Many hands make light work! Crowdfunding for Antarctica Expedition
My Antarctica expedition is getting closer now, so I’m calling on al who care to assist in realizing the dream.
Crowd funding
Crowdfunding has become over the past years an important mechanism to fund projects that fall outside of the old bank system, or that carry a different risk. People can pledge even a single dollar to help someone reach their goal. I’m using this mechanism to support my expedition. The objective is not to fund the expedition, but to improve it. Creating a book about it is the first goal, but having drones for pictures from above is the ultimate goal.
The campaign is at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kblanqua/the-white-desert-wildlife-and-antarctica-photobook. You can help:
- By donating a (small) sum of money. Each backer helps convince others to support me as well. So even if you’re in doubt, that 1 dollar/euro makes a HUGE difference
- By checking out the campaign, and watching the video, the platform registeres the ineterest. The more viewers, the easier I’ll get on the first page, attracting extra donor.
- By sharing the link to the campaign on your social media. The short url is http://boek.koen.photos.
I’m trying to collect between $6000 and $9000. That will not only allow me to publish the book, but it’ll give me the means to collect aerial pictures from the Southern oceans, the icebergs and the Antarctic Peninsula. The stages are:
- $3500: I can publish the book
- $6000: With a simple drone, I can now add some aerial images to the work
- $9000: The advanced drone will allow me to take the better cameras up in the air
Antarctica Expedition
In February, I will be part of a small team that goes with a sailboat from Ushuaia to the Western parts of the Antarctic peninsula. Stay tuned here on the blog to see how that goes. An Expedition to Antarctica!
A Belgian on Antarctica
Being originally from Belgian, going to Antarctica in 2016 is a bit special. Baron De Gerlache was born in Belgian in 1896. If he would still be alive we’d celebrate his 150th birthday in the same year that I will go to Antarctica.
In 1987, he left on his first expedition that would bring him to the Antarctic region. His crew included people we know now have met so much for Antarctica. Roald Amundsen is without any doubt the most famous one.
in January 1898, he travels around what is known today as the Belgic Strait, on Antarctica.
In February of that same year, his expedition became trapped in the ice near Peter Island. the crew tries to get outs but they had to spend the winter on Antarctica. They spent over seven months in the darkness, before they could start Building a channel in February 1899. It would take them until March to clear the ice and allowed to ship to get back to Belgian. They arrived in November in Antwerp.
I hope of course, despite my Belgian roots, not to spend so many months on Antarctica. My hang for adventure isn’t that crazy. But one month in the sailing boats should give a first impression on how expeditions went earlier.
Stay tuned!
Koen Blanquart is a strategy consultant, journalist, and author.
Wanderlust is one of his driving factors, and he shares his travels here on Boarding Today. Koen is also the skipper of SV Bagabonda, a sailing vessel making a slow circumvention of the globe..
Koen recently published a book on how to manage a remote team: The Suitcase Office.
