Common Roots 

Giving a voice to native wisdom keepers to share and preserve their nature-based wisdom.

This project features three high-impact ventures that aim to regenerate ecosystems, revitalize traditional culture, establish sustainable food systems, and build community resilience and economic mobility through a constituent-led approach to project implementation. The vision of our project is to invest deeply in the Common Roots of our collective human heritage by nourishing the ancient lineages that have the healing wisdom necessary to solve the mental health crises plaguing modern cultures, which in turn regenerates value in the form of eco-spiritual tourism and social impact investment giving back to the communities and cultures that have carried ancient healing wisdom and practices into the modern age.

Description & Cost Summaries

COMMON ROOTS – Total Ask – $2.88M (project summary and cost break-out below)
– NUB: Egypt – $1.75M
– Zangala: Burkina Faso – $558K
– Sedukwa: Colombia – $569K

1. NUB: Awaken The Prophecy – $1.7M

Heissa Island in Aswan, Egypt is the last remaining traditional village of the ancient Nubian people of the upper Nile region. The site is self-governed sovereign indigenous land and a UNESCO Heritage Protected site. It is next to the Philae Temple island, and close to the sites (now underwater) of the ancient temples of Isis and Osiris.

Our project will holistically regenerate the island’s ecology, culture, and economy through permaculture, sustainable food systems, cultural renewal, amplifying indigenous voices, and co-creation of a spiritual healing center that channels ancient wisdom teachings to guide participants to return to nature, herbalism, and a life based in truth, freedom, and unity with all indigenous voices on Earth.

The Vision:

To regenerate the land and turn Heissa Island into a Biosphere, bringing food sovereignty to the Indigenous people, amplifying the voices and stories of Nubian elders, renewing culture around arts, crafts & music.

The central financial model will focus on a regenerative retreat centre focused on healing and connecting guests with temples, land, elements, indigenous customs and nourishing food grown from the island.

The vision is to launch the model in an island environment, which can then be entrained beyond the island. We vision a DAO that will unite indigenous voices all over the world.

Cost Summary: 

Phase 1 ($606K) – Water systems, regenerative permaculture and food systems, survey & preliminary planning/design for retreat center, administration, maintenance, and operations for start-up duration

Phase 2 ($1.14M) – Complete design and construction of ~900 sqm eco-retreat center (25 double rooms, 600 sqm event space), community outreach, education, programming, marketing, and community agriculture projects.

Phase 3 (future) – Maturation of financial model will generate revenue based regenerative fund for micro-financing for indigenous led local community improvement projects, cultural revitalization projects, community marketplace infrastructure, and other “commons” amenities to improve the quality of life, and enhance the eco-spiritual tourism benefits for retreat center guests.

2. Zangala: Regenerating a Culture of Wisdom Keepers – ($558K)

The Dagara Tribe is an ancient people native to Burkina Faso (and Ghana) whose oral history traces their ancestry and origins deep into prehistory between 20,000 and 40,000 years before the present time. In Dagara culture, the Zangala is the Heart and Home of the community – a place for the sacred fire of the family ancestors, family shrines, rituals, feasts, and ceremonies.

The Zangala Project has a 20-year successful track record of sponsoring an annual cultural music, dance, and art festival that celebrates Dagara traditions and has become a source of national pride for all Burkinabes – including thousands of youth who are inspired to learn and train in traditional song, dance, and arts vying for an opportunity to compete on the national stage to be a winning team in the competitive arts festivities. Alongside the festival, Zangala has sponsored a culture and music education program that has provided Balafon instruments to nearly 400 schools throughout Dagara lands.

Our chief impact is in the revitalization of Dagara culture, through rekindling respect and relevancy of the elders and traditional ritual ways of living and weaving them back into the emerging story of modern life in Burkina Faso. By elevating the cultural heritage, celebrating Dagara roots, and creating a performing arts festival to showcase the very best talent throughout Burkina Faso, we are stewards of a new story that is devoted to amplifying the wisdom, simplicity, and magic of an ancient culture rich with the wisdom of nature – and the channels to communicate with the spirits of the wild, ancestors, and the elements.

Our Zangala Project will expand on this 20 year successful legacy to regenerate economic, ecological, and cultural wellness throughout Dagara lands, through:

• Providing reliable funding for 5 years, for our team organizing the festival to focus on enhancing the reach and impact of the festival, and alleviate the challenges of constant fundraising within one of the Earths least wealthy nations
• Build the foundational groundwork for revenue generation for sustainable support for the project over time through art sales, multimedia projects, and access to indigenous technologies for healing and wellness, such as shamanic divinations, ritual activities, and collective ceremonies inspired by Dagara traditions
• Expand the culture and music education program by placing more Balafons, Drums, and other instruments in schools throughout Dagara lands – and sponsoring Balafon and Drum making workshops to help youth learn and master the craftsmanship of the traditional instrument making practices.
• Provide multimedia equipment and training for reality capture and post-production for marketing and social documentaries to tell the story of our project, and the importance of this sacred indigenous culture
• Provide upgraded sound systems for regional and national festival grounds and event spaces where our programs are hosted
• Provide micro-financing for community led cultural heritage, sustainable agriculture, and local economic development initiatives.

3. Sedukwa: Activating Heart Mountain – ($569K)

Deep in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Northern Colombia, the Arhuaco and Kogi people have co-habited the sacred lands of their mountainous region for thousands of years. Today, they are in a battle for their survival as encroaching impacts from industrial development, pollution, and unconscious behaviors are disrupting their food systems, poisoning their water, and contaminating their heirloom seeds.

The Sedukwa Project will regenerate the land, culture, and economy of the region by

• Funding permaculture and sustainable food system projects,
• Creating a seed bank to protect their sacred heirloom seeds,
• Providing high quality multimedia equipment, devices, training for reality capture and post production support for storytelling, marketing, and sharing the reality of ecological destruction occurring in neighboring forests
• Developing microfinancing programs to provide grants and loans to community-led regenerative projects to improve water systems, food systems, sanitation, education, and cultural heritage preservation
• Eco-Spiritual Tourism economic development grants and programs to create adequate facilities and amenities to attract heart-centered tourism with a shared vision to regenerate the land, culture, and peoples of the Arhuaco and Kogo tribes.