Our format for this trip is to leave it open and flexible enough for others to help guide and shape the project.  Our main research has focused on possible routes, visas, costs of train/ bus/ boat travel, project details and crowd- sourcing.  The websites that we have found useful in our research are listed below;

• www.seat61.com/ global train travel information
  
• http://www.cargoshipvoyages.com/ Connecting with cargo ships around the globe
  
• http://www.fco.gov.uk Consulare travel advice
  
• http://www.lonelyplanet.com Global travel forum
  
• www.kickstarter.com/ Global funding campaigns platform
  
• www.indiegogo.com Global funding campaigns platform
  
•  www.chipin.com/ widget for fundraising

Before getting too involved emotionally with this project we decided to take Grace travelling to a poorer country to see how we felt travelling whilst taking care of Her needs.  We went to Morocco and travelled across quite a large portion of the country by train.  We had an amazing time, and felt supported by the general attitude towards babies.  People of all ages and apparent backgrounds came up to kiss Grace, some children even running off with Her to show proudly to their families!  It made us feel very confident that outside of the UK(!) we shall probably feel a lot more supported and cared for travelling with Grace.  Friends who have taken babies to India have commented how it positively enhanced their interactions with local people.  You can see photos from our Morocco adventure here


From our initial research we became clear early on that this trip was feasible, even with a young baby- Grace will be 1 year old at the time we leave from the UK.  The main problem was funding.  It is actually quite expensive to travel overland and sea.  We also have to acquire visas for Grace, and visas alone come to about $5000!  We researched crowd- sourcing campaigns such as Kickstarter, but decided against these sorts of schemes as they do not seem to do a lot for you unless your project is down with hip New Yorkers- yet want 5% of the money!  We found ChipIn, which is a widget allowing you to raise funds through your own stand alone site, which suited us.

The design for getting this project off the ground involves the following aspects;

• Build a website to convey the project
• Invite contribution and collaboration for the route/ outputs of the project
• Creatively engage with potential supporters in an exchange of energy
• Write to key people/ institutions to secure support and to help circulate the project
• Start a crowd- sourcing campaign through our contacts and encourage the onward spreading throughout wider networks

The website was created on Weebly over a month of refining and tweeking the foundation.  I have learnt to map out my ideas quickly and efficiently with this tool (which I have used for all my websites)  For this project I actually built a framework on Blogger and Wordpress.  I was impressed with the look of both, but found my "standard" Weebly format is both cheaper, more functional (or at least I have learnt how to make it so!) and saves me a lot of time learning new formats.
We have built a forum so people can contribute, and also will be inviting our contacts around the world to offer suggestions on the launch of the funding campaign.  We also hope to connect with people globally through the http://www.permacultureglobal.com networking site.  We feel clear that the whole journey could be shaped by personal/ local knowledge and recommendations along the entire journey- an exciting prospect!

We decided to offer "rewards" as incentives to people donating to the project.  We wanted to offer a cycle of energy, giving something tangible back for the support offered.  We felt this was really aligned with the whole project concept, referred to on the site;

We are running a crowd- sourcing campaign to raise the necessary funds for this trip.  We desire to have regenerative design touch all aspects of our lives, and engaging with economics in this creative way is aligned with our highest ideals and directly relates to the message of (Im)Permanence...together we can create so much more! Collaborative cooperation is all about the power of people to do extraordinary things to support one another on each of our journeys!

We then drafted a letter to send out to key institutions/ learning centres and associated organisations across the globe, sharing the project and announcing the desire for support.  The aim of this was to try and get the news shared among wider networks than we were capable of alone.  Also, we hoped that the backing of some well recognised institutions would help give the project more perceived "clout" and credibility.  You can read the letter here.

We sent out letters to leading educational and land based institutions in related fields around the globe.

We launched the project to our personal contacts