Gratitude and reflections of last year's theft

Just over 13 months ago, my cameras, lenses, and passports were stolen out of my car.

I lost over $6000 worth of equipment and was left with a smashed window on a city street. I yelled, grasped for air, cried, and ran around the block in utter disbelief.

Ironically, I had driven to a meditation session that evening because I was too exhausted to bike, as I would typically.

Why did I leave expensive equipment in the vehicle, you may ask? The day prior to the theft, I had photographed my friends' wedding, and in the following day, I was about to move into another friend's house. I therefore had nearly all of my possessions in the car ready to go. Thankfully, THANKFULLY - earlier that morning I had taken the memory cards out and backed up all of the wedding photos!

I had no insurance on my gear and the coverage for my vehicle was barebones. I turned to social media for help - in looking out for the stolen equipment online and offline. I emailed and called local camera shops to keep an eye out for incoming cameras with my serial numbers. I incessantly searched online marketplaces for listings of my cameras and lenses. A day (or two? it was a period of complete time warp) later, a friend in California found a suspicious and familiar listing on Seattle Craigslist. The serial number and appearance both checked out. Bingo.

For the following several days, I was obsessed with the idea of tracking this person down. For justice. To get my belongings back. To make things right again. I dreamed of meeting up with this "seller," laying it down on their face, and rightfully snatching back what's mine. Food didn't taste like anything anymore. Water and air was just for survival, until I get the next text or lead that I could bring myself one step closer to meeting up with this person that had stolen so much from me.

Alas, despite multiple attempts with different phone numbers and offers, we lost this "seller" into the ether. The police was unwilling to help without a planned physical meetup. I lost sleep, was anxious and depressed day in and day out. It wore me out heavily.

Worse, because my passports were also taken, I would have been unable to travel out of the country (remember, this was 2019, not 2020 😜) for a wedding gig overseas just a month later. I swiftly filed a stolen passport report and filed (and paid a hefty sum) for a replacement. Time was ticking.

As I steadily accepted the reality that the only way forward is to accept what's gone, I also steadily regained my sense of self. With the help of friends near and far, along with meditation and teachings by great teachers of the past and present, I was reminded of all that I still (and will always) have - my able body, life skills, my meaningful connections, nurturing friendships, diverse experiences, stories, and much more than just my basic needs of shelter, food, water, and air. I was reminded that no matter what physical possessions and objects are ripped from me with or without my consent, I am inherently the same person. My multi-thousand dollar camera rig didn't (and doesn't) define me, nor do the visa stamps in my passports. All that I've gained since I picked up my first camera and embarked on that first international trip are embedded into my very being. I am who I am in part due to the human experiences, not the human-made objects.

So I wrote a letter to the thief (for those who haven't read it and are curious, here it is). I expressed my pain and perspective on what the stolen gear meant to me and my community. I wondered about how life had led that person to commit that act towards another person. As I wrote, the bottled up anger subsided to give way for empathy, release, and finally, peace.

And thus began a new chapter of acceptance and healing. Friends and even humans I hardly know or talked to came out of the blue to pitch in on my crowdfunding campaign. Folks wrote to me, called me directly, left me sweet messages, all to help guide me forward. And I really needed and appreciate it all because I'll be very open and honest - $6000 is an astronomical sum of money to me. I've earned less than that since this calendar year began, and even with 2019 being my most successful professional year (financially speaking), this was a blow that drastically shifted all of my spending and life choices.

Even though it's been over a year since this incident, I can still feel emotionally scarred from the break-in. The violation was surreal and sadly I do not believe I'll forget this.

It's been a long process with lots of unforeseen events (this year has been all about that for just about everybody!). What I am happy to report is that, with the help of dozens of people through the GoFundMe campaign last autumn, as well as friends and clients who have hired me for gigs until right before the pandemic, I was able to over this past winter assemble the majority of my kit back together. And today, largely due to the continued support of you kind folks on patreon (while scoring some killer deals on used/previously-loved gear), and I now have a full kit that allows me to create as much if not more than before.

Now, allow me to further work on myself - the biggest obstacle I've continuously faced - to keep my sense of self grounded, humble, while always striving for growth and sustained joy.

A heartfelt and special shoutout to Anica in becoming the latest and 50th(!) patron, to my cousin Jackie in hopping into the inner circle last week, and no doubt gratitude owed to Alyson, my sista from a different mother, in choosing to support me especially through these chaotic times.

With gratitude on this day I felt blue, then thought of all of you,
Jonathan

PS: As I continue to evaluate my relationship with social media and the impact it can have on my psychic and well-being, one thing that is certain is the shift of my attention and energy on creating content for my patreon supporters first, social media second. Although a portion of what I'll write, shoot, edit, and reshare will make it to FB + Insta as well, the best way to ensure receiving content by me is to become a supporter on patreon, and/or sign up for my (soon to be available) email list - free, of course! Regardless, I thank you for your attention and support in whatever shape or form you've given me through the years. 🙏

copied and adjusted from the original patreon post here.

Permaculture video series feat. Starhawk, Doug Bullock, Rosemary Morrow, more!

Happy new season patreon gang, 

I've been eagerly anticipating the release of this ongoing video shorts series with you for some months now. Having been in one location primarily these past several weeks has allowed me to finally catch up on the (huge) backlog of life admin, including these draft postings that have sat for too long! 

This permaculture-themed series is made possible due to the extraordinary foresight and artistry of my friends Dana Wilson, Delvin Solkinson, TJ Squires, in addition to several other collaborators. Dana and Delvin and I crossed paths in the spring of 2013 in the forests of coastal British Columbia (BC) when I was a homestead farm helper at their mutual friends' - essentially, I was a WWOOFer.  Having had prior exposure to organic food production and principles of permaculture (without knowing then the extent and depth it has!) while working in rural Panama, I intended to dive deeper into these realms starting in BC, then continually learning and practicing from more folks in different climates and seasons as I headed south to further diversify the hands-on experiences. 

Dana had previously lived and worked in India doing video production, and returned to her native Canada to pursue a simpler way of living while deepening her ecological observations, design, and practice. We met within my first week or 2 on the homestead farm of our mutual friends, and I remember kicking it off well with Dana immediately. Dana is one of the influential friends in my life who has shown me the spectrum of joys and challenges of living in a tiny house, while balancing a life rooted in ethics and artistry yet embracing capital as a necessary part of modern society. I am so thankful for our friendship and all the subtle and deeper life advice as well as stories she has shared with me through the years. 

Delvin has been a permaculture practitioner and teacher since well before we met, and has studied under/alongside permaculture masters such as Bill Mollison, Geoff Lawton, the Bullock Brothers, and many more. Dana was at the time taking one of Delvin's advanced PDC (permaculture design course), and invited me to sit-in on a couple of their meet-up's to tour and learn from existing permaculture sites in the small town where we met and also in Vancouver BC. I remember being awestruck by the intentionality of design rooted in knowledge + observations of natural systems (part of my studies in university) and the harmony that sprouts from it for the humans, wildlife, as well as the built environment. Delvin is currently residing at CoSM, Chapel of the Sacred Mirrors, where he continues his teachings, and works alongside TJ Squires, the video editor of this series.  

Both Dana & Delvin are fellow supporters here on Patreon, and it is our hope since we connected to establish an ongoing sharing of (my) media themed in nature, community, and systems thinking to create content that's aligned with our social and environmental ethics and principles. In these videos are clips that I have recorded all along the west coast of North America, New Zealand, and more. I certainly wish for us to keep doing this for a long, long time! 

Well, without delay, here is a list of shorts the team has created so far: 

• "Permaculture Transformation" with Starhawk 

• "Permaculture Education" with Geoff Lawton & Delvin Solkinson 

• "Creative Inspiration" with Starhawk 

• "Permaculture Helps" with Starhawk 

• "Earth Restoration" with Rosemary Morrow 

• "Permaculture In Service" with Rosemary Morrow 

• "Effective Design" with Dave Boehnlein 

• "Skill Up" with Doug Bullock 

• "Permaculture Regeneration" with Starhawk 

• "World Vision" with Starhawk 

• "Permaculture Future" with Starhawk 

Follow Delvin's channel to see future videos via Youtube, Vimeo, Instagram. 

Hope autumn is off to a healthy, beautiful start to you all.

From a foggy morning in Seattle,

Jonathan

Panoramic views from Slate's Peak in the North Cascades, taken on equinox a week and a half ago.

The coffee story continues, 5 years in the making.

Dear friends and supporters, 

The recent and current happenings in many regions of our earth may feel dire, chaotic, polarized, unsettling, and overwhelming - and I am not here to prove you otherwise. Instead, I simply wish to remind all of us (that includes myself!) that GOOD things are happening all around us - each day, each hour, each moment. Unfortunately and for reasons beyond the scope of this short post, that is not where our attention and our media have been focusing on. Besides a few of the Conscious Impact Nepali staff, myself, and the 16 other foreigners who have spent time at our camp and surrounding communities, this story of coffee and its latest unfoldings can be told by no one but ourselves. It's an empowering feeling, and I've been awaiting an opportune moment to bring it out into the light for your eyes and ears. 

The Conscious Impact story could arguably have begun in 2015 following the earthquakes in Nepal, or further back in its birth as a name and concept for community development and collaboration by co-founder Orion Haas. For the sake of simplicity and getting right into this coffee story though, I'll skip ahead to 2017. 

It was spring. I remember coming out of a chilly winter living in our tents at camp - my first winter with the team - and feeling the warmth penetrate my skin to defrost my bones. The days were getting longer, and birds returned from the lower elevations to sing their songs while spouts in our greenhouses and on the ground poked their heads out to receive the photons. To be completely fair, we actually didn't get much frost, if at all. Afterall, we are only situated at a hair over 1,400 meters (4,600 feet) elevation, and at this attitude in the Himalayas, the frost-fearing plants are mostly safe. But remember, we lived (and still do today) in tents. Zero insulation. No air conditioning nor heaters. 

I recently re-watched the video that the Conscious Impact team and I published for our #MoreThanATree campaign that kickstarted our first massive coffee & native shade tree planting to be reminded more clearly the what/who/why/how of that season.  If you haven't seen that before, I can encourage you to check it out to learn about the what/who/how/why of this undertaking. 

If that's 4 minutes too much for you, this is the quick 'n dirty: coffee tree planting allows for other shady (and/or native) trees to be grown simultaneously (minimizing erosion, ecologically restorative, sequestering carbon), and integrates well with the existing land use and crop growing that region farmers are accustomed to. Additionally, in a few years time, the coffee bean harvest have the potential to become a substantial source of income with minimal upkeep and work for families, earning them several hundred to a thousand+ US dollars extra per year depending on the number of productive trees for years and even decades to come. 

Our agriculture and executive team formulated this vision and plan through dozens of conversations during home visits and several larger community meetings, asking the question, "What can we do to help?", while evaluating our available human and natural resources, and solutions that benefit not only people but wildlife and the built environment also. 

Meeting Shyam Katuwal was a pivotal moment. He is a long-time friend of one of our core Nepali staff and closest friend, Narayan Bhattari. Shyam is an organic farmer who has dedicated 30+ years of his life growing food and medicine with no chemical fertilizers or pesticides on his land. He has had a coffee tree nursery since 1986 and been a strong advocate and resource for many. We partnered with Shyam to hold a series of community meetings to inform and gauge interest, followed then by a series of hands-on workshops for local community members to learn and replicate the decades of knowledge that he has to offer. Check out this interview the team and I did with him in 2017.

Through the success of our fundraising campaign coupled with the enthusiasm by our volunteers as well as community members, we got the initial batch of 10,000 trees into the ground throughout the spring and summer of 2017. Greg Robinson, our agriculture program co-lead, even remained in the village throughout the monsoon to ensure that all the trees were properly cared for and transplanted as the rest of us foreigners left the country due to immense amount of precipitation, heat, and difficulty of living in tents.

Below are several photos from between Feb-Jun of 2017:

Riding on the success of the initial plantings, in just a little over a year later, we broke ground (video link) on what is now the coffee co-operative processing center. It was a tremendous collaborative effort by locals, Nepali volunteers from Kathmandu, as well as foreign volunteers from well over 10 countries. Because of the topography (hilly and difficult to access) and being mindful of the budget, we opted not to hire a big earth excavator and dug into 4 terraces with simply shovels and raw human power. 

There is a saying in Nepal - "daal baht power 24/7" - daal baht being the national dish of rice and lentils with a side of curried and/or pickled vegetables. Daal baht was certainly the main "sponsor" of this massive undertaking! 

Like several family homes that we've built in the region, we utilized the earth bag building technique to construct the coffee co-op building. It is strong, earthquake-resilient, low-cost, allowed everyone to participate in the process (as it doesn't require hyper-specialized skills such as brick masonry), has a minimal environmental and social footprint, and sits right in the heart of the village for easy access by nearly all community members. 

The building was completed in mid-2019, and the coffee-processing equipment was purchased and put in place towards the end of the year. 

This year, as COVID-19 shuts down much of our globe in a multitude of ways, Conscious Impact also faces an unprecedented situation with no incoming volunteers, and with that, drying up a majority of the funding. Yes, in late 2018 we had set up a monthly #SustainUs campaign to begin creating a predictable, monthly source of income for the organization, but that hasn't reached a critical mass to fully sustain our current operations. As we walk into this realm of the unknown, we really don't know how to continue to do this work and feed ourselves, pay salaries for our staff, and ensure that the vision we've been committed to for the past 5 years will fully materialize. 

Well, as Nepal entered a state of lockdown in the 3rd week of March, our local staff and foreign team began to gather to evaluate what we can do moving forward, the first batch of beans on the trees we had planted in 2017 were ripening, providing us a harvest experience to be remembered forever. 

Everyone was ecstatic! 

Despite the global pandemic and setbacks we have experienced in the last several months, we are utterly thrilled with our progress on the coffee program. This first harvest has marked an important milestone in our young organization, and we feel clear in continually to commit and invest in ourselves and our community partners. We have made mistakes yet learned tremendously on the planting and ongoing care of the young trees, harvest techniques to ensure maximum yields, and how to communicate the benefits of coffee so that more farmers understand the long-term benefits their families as well as land could receive. 

This coffee story continues as I type this. It carries on because of 6 foreign staff members and volunteers have made the decision to stay in the country to help with the distribution and planting of the remaining 2,000 trees we've committed to this season. This story keeps unfolding because more and more regional coffee farmers see the vision and choose to work alongside us. And it is powered by your support and that of hundreds of others around the world who have consciously chosen to help continue to make this a reality - whether through coming to Nepal physically to put your hands in the soil, referring friends to our community, donating once or monthly, or even simply engaging with us via social media. 

This post is made possible thanks to the hundreds of volunteers and supporters of Conscious Impact through the years, and the dozens of supporters on Patreon and social media that I have that keep my work with them and the communities churning - I am so thankful each and every day. My intention in writing this post is not to pressure you in giving more of your financial resources, but rather celebrate the progress we have made in whatever capacity we have had, and bring with it a ray of light. We are living through an uncertain period with enough energetically-draining news to dampen the strongest minds and most joyful of hearts, and I hope this at the very least serves as a reminder that there is still light and hopefulness in our collective ability to band together and collaborate on writing the brighter pages of our future history. 

Here's to us, and the magic of coffee.

Be sure to check out our latest video that showcases our work these past few months and why we are asking for help right now. At the time of publishing this post, we are sitting at just over $18,000 with a goal of $25,000 USD. If you're able to, and the financial gods have been blessing you through these difficult times, consider pitching in please. 

You can read much more about our current aspirations and goals here on Conscious Impact's blog.

To simply donate directly, follow this link.

Thank you for your attention and support so, so much.

With gratitude and love from Seattle, Washington.

Jonathan

Note: Due to the formatting of Patreon vs. Squarespace, I could not simply copy and paste all of the content here. The next best move instead of inserting each image manually where they are on the original post is to simply have a gallery - sadly, the individual captions have been lost though:

Recovery of Stolen Gear calls for GoFundMe (as well as alternatives)

Earlier this month, a troubled human smashed my car window and stole about $6000 USD worth of camera equipment, as well as my passports. It's been quite the emotional, exhausting, and slightly traumatic experience. I had never been robbed like that prior. Doing much better now, on all fronts except the financial loss.

^The night it went down...

Silver lining: I wasn't harmed and all the data on the memory cards - wedding photos from the day before, at that - had been backed up. Phew. This fundraiser will help me recovery the gear steadily in the coming months while I utilize a set of loaner cameras and lenses (huge thanks to Nikon and a friend) to keep shooting for paid gigs as well as pro-bono documentation and visual storytelling projects domestically and internationally for the next few months.

Before I dig into the plan in some more detail, here's an excellent update/plot twist - both the stolen passports have, miraculously, been mailed back to my parents' home by the US Postal Service with only a note stating that the article "has been found damaged and/or loose in the mail."

Woah!! Magic is real.

A good number of you reading this likely would have also read my letter to the thief (yes, I did text it to him) (if you haven't read it yet, may I recommend that you do so). Could he/they actually have an ounce of human heart and turned them in? Or could it be that he/they realized later that the passports were part of the stolen goods, deemed them worthless, and simply tossed them somewhere, while another good samaritan picked up and turned them in? A mystery we may never find out...

Here's what's been happening - my friend Jill, who works for Nikon as the regional Pacific Northwest (PNW) representative, read about the incident and reached out to me immediately. She said she could get me some loaner Nikon gear to keep shooting while I recuperate physically, mentally, and financially. Not long after, she proactively told her boss who I am and what types of projects I typically cover, and asked if I could borrow the set for a longer period of time AND travel abroad with them. Her boss said yes! This is pretty huge in helping buy some time.

^ Me being THRILLED to be able to keep shooting with some fresh loaner Nikon cameras + lenses for the time being

^ This is Jill, she's my fairy godmother right now.

Also, 2 other friends - Brandon from Los Angeles and Luke from Atlanta - messaged me within days and offered to send their unused/setting-in-the-closet Canon DSLRs and lenses to me. Incredible! So now, strangely, I am rocking both Nikon + Canon (I was Sony + Canon before), and my brain feels like it's playing Sudoku in adapting to new menus, button layouts, ergonomics, lens selections, etc. - though not at all complaining! 😉

In the past 3 weeks, I have successfully re-applied for and received a new passport (because who could have thought they would return?!), fixed the broken window, sold my remaining Sony + Canon gear, and have begun re-investing towards a fresh, primarily Nikon-oriented setup. The mental-emotional-spiritual support I have received from friends-family-community near and far have helped tremendously, but truth be told, the financial hit hurts pretty darn hard. The main Sony camera was the largest single-item investment I've ever made in my little business, and that happened only 3-4 weeks prior to the theft. I've regardless been slightly reluctant in getting a GoFundMe going, but with all the upcoming travels and volunteering coming up, having additional financial support to pave the way for a full kit recovery would be massive. Thanks to several of you asking me directly to set one up, here we are!

Here is the breakdown of what were stolen:

I can't quite spell out exactly what and how much all the replacement gear will be yet, so I've set a humble amount of $3500 as my starting goal here on GoFundMe.

Here's my thinking process - I receive a sweet $300 per month from 45 contributing patron on patreon, and feel great about having that cushion every month as I continue to seek paid work. I would like folks to consider the idea of recurring support (it goes SO far beyond the $2/4/8/16/etc. per month), while also point to the fact that I would be HUGELY delighted to have you browse and order a print or two for your home and/or another loved one through the still-unofficially-announced prints shop right on my website(!). Say WHAT? That's right - I've delayed the announcement for some time, but believe that now is the moment. #subtledreamPrints is LIVE and let it be known that right here right now if you reside in (or wish to ship to a friend in) the states or Canada, photographic prints as small as 4x6" up to 24x36" or even larger panorama sizes can be ordered right off - you guessed it - subtledream.com!

Bottomline: I would like you to get something in return on top of knowing that you're (really, truly) helping me out here.

After all those words, here are the 3 ways to contribute:

• A direct, one-time donation on GoFundMe

• Buy a print (or 2, or 3...) on subtledreamPrints (US + Canada addresses only)

• Become a patron of my work on Patreon (and receive (massive) discounts on prints depending on your tier of support!)

^ Some recent prints and framings for clients/friends! 😀

With gratitude,
Jonathan

PS: having community support has been by far the greatest external source I could draw strength and motivation from. You guys know who you all are - big, immense love and gratitude to you.

A film born out of 4 years, 5 trips, and 12 months on the ground with Conscious Impact

Here it is. This is my most important and longest project to date. 4 years, 5 trips, with nearly 12 months of being on the ground with the Conscious Impact team & community in Nepal working, planning, building, filming, and editing. This is our most complete story and showcase of our projects, community, and intentions since the beginning as well as moving forward.

Please turn your sound on (headphones or quality speakers recommended!), and try to set aside about 9 minutes without interruptions. I (we) would love, love to hear what your thoughts and reactions are after. Leave a comment right here, DM me, share it near and far!

A tremendous shoutout to Orion Haas + Allen Gula in their foundational work and connections leading us to that part of Nepal where we've made lifelong friends and connections to the land. To Beth Huggins, Mariana Jimenez Dela Nait, Greg Robinson, and Alyson Noele Sagala for all of the untold and uncountable hours of devotion, love, and courage to keep marching forward year after year since our humble beginnings. To Rose Flanigan, my office mate on the terraces then, and always in spirit. Thankful for Narayan Bhattarai, Haribol Bhattarai, Kumary Tamang Bomjan (and dozens of other Nepali community members, really) for their openness and warmth in welcoming and working alongside us for 4+ years now learning and expanding together. This video and project also wouldn't be possible if it weren't for dozens more family members, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers of a network spanning across our earth providing spiritual, financial, and physical contributions through time and space. Could not possibly tag and name all of you. Thank you.

Huggee love and gratitude to my 45 patrons (http://patreon.com/subtledream) in the last year especially in helping to sustain ME to bring this to life. Folks contributing at $4/month or higher have their names forever embedded into our video.

If you feel connected to our mission and vision, it’d be awesome to have you join our sustainer team. I have just joined it myself a couple weeks back. 🙌🏽

🎬 Please share this magic! 🎬

Become a sustainer: https://classy.org/give/117738/#!/donation/checkout
More about Conscious Impact: http://consciousimpact.org

Dear person selling my stolen camera,

I'm not looking for revenge. I'm not about to unleash threats and curse you for eternity. I'm not writing you to find out if you've pawned or sold my belongings. Realistically, my 2 cameras, 6 lenses, microphone, flash, and accessories are all out there in the hands of new owners, thinking they got a great deal.

I simply would like you know some truths. You see, you (and/or the person you are working with) didn't just steal from me. I'm not a rich fellah who has expensive toys. You actually stole from a community that has helped crowdfund this whole camera kit. This community consists of regular Joe's and Jane's who work their butts off to make ends meet yet believe in me, like my work, and entrust me to be one of thousands out there creating and sharing art and immortalized moments of our short lives on this magnificent earth. A good number of them are Seattle/Northwest locals. That's a truth.

Here's another - the camera and lens you were selling on Craigslist was used for a wedding the day before, and you nearly destroyed the wedding memories of a married couple and both their families you have never and will never meet. How does that make you feel?

Let me tell you why I'm reaching out to you: I posted this on social media after discovering my broken window, "... I am fine, the car is still there. Now, for the solutions to recover lost time and money. I feel for the desperate people who did this to fulfill their desires and needs. They are hurting badly - even worse than me."

I really meant that. You must be in a bad place.

I don't know you besides that you might be named Chris, that you claimed to live in Lynnwood and work in West Seattle, plus you had the balls to put up my Sony camera up for sale within 13 hrs of it be stolen, disguised with a LED "flash" to make it look like another's. Who knows, maybe life's getting really tough and you fear of getting evicted or you feel that the world's against you. Shit, you might even have simply lost a bet with a misaligned friend who dared you to smash a window and steal. I cannot help but imagine what life situations you may have lived through to have landed where you were in that evening, and now, today - living with the knowing you've stolen more than just cameras and lenses from a fellow human. You've turned my life upside down and ripped my livelihood away for this week. Losing a passport is a terrible, terrible experience. Those are facts.

You see too, I had grown nearly an obsession in tracking you down. I conversed with both Shoreline and Seattle PD. I tried to acquire surveillance footage from the apartments right outside where you smashed my window. I worked with a private detective in digging out more about you. Part of me wanted justice. Part of me wanted to throw the same glass shards into your hands to understand the pain you've caused me. But that would only perpetuate the hurt. This isn't about the theft and your violation to me anymore.

A week later and I know better and clearer now. There's nothing you and/or your crime partner have done or can do to ever take away my skills, my friends and family, our memories, and my inner determination to keep striving for what I stand for and my purpose. The instruments which you ripped from me played an important role, but they are, in the end, replaceable instruments. You are a reminder of the hurt in our world and I'd like to be a part of one where that kinda hurt doesn't have to exist to keep creating more. My real ask for you is to not do that EVER again - theft fucking sucks, and you're just passing on real hurt and anger to others you don't even know for a temporary high that never lasts.

If you have any ounce of human heart within you, do give those passports and whatever you have left of mine back. Otherwise, know that karma always comes around.

J

PS: Thank you Drew Cornwall, my friend and assistant/2nd photographer for Amanda & Evan's wedding for capturing me in action and in my groove in ways I don't get to see often at all. 

PPS: I wish to give my sincere gratitude to everyone who called (some within minutes after seeing my initial post), messaged me directly, left comments of positive juju, followed up in the days that followed, and spent time with me in person. Absolutely, unequivocally appreciated and so very helpful in my ability to find solace and grounding as I realize I am not defined by what I own and my tools, that although time is invaluable and stress is real, what matters are my skills and relationships that cannot be taken away.

My passport application is in, and it'll make it in time for all the upcoming international travel-work-volunteering. A relief.

Several wonderful humans have asked about GoFundMe or related fundraising to help me get my camera kit back together again, and reading that warmed my heart. I have a brilliant re-proposal, and shall put out the information in the following few days.

Love you all. 

Is it mid-August already?

This is a distilled, public version of the patron supporters’ version accessible here. Currently, 44 patreon supporters help to make my lifestyle and work of minimalism, value and purpose-driven content creation possible each month. Check out my patreon page to learn more about me, how this works, and what you get in return.

Phew. Slipping a couple weeks behind here on this August release. It's been an absolute whirlwind in the best way possible here in and around Seattle. I'm gonna have to do a followup post this month like in July because the news and content keep piling up for me to want to include for you all. Here's what I've got for you all today: 

• Beacon Food Forest

• 'Good news you probably didn't hear about'

• Intentions for CI Season 5

• Updates from Everybody Eats NZ

• Upcoming travels & work

• Videos

• Podcasts

• Pretty pictures

Beacon Food Forest Photos 

That header image may look like a Google Earth/Maps image, but it's far closer and more recent - right from Beacon Food Forest's recent work party on July 20 via my drone. Being able to take my new gear to capture the food forest from the sky and on the ground again bring me and many people joy. Being a volunteer-driven project since its inception, the food forest has lacked a dedicated media person since I left Seattle in early 2016 except for a several-month period later that year. It has since gone through pretty radical changes - the groundbreaking of the "Phase 2" expansion plus the continued growth of all of the existing shrubs and trees. As I cycled through the bike/multi-use path cutting right through its center, I'm confronted with a visual that is looking more and more like an actual forest. The various layers in height and density throughout the open harvest area is starting to mimic that of a natural ecosystem, except of course, all of the plant species were planned and planted intentionally to maximize sustenance production for humans, pollinators, other wildlife, in addition to building the soil, sequester carbon, and many more positive functions. 

This coming weekend, I'll have the opportunity once more to get my hands a bit dirty and volunteer for their monthly work party. Thanks to your ongoing support, I'm able to also bring my craft to the table and help this selfless community to document the team effort as we nurture the space as one of the largest project of its kind in the states while also planning for a greater project for later this year and possibly the next, too (more to come!). 

Good news you probably didn't hear about (thanks, Future Crunch!)

• Los Angeles has announced the largest, cheapest solar + storage project in the world, at half the cost of a new natural gas plant. Wright's Law FTW. Forbes

• Ireland has joined the growing list of countries that say new petrol and diesel powered vehicles will not be allowed on the roads after 2030. BBC

• 8.8 million Nepalis have gained access to electricity since 2010, and officials say the country is on track for universal access by 2022. Kathmandu Post

• Heart disease rates in the UK have declined significantly - it's still the leading cause of mortality, but deaths have decreased by almost half since 2005. Telegraph

• Good news from North Korea. According to the WHO, smoking rates have declined by 8.4% since 2012, thanks to a government-led anti-smoking campaign. DailyNK

• Rates of HPV in Britain have fallen by 86% among young women aged 15 to 19 since they started being vaccinated in schools in 2008. Times

• UNESCO says that 19 African countries have reached gender parity (equal numbers of boys and girls) in primary education in the past decade. Brookings

• Kenya's High Court has ruled that rape survivors have the right to an abortion, a landmark ruling in a country where abortion is still illegal. Reuters

• An estimated 10,000 LGBTQIA+ teens in the US have been protected from conversion therapy in states that have banned the practice since 2012. NBC

• Canada has passed its most progressive Fisheries Act in history; for the first time since 1868, there's a legally binding requirement to rebuild fish populations. Oceana

• The Scottish government has met its annual tree planting targets for the first time. 11,200 hectares were planted last year, a significant increase on 2017. BBC

• Since 2000, the area of land dedicated for livestock pasture around the world has declined by 1.4 million square kilometers — an area the size of Peru. MongaBay

• Thanks to rigorous anti-poaching strategies, one of Africa’s largest wildlife reserves has just gone a year without losing a single elephant. Independent

• In the first six months of 2019, sun, wind, water and biomass produced more electricity in the world's fourth largest economy than coal and nuclear combined. DW

• In the first six months of 2019, Scottish wind turbines generated enough electricity to power 4.47 million homes - almost double the number of homes in Scotland. CNBC

• According to the United Nations, in 2018, global HIV-related deaths fell to 770,000, 33% lower than in 2010 when 1.2 million deaths were recorded. DW

• A new report by UNESCO says that between 2006 and 2016, India, Ethiopia and Peru achieved significant improvements in nutrition, sanitation, child mortality, drinking water, schooling, electricity access and housing. India alone lifted 271 million people out of poverty during this period. Understandably there's been wall-to-wall coverage of this story on every major global news channel. The Hindu

• New diabetes cases in the US have declined by 35% since 2009, the longest decline since the government started tracking the statistic nearly 40 years ago. STAT

• Mali has announced it will begin providing free healthcare for pregnant women and children under five. Universal healthcare, not just for rich countries. Guardian

• Drug overdose deaths in America declined by around 5% last year, the first drop since 1990. It's almost entirely due to better control of opioid painkillers. NYT

• Last year crime rates in the 30 largest cities in the US declined by 3.5%, violent crime by 4% and murders by 8%. Did someone just say 'hellholes?' Brennan Centre

• Ethiopia has kicked off a new campaign to plant four billion trees and will monitor progress with a satellite the country is launching in November.

• Since introducing new fuel efficiency rules a decade ago New York has cut nitrous oxide and particulate emissions from taxis by 82% and 49%, respectively. Nature

• Costa Rica has just signed a new law banning the importation, commercialisation and delivery of all styrofoam containers and packaging. Costa Rica News

• South Africa has nearly doubled its number of marine protected areas, increasing the proportion of conserved territorial waters from 0.4% to 5.4%. Cape Talk

• For the first time in 17 years there will be no commercial whaling in Iceland after the sole company certified to hunt whales failed to renew its license in time. Newsweek

How flippin' amazing are these POSITIVE news bits?! Seriously, subscribe to their fortnightly newsletter if this sort of content uplifts you anywhere near the way they do for me. 

Intentions for Conscious Impact Season 5

There are some clear goals & intentions for returning back to Nepal this autumn. 

As mentioned in the previous post, this will be the first time Conscious Impact is offering an earthbag dome workshop where folks are paying (versus suggested fundraising) for a dedicated course to learn and essentially become capable of building or leading their own earthbag structures. I will bring my documentation gear and skillset to work with the core team and participants to film (and learn personally) this process to better showcase and promote ourselves for future workshops and natural-building specific outreach + marketing. 

I miss my community there. It'll be absolutely wonderful for me to get back to witness firsthand the progress we've made since early November last year (oh goodness!) as well as to return to a state of service and community living with a healthy routine - something which I lack here in the states on most days and wish to better cultivate structure of my day to day life. 

I also wish to hear/witness/experience/capture snippets in more of the Himalayan country as I gain clarity on the theme of my future (and first) photo book(!)... more about this below. This may mean that I'll set aside a week or so to travel to a new region for some trekking and exploration. 

Everybody Eats NZ

Just like Collett's Corner that I've posted an update about, Everybody Eats NZ is another social-GOOD project dealing with food waste AND feeding the poor while bringing the issue to the forefront of people's minds and taking immediate action. I financially contributed to them back in 2018 while living and working in New Zealand, and have happily stayed subscribed to updates because they simply kick major butt. This month I wish to share with you all this fresh and exciting news flash. This is the power of grassroots mobilization and crowdfunding to make dreams realities: 

As a financial supporter of Everybody Eats, I want to update you on our journey so far and our new permanent restaurant.

In June 2018, we successfully raised over $120k in one of New Zealand’s most successful project crowdfunding campaigns, to set up New Zealand’s first permanent pay-as-you-feel restaurant. 

We got to work quickly and by September were operating 3 nights per week, subleasing Woodworks Cafe in Avondale. We had planned to build our own kitchen and to increase to 5 nights per week, however ongoing landlord building works meant we were delayed. In December the business changed hands and in January it reopened as Te Whau Eatery. With building works still going, we continued to operate for 3 nights each week, feeding around 120 each night, our 3 course, pay-as-you-feel meals. 

In April, as 6 months of frustration with builders ended, we were finally ready to move forward with our kitchen, however with the experience of operating more permanently, we decided this was not the right site for us to invest the money we had raised. The position and layout of the cafe were not suitable, and the subleasing arrangement was less attractive after the business changed hands in December. Since then we have been looking for another site, with all the money we had raised still safely in the bank but with 6 months of lessons from operating more regularly. 

Today we begin work on what we now think is the perfect home for Everybody Eats, in Onehunga. It was a failed cafe, a standalone building with 14 car parks, two kitchens and a mezzanine floor overlooking the main restaurant. We will be subleasing to a cafe operator and shared office/meeting space provider. The aim is to create a community hub, that is always activated, where people will gather for coffee, lunch, meetings, evening meals and everything in between.

We have the support of some incredibly generous businesses, who are donating their time, energy, equipment and expertise to help us achieve a $300k fit out, on a much smaller budget. We aim to be open in late September.

In the background we continue to operate our hugely successful Gemmayze St pop-up in Auckland City. We are now feeding on average 330 people each Monday night, with NZ’s top chefs continuing to help. We’ve been lucky to work with the likes of Josh Emmet, Des Harris, Samir Allen, Dariush Lolaiy and Josh Barlow over the last 12 months. 

We hope you will make it along to the new opening of Everybody Eats in Onehunga, so will send you an update once we have a confirmed date.

If you can think of anyone you know that may be able to support us with our fit out, I’d love to hear from you. Right now we are looking for a tiler, vinyl flooring company/installer, large indoor plants, commercial kitchen shelving and an artist for a large mural.

Warm Regards
Nick Loosley

Upcoming travels & work 

There has definitely been some solidification of my schedule since the last update, and I am happy to know that the rest of my year is essentially planned out for a change ;) Here's the latest of when I'll (mostly) be where: 

• Now - 20 Sep : Seattle / Pacific Northwest [summer, ongoing editing, mountain & water frolicking, friends]

• 21 Sep - 2 Oct : San Diego / Los Angeles [for photoshoot + family time]

• 3 Oct - 9 Oct : Seattle [for wedding + prep for longer trip]

• 10 Oct - 18 Oct : Pisa / Rome / central Italy [for wedding!]

• 19 Oct - early-mid Dec : Nepal [for Conscious Impact + personal project]

• *MAYBE* Early to mid-Dec : Hong Kong [visiting extended fam, friends, and networking]

• 20 Dec - holidays : Los Angeles / southern California [mom's 70th birthday!]

• Holidays to early Jan 2020 : Seattle / Vancouver / southern British Columbia [for wedding!]

• .

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• …

• Open

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• Dec 2020 : Patagonia?! Why? Total solar eclipse.

Inspiring Videos 

Dandapani - on purpose in life (5 min 42 sec)

How India runs the world's largest election by Vox (7 min 34 sec)

Amazing Podcasts 

These are recent favorites, and all of them have been repeated in parts so that I could fully soak in the messages and lessons embedded between the words and emotions. They resonate hugely to my life now and of late, and I hope you'd also find value by these humans. As most of you have probably been able to tell, I am a huge fan of Jay Shetty's podcast, and thankfully it is available on many platforms for streaming. Podcasts have been some of my best go-to's in diving deep within myself, gaining new knowledge, be challenged on what I had thought was true, and to positively reprogram my mind for a healthier, better self. 

6 Reasons Why We Need to Develop the Emotional Skills Our Parents Never Had (29:47) -  by Jay Shetty on his show On Purpose 

What We Nurture (51:34) by Sylvia Boorstein on Krista Tippett's On Being 

How to stop caring what other people think of you (73:22) by Gary Vee on Jay Shetty's On Purpose 

Pretty Pretty Pictures  

A good chunk of why I've returned to Seattle this summer is because my network of quality humans here, and its proximity & abundance of wild, beautiful, really beautiful places. 

I've been hiking, cycling, kayaking, camping, and backpacking all around my previous (and I suppose current, too) home state, and I am simply in awe all over again. 

One of reasons why this update-post-newsletter is 2 weeks late is because I spent 2 nights out of the city and immersed myself in the Cascade mountains with electronics and communication turned off (minus cameras + music/podcast). 

Here are some highlights from that recent journey: 

With love and gratitude, always, 

Jonathan

PS: published this at 1:30am, so please excuse any typos or grammatical mistakes!