Project Cocopelli
A$4,000
of $4,000 targetyrs ago
Successful on 25th Sep 2015 at 1:59PM.
This isn’t a story about surfing.
It isn’t a story about nature.
It isn’t a story about tourists and the fine lines we walk in either helping – or hindering – the destinations to which we venture.
It isn’t even a story about twin brothers who grew up loving the surf, but thinking there was still something more to life.
It’s all of this and more bundled up together, and it’s called The Fresh Air Project.
The Fresh Air Project is a unique surf travel company providing an authentic surf travel experience. It's a community of travelling surfers with a love of nature, respect for locals and an understanding that they have a role they can play in helping to sustain local environments and contribute to a better world.
We respect that we are only travellers to a place many call home. Our trips are about immersing ourselves in local culture, giving us an opportunity to build authentic relationships with the local people to make a real contribution to their community. We have no expectations of solving all of their problems. Our aim is to work with and empower the communities we surf in, often using surfing as our tool.
Having already run trips to Indonesia and Sri Lanka, in October this year we’ll be embarking on our first project to India, to a remote and emerging surf community in a village called Gokarna, on the West Coast of India. On a recent trip through the South of India an unlikely friendship was formed between the Fresh Air crew and a local surfing pioneer, Sandeep. After hours spent sharing the line-up, conversations started around Sandeep’s surf school, Cocopelli, that he’s set up in the remote village of Gokarna. With only 3 boards and now 3 students Cocopelli surf school is one of the first on the West Coast of India.
Either knowingly or unknowingly in the pursuit to share his love for the ocean and surfing with his village, Sandeep has started to engage the community into the surf lifestyle and is educating the next generation to create a better future. It was obvious from meeting Sandeep that what Fresh Air sees in surfing is exactly what Sandeep has also seen. More then just a sport surfing can be a medium for community development, environmental conservation and social change.
Inspired by these conversations and on returning to Australia, Project Cocopelli was born…
A team of surfers, coaches and documentary makers with the Fresh Air Project will be embarking on this trip to work with Sandeep to run a 5 day surf lifestyle program for the village while also bringing over surfboards to up-resource Sandeep’s school and produce a documentary to tell this story of the trip and the message of Fresh Air. Our mission is simple; to engage as much of the community we can into the surf lifestyle, create an epic documentary and continue to build the fresh air community!
It isn’t a story about nature.
It isn’t a story about tourists and the fine lines we walk in either helping – or hindering – the destinations to which we venture.
It isn’t even a story about twin brothers who grew up loving the surf, but thinking there was still something more to life.
It’s all of this and more bundled up together, and it’s called The Fresh Air Project.
The Fresh Air Project is a unique surf travel company providing an authentic surf travel experience. It's a community of travelling surfers with a love of nature, respect for locals and an understanding that they have a role they can play in helping to sustain local environments and contribute to a better world.
We respect that we are only travellers to a place many call home. Our trips are about immersing ourselves in local culture, giving us an opportunity to build authentic relationships with the local people to make a real contribution to their community. We have no expectations of solving all of their problems. Our aim is to work with and empower the communities we surf in, often using surfing as our tool.
Having already run trips to Indonesia and Sri Lanka, in October this year we’ll be embarking on our first project to India, to a remote and emerging surf community in a village called Gokarna, on the West Coast of India. On a recent trip through the South of India an unlikely friendship was formed between the Fresh Air crew and a local surfing pioneer, Sandeep. After hours spent sharing the line-up, conversations started around Sandeep’s surf school, Cocopelli, that he’s set up in the remote village of Gokarna. With only 3 boards and now 3 students Cocopelli surf school is one of the first on the West Coast of India.
Either knowingly or unknowingly in the pursuit to share his love for the ocean and surfing with his village, Sandeep has started to engage the community into the surf lifestyle and is educating the next generation to create a better future. It was obvious from meeting Sandeep that what Fresh Air sees in surfing is exactly what Sandeep has also seen. More then just a sport surfing can be a medium for community development, environmental conservation and social change.
Inspired by these conversations and on returning to Australia, Project Cocopelli was born…
A team of surfers, coaches and documentary makers with the Fresh Air Project will be embarking on this trip to work with Sandeep to run a 5 day surf lifestyle program for the village while also bringing over surfboards to up-resource Sandeep’s school and produce a documentary to tell this story of the trip and the message of Fresh Air. Our mission is simple; to engage as much of the community we can into the surf lifestyle, create an epic documentary and continue to build the fresh air community!
How The Funds Will Be Used
Project Cocopelli is not only about making surfing more accessible in Sandeep's home village but equally about spreading the message behind Fresh Air. As surfers we go to some incredible locations, but we also see first-hand the impact travellers and tourism can have on a destination. We’ve been to areas that were once pristine, other-worldly places of unimaginable beauty, and now they’re just sinking in their own putridness. It doesn’t have to be like that and that's what we want to show through this documentary. It's a story of Indian surf culture, surf travel and our mate Sandeep. Your money will be going towards helping us share this story and message.
$1000 - Surfboards to resource the Cocopelli surf school. We are hoping to bring along as many soft top longboards as we can afford and carry with us (4-6 boards). All money will go to boards as this has been identified with Sandeep as the most needed resource in the community
$3000 - Production costs, post production costs and flights for the OK Media group documentary team.
$1000 - Surfboards to resource the Cocopelli surf school. We are hoping to bring along as many soft top longboards as we can afford and carry with us (4-6 boards). All money will go to boards as this has been identified with Sandeep as the most needed resource in the community
$3000 - Production costs, post production costs and flights for the OK Media group documentary team.
The Challenges
Going to remote india with boards and camera gear means we know plenty can go wrong. We're working in a short time frame where there's risks of lost or broken gear which will put the success of the project at risk. However we've been doing this for years and have put together the best team we could find to deliver the mission of the project so are confident we can mitigate these risks. Here's just some of the skills and experience the team is bringing across.
The Project Cocopelli team:
Andy Shedden - OK Media group film-maker - Experienced traveller and film-maker
Leon Downie - OK Media group film-maker - Experienced traveller and film-maker
Ben Gollow - Fresh Air founder and accredited surf coach
Rory Gollow - Fresh Air founder and accredited surf coach
Moira Obrien Smith - Personal trainer and health and wellbeing coach
Andy Waddell - Accredited surf coach and owner of the Talalla surf camp in Sri Lanka
Elyse Collat - Hawaiian descending surfer and avid traveller
Furthermore having Sandeep guide us through the trip and link us to his community we have complete confidence in our ability to deliver the project at a community and cultural level. The core of Fresh Air is about building trusting relationships with new people and cultures which is exactly what we'll be doing in India. As for the OK Media group, they've had experience producing documentaries through remote North West Australia and Sri Lanka and are experience travellers who will fit perfectly into the vision of Project Cocopelli.
The Project Cocopelli team:
Andy Shedden - OK Media group film-maker - Experienced traveller and film-maker
Leon Downie - OK Media group film-maker - Experienced traveller and film-maker
Ben Gollow - Fresh Air founder and accredited surf coach
Rory Gollow - Fresh Air founder and accredited surf coach
Moira Obrien Smith - Personal trainer and health and wellbeing coach
Andy Waddell - Accredited surf coach and owner of the Talalla surf camp in Sri Lanka
Elyse Collat - Hawaiian descending surfer and avid traveller
Furthermore having Sandeep guide us through the trip and link us to his community we have complete confidence in our ability to deliver the project at a community and cultural level. The core of Fresh Air is about building trusting relationships with new people and cultures which is exactly what we'll be doing in India. As for the OK Media group, they've had experience producing documentaries through remote North West Australia and Sri Lanka and are experience travellers who will fit perfectly into the vision of Project Cocopelli.
Launch event tickets
Off the back of our last successful event 'waves for water' this will give you entry to the premiere of the Project Cocopelli launch in Perth, WA. A night of local tunes, foreign stories and good vibes. For those that can't make it to Perth, we'll send you a password for early access to the documentary and give you a shout out.
0 chosen / 150 available
Est. delivery is Nov 15
Priority list
There's a good chance we'll be taking people back to India next year on top of our usual remote Indonesia and Sri Lanka trips. Get yourself a VIP ticket to the premiere and your name on the priority list for next years trips.
6 chosen / 144 available
Est. delivery is Nov 15
Frame print
A frame print of your choice from a selection of the best 20 shots from the trips. Come along to the premiere and pick yours up or we'll organise alternative ways to get you the print. Orders from outside Australia will have to cover shipping costs.
5 chosen / 15 available
Est. delivery is Nov 15
The gift of surfing
We'll use your money to directly purchase a surfboard that will be taken on the journey to Cocopelli surf school. The board will teach the future generations of Indian surfers! We'd love to deliver the board with a custom message from you and we'll return with some snaps of the local crew using it.
4 chosen / 1 available
Est. delivery is Oct 15