The original ?and brillant- idea belongs from Alex Tew, age 21, english student, and came out to generate himself economic resources for his university studies. The objective was to sell advertising spaces of 10 x 10 pixels (minimum visible space) which cost one dollar each, on an extension of one million pixels. All the pixels were sold, and Alex has already his million dollar. The million site is becoming an icon for internet.
Many people had follow his steps, with different purposes.
Macarena Rosales, a peruvian eco-tourism lover, has a dream. The idea came out during a trip to the Peruvian Amazonia. She went to Codo del Pozuzo (Hu?nuco Region), and was delighted with its people and customs, as as with the beauty of the Forest, and specially for a principal characteristic: Codo del Pozuzo is almost a virgin town in the sense that, although it is a town, Pozuzo is not contaminated by other Peruvian cities? damaging activities, such as nonregulated trade, delinquency, informalism and other economic growth impediments. The whole region is untouched for the abovementioned situations because of perhaps its difficult access and maybe for being a colony directly coming from German descendants who reached this place fascinated with the green tropical rainforest of the Amazonia of Hu?nuco and settled there many years until present.
She was talking to the villagers and making a kind of vivential tourism when she was informed about the sale of a piece of land which was deforestated for shepherding. Returning to Lima, after thinking a lot and having many talks about it, the idea of the project was conceived. Macarena was full motivated and she intended not only to exploit and transform again that land into a small piece of lung of the Amazonia, but to give the surrounding communities the opportunity to economically take advantage of it in a conscious and ecological way. She wanted to promote reforestation and benefit both the environment as well as the ecosystem. And this is not definitely a cheap project.
She was looking for a way to finance her dream effectively and creatively. A system generating the necessary funds to the project development without asking for donations. Then she happened to read about Alex?s project, and decided to create
www.themilliontreeshomepage.com. A pixel-selling site, but with a very important purpose: she is going to plant one tree for pixel. If all the pixels are sold, there will be one million trees!
The found enclave for the project is a large piece of land of private property of 285 entitled Has., from which 80 Has. is a protected area (reserved) and the rest was used for shepherding.
Macarena talked to the local authorities to have the possibility to extend this type of project to the local communities, promoting responsible reforestation and exploitation of cattle and forest resources without damaging the ecosystem, just benefiting it.
Macarena Rosales has a dream, and wants her million? One million trees.
http://www.themilliontreeshomepage.com YouTube - The Million Trees Home Page