a lifelong commitment to the nonprofit sector, Natasha pioneered the micro-documentary genre for humanitarian movements, filming in more than 30 countries and reaching expansive audiences with her work.
Prior to founding and running Micro Documentaries, she was CEO of Papilia, where she helped nonprofits raise millions of dollars with innovative stewardship software that showed donors the difference their gifts make. She started her career in her native Venezuela filming adventure and nature documentaries distributed through the Discovery Channel. She went to film school at the University of Texas at Austin and received her Master’s degree in Journalism from Stanford, where she was awarded a Stanford Haas Center for Public Service fellowship to pursue documentary work in Nepal.
Natasha has worked as a field and board volunteer with nonprofits in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the U.S., co-chairs the Advisory Board of the Dalai Lama Fellows and serves on the Advisory Boards of Tools for Peace and the Biomimicry Institute. Natasha regularly writes and teaches on topics related to storytelling, social innovation, and short documentary film production, and distribution for purposeful businesses and nonprofits.
You can learn about her latest efforts, including her nature practice, here.
More about TMA:
Founding story: Bryan, Isabel and Jerry met in South America during the first years of the new millennium. They were three idealists in their late 20s facing the prospects of a biosphere headed toward collapse. Together they set out to directly engage the greatest challenge of our times: steering humanity onto a path of sustainability and ecological resilience.
Founding story: Bryan, Isabel and Jerry met in South America during the first years of the new millennium. They were three idealists in their late 20s facing the prospects of a biosphere headed toward collapse. Together they set out to directly engage the greatest challenge of our times: steering humanity onto a path of sustainability and ecological resilience.
In 2007, they founded TMA and took the first step toward creating what is now the Jama-Coaque Reserve (JCR). They raised $16,000 from friends and family, established a nonprofit organization, and purchased 100 acres of unprotected rainforest at the very peak of Ecuador’s coastal mountain range — in the heart of the Pacific Forest.
In the beginning, they camped in the forest, lived off of bananas and soggy bread, and slept in leaky tents while exploring the beauty and biodiversity of this special place. During the years that followed, they learned by doing. They practiced permaculture, experimented with reforestation, and built a collaborative relationship with their neighbors and people throughout the region. Meanwhile, TMA continued to grow as an organization. Hundreds of people from dozens of countries came to JCR to work in the rainforest and join the effort.
Learn more about TMA here.
Organizer
Third Millennium Alliance
Beneficiary