INFO
The mechanics of BTP
If true altruism exists, it is not a forte of the human race, nevertheless, BTP strives to be as altruistic as possible. Our desire is to help for the sake of helping rather than to support a personal agenda. We want to be compassionate and try to keep this notion within our horizon at all time. There is no simple answer to whether or not true altruism exists but for the sake of efficiency we had to acknowledge and move-on because we didn't want to just ponder, we wanted to act. The solution that we devised is three-fold:
1. Personal connection: understanding each other
Following our one-on-one connection mantra we want to get to know the people that we interact with and help them get to know us. These exchanges create the sound base necessary to ensure that the help Blue Tree Project provides actually reaches the deserving individuals. We rather not rely on existing organizations over which we have no control and sadly no reason to trust. We owe this to the supporters of BTP.
2. Education: rewards and incentives
Through education we can readily help local communities, generate connections and eventually establish mutual respect that pave the way for cultural exchanges and collaborations. (Artistic collaboration is one of our founder's special interests. He wrote his doctoral dissertation on this topic.)
Before starting new BTP chapters we make sure our help is understood and welcomed by local authorities.
Blue Leaf Scholarship: deserving student receives school/university fees and board for 1 year or complementary support when school is free;
Blue Stem Award: deserving teacher receives laptop computer, books or anything else they might need to perform better;
Blue Seed Award: schools or other local institutions receive funding for a specific project.
3. Cultural values: identify, amplify and share
BTP helps communities around the world help themselves through sustainable systems. On site, we identify a unique practice within the community that can be codified, amplified, instantiated and shared widely. We want to extract the essence of the community, what makes it different from the rest of the world, what makes its culture unique.
Once these characteristics, knowledges and/or beliefs are identified, we apply our understanding of the world (technology, esthetics, branding, design, architecture, etc.) and our connections to devise a way to present this uniqueness to other communities. This way, the world gains an authentic display of culture through local artifacts created by insiders. Pedagogical, historical, etc. layers can further propagate the understanding of that culture. Although somewhat reductive, one could say that, thanks to its outsider's perspective, BTP can, when appropriate, help locals create more honest and relevant cultural artifacts. These may include objects, events and spaces.
100% of the profit goes to the community. We help share the profit as evenly as possible and we will reach out to economists and anthropologists for advice on how to distribute this new wealth in a non-intrusive and non-disruptive manner. Parts of the profit could go towards education through Blue Tree Project's awards and scholarship completing the circle of self-reliance.
It is paramount to exercise caution and preserve those precious tribal ecosystems wherever they exist. With this in mind, BTP's actions and help should be as light-handed as possible. We have a profound respect for local cultures and want to help them flourish wherever our help is welcome.
------
Origins of Blue Tree Project
Pierre Le Gal de Kerangal, Ph.D., founder of Blue Tree Project
Blue Tree Project cares about the welfare of others and wants to act on it. We want to make a difference. Misunderstanding spawns from miscommunication or lack of communication so to remove noise and bump-up the signal individuals need to speak to each other more, preferably one-on-one.
Good conversations make us realize that we are not so different after all, regardless of our various backgrounds. The kaleidoscopic range of cultures should unite the human race and make us stronger, not set us apart. Understanding and appreciating our differences are the first steps towards the recognition and acknowledgement that we are all connected. We are one.
During a visit to the country of Ghana in West Africa in 2012 I was introduced to a village with great potential and little connection to the rest of the world. The generosity of the people of this village and their desire to share their culture made me want to become involved and start a project that would foster cultural collaborations. The first logical step in this direction was to support education. Blue Tree Project was born.
If true altruism exists, it is not a forte of the human race, nevertheless, BTP strives to be as altruistic as possible. Our desire is to help for the sake of helping rather than to support a personal agenda. We want to be compassionate and try to keep this notion within our horizon at all time. There is no simple answer to whether or not true altruism exists but for the sake of efficiency we had to acknowledge and move-on because we didn't want to just ponder, we wanted to act. The solution that we devised is three-fold:
1. Personal connection: understanding each other
Following our one-on-one connection mantra we want to get to know the people that we interact with and help them get to know us. These exchanges create the sound base necessary to ensure that the help Blue Tree Project provides actually reaches the deserving individuals. We rather not rely on existing organizations over which we have no control and sadly no reason to trust. We owe this to the supporters of BTP.
2. Education: rewards and incentives
Through education we can readily help local communities, generate connections and eventually establish mutual respect that pave the way for cultural exchanges and collaborations. (Artistic collaboration is one of our founder's special interests. He wrote his doctoral dissertation on this topic.)
Before starting new BTP chapters we make sure our help is understood and welcomed by local authorities.
Blue Leaf Scholarship: deserving student receives school/university fees and board for 1 year or complementary support when school is free;
Blue Stem Award: deserving teacher receives laptop computer, books or anything else they might need to perform better;
Blue Seed Award: schools or other local institutions receive funding for a specific project.
3. Cultural values: identify, amplify and share
BTP helps communities around the world help themselves through sustainable systems. On site, we identify a unique practice within the community that can be codified, amplified, instantiated and shared widely. We want to extract the essence of the community, what makes it different from the rest of the world, what makes its culture unique.
Once these characteristics, knowledges and/or beliefs are identified, we apply our understanding of the world (technology, esthetics, branding, design, architecture, etc.) and our connections to devise a way to present this uniqueness to other communities. This way, the world gains an authentic display of culture through local artifacts created by insiders. Pedagogical, historical, etc. layers can further propagate the understanding of that culture. Although somewhat reductive, one could say that, thanks to its outsider's perspective, BTP can, when appropriate, help locals create more honest and relevant cultural artifacts. These may include objects, events and spaces.
100% of the profit goes to the community. We help share the profit as evenly as possible and we will reach out to economists and anthropologists for advice on how to distribute this new wealth in a non-intrusive and non-disruptive manner. Parts of the profit could go towards education through Blue Tree Project's awards and scholarship completing the circle of self-reliance.
It is paramount to exercise caution and preserve those precious tribal ecosystems wherever they exist. With this in mind, BTP's actions and help should be as light-handed as possible. We have a profound respect for local cultures and want to help them flourish wherever our help is welcome.
------
Origins of Blue Tree Project
Pierre Le Gal de Kerangal, Ph.D., founder of Blue Tree Project
Blue Tree Project cares about the welfare of others and wants to act on it. We want to make a difference. Misunderstanding spawns from miscommunication or lack of communication so to remove noise and bump-up the signal individuals need to speak to each other more, preferably one-on-one.
Good conversations make us realize that we are not so different after all, regardless of our various backgrounds. The kaleidoscopic range of cultures should unite the human race and make us stronger, not set us apart. Understanding and appreciating our differences are the first steps towards the recognition and acknowledgement that we are all connected. We are one.
During a visit to the country of Ghana in West Africa in 2012 I was introduced to a village with great potential and little connection to the rest of the world. The generosity of the people of this village and their desire to share their culture made me want to become involved and start a project that would foster cultural collaborations. The first logical step in this direction was to support education. Blue Tree Project was born.
