Who are we? Really.

OneTouch is a group of 12 photographers, writers, adventure travelers and filmmakers from Nairobi, Kenya who came together around 2010 with a common love for all things art. What started as Tuesday evening meetings at a local office space in Nairobi, quickly morphed into something that we realized was way bigger than us. We realized we had a common passion for changing the way Africa is viewed around the world and felt our photography and storytelling was a huge tool.

Armed with our cameras, pens, pads (Actually smartphones to be honest) and a whole lot of passion and courage, we begun doing self-funded road trips around our country and sharing what we captured online. The response was incredible and soon, our followers grew both online and on the ground. Later in 2012 and 2013 we decided to go beyond our borders and took our road trips around East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania), which we later held a two week long exhibition for in Nairobi.

Our aim is to go to all 55 African countries and showcase them to the world. Our showcase involves the beautiful people, places, talents and landscapes through photography, print and film. We also plan to print coffee table books with stories, fun facts and pictures from our trips.

This May 2014, this epic quest takes us on an incredible 58,000km, 128-day photographic road trip from Nairobi, Kenya to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with 360 total hours of driving time. Why Brazil? I’m glad you asked.

• The whole world is meeting in Rio this year for the FIFA Soccer World Cup. What better place for a showcase than on the world stage, right?
• The trip will take us through an amazing cross-cultural exchange between Africa and South America (and, by extension, the world on a world stage)
• It will enable us to get to 23 of the 55 countries that we are planning to go to in the next 5 years… In a single trip. That is about 50 years worth of photography and content on a single trip.
• We are also meeting a whole lot of young and upcoming photographers, artists and change agents both in Africa and South America who are passionate about tolerance and showcasing the beauty of the world.
• Sharing the beauty of the world means a lot to us and we relish the opportunity and the challenge to make this happen.

Your contribution will go a LONG way to make this passionate dream a reality. Such an epic quest would not be possible without your help. As a side-note, no other African has attempted such a fete before… so being a part of this would be a first.

What We Need & What You Get

The 128-day trip from Nairobi to Rio is going to take a lot. In our showcase bid, we are going through the following countries;

·  Kenya

·  Tanzania

·  Malawi

·  Mozambique

·  Zimbabwe

·  Zambia

·  Botswana

·  Namibia

·  Angola

·  Democratic Republic of Congo

·  Congo Republic

·  Gabon

·  Equatorial Guinea

·  Cameroon

·  Nigeria

·  Benin

·  Togo

·  Ghana

·  Cote d’ Ivore

·  Guinea

·  Guinea Bissau

·  Gambia

·  Senegal

·  Brazil

Our road trip accommodation will consist of a mix of campsites, hotels and being hosted at some points. The majority of the accommodation will be camping. The whole trip will also include two flights; one from Dakar (There so happens to be a huge pond called the Atlantic that we have to cross between Africa and South America) and the other back home to Nairobi after we finish our Brazil road trip from Sao Paulo, through Rio to Foz do Iguacu in Western Brazil and on to Porto Alegre.

Of the 12 members of our team (Split into 3 teams of 4 members each per car), we would like to at least have one team go on the trip if worst comes to worst. The whole trip will cost us a total of $83,000 Per vehicle of four. The cost is broken down as follows.

• $32,923 for stops and meals per car of four. Most stops are camping stops, some are hotels, some are apartments and cabins hosting by contacts we’ve talked to. We have 61 stops in total throughout the trip.
• $29,504.82 for fuel per car. Total driving Kilometers on our trip will be 58000km. We are using SUVs for the trip due to the treacherous nature of some of the roads we will go through.
• When we get to Dakar, Senegal, we will take flights from Dakar to Sao Paulo on Turkish Airlines (The cheapest alternative) that will cost $1529 per person. That translates to $6116 per car of four.
• After we are done with the road trip within Brazil which will take us from Sao Paulo, to Rio, all the way West to Foz do Iguacu then South to Porto Alegre, we will fly back to Nairobi on Emirates flights (Cheapest option) that will cost $1284 per person. That translates to $5136 per car of four.
• We will spend at least $6000 on car servicing, repairs and shipping to and from South America.
• Last but not least, we need $4000 worth of recording and publishing equipment to get the best quality footage and storytelling we can. This includes GoPro cameras, GPS devices, 2-way radios and sound recorders.

That is what we need to make this BIG dream a reality and send at least one car with four of us on this epic quest. Some of the things we will do before and after the trip is make a travel series out of the trip that will be on TV soon after the trip. We also will make Limited Edition coffee table photographic books with stories from the trip and also print T-Shirts and canvas framed photo prints. We will also hold numerous exhibitions both in Africa and South America during and after the trip.

To make this possible and to reward you for your generosity, we have put together these unique perks. This is what you get;

For $3500 you get

• “Executive Producer” title (Credited in the travel series, documentary and 300 page Limited Edition coffee table book)
• Three signed large canvas prints (100cmx66cm) of your choice from the entire gallery delivered.
• Your name and portrait printed in the Limited edition coffee table acknowledgements page. (Side Note: The coffee table book will be picked up by a few airlines as a destination showcase)
• Exclusive 300 page Limited edition copy of the Coffee Table photographic book.
• (Accompanying the Coffee Table book) Limited edition DVD documentary feature of the trip with behind the scenes footage and special mentions.
• Exclusive “OneTouch Live Executive Producer” T-Shirt and cap.
• Featured blog post about you and your work on our official and individual websites.
• A piece of history as a contributor of the first trip by Africans of its kind.

For $2000 you get

·  “Assistant Producer” title (Credited in the travel series, documentary and 300 page Limited Coffee table Photographic book)

·  Two signed large canvas print (100cmx66cm) of your choice from the entire gallery delivered.

·  Exclusive 300 page Limited Edition copy of the Coffee Table photographic book.

·  (Accompanying the coffee table book) Limited edition DVD documentary feature of the trip with behind the scenes footage and special mentions of executive producers.

·  Exclusive “OneTouch Live Assistant Producer” T- Shirt and cap.

·  A piece of history as a contributor of the first trip by Africans of its kind.

For $1000 you get

·  “Major Contributor” title (Credited in the travel series and documentary)

·  One signed large canvas print (100cmx66cm) of your choice from the entire gallery delivered.

·  “OneTouch Live Contributor” T- Shirt

·  A piece of history as a contributor of the first trip by Africans of its kind.

For $500 you get

·  “Friend of OneTouch” title

·  One signed medium canvas print (90cmx40cm) of your choice from the entire gallery delivered.

·  “Friend of OneTouch” T-Shirt and wristband.

·  A piece of history as a contributor of the first trip by Africans of its kind.

Since this is an ongoing quest, if we do not meet the target of $74,000 that will get us (One car of 4) to Rio and back to Nairobi, we will still do a smaller trip depending on where (For how much) the funds we have will take us to and still deliver the perks as promised.

The Impact

This project is more than a trip to us, it’s a blending of cultures, experiences, stories and lifestyles on a world stage and contributing to it will go a long way in showing how communities can appreciate each others’ uniqueness.

Not only do we want to change the perception the world has of Africa, we want to show Africa that the world is one huge global village. There is no “them” and “us”. It’s about appreciating the beauty that we have in the world. And you are now a part of that HUGE and ongoing quest.

We look forward to the fun, interesting, and informative, eye-opening and not-so-easy task ahead of us.

Other Ways You Can Help

We do understand that not all help can be financial and we need ALL the help we can get to make this happen.

If you can not contribute, please help us get the word out. Tell the world about us on Facebook, Google+, twitter and wherever you can. Tell your friends, family, EVERYBODY about us. Our hash tag is #OneTouchLive.

You can also give us contacts that you know in the countries mentioned above that can help us in any way while in those countries to make this project a lot easier.

You can use the Indiegogo Share tools easily for this purpose.

We thank you for your support and appreciate your help.