The first Oasis Armada boat set sail from Jarna, Sweden, headed South on the quest for a better world. It was pouring rain, but the motley crew of four recently graduated participants from the International Youth Initiative Program were determined to keep their promised departure date.

Onja Hardorp from Germany is the owner of the boat. I had the idea, the dream, to create the Oasis Armada and so decided to do everything in order to make this dream come true. So I bought this cheap sailing yacht. With the help of people from all over the world, and over $2,000 donated to the project, we are now on our way.

As we sail South towards Portugal, we will be connecting with different organizations, businesses and initiatives that are working to create positive social, environmental, political or economic change in this world. We will be living as self-sustainably as possible, in the spirit of abundance, and using gift economy.

Oasis Armada envisions a world where all things on earth co-exist in harmony where we as humans have sustainable relationships with our environment, and with each other. We are aligned with the permaculture principles of Earth Care, People Care, and Fair Share. Finally, we see that we can act as a catalyst towards reaching this vision by practicing what we preach, and by sharing our experiences and skills in order to awaken, inspire and empower others. Alex Forsyth, one of the two female crew members talks about her vision for the journey, My vision is to connect people and places as we sail, leaving a positive impact on each place we visit, whether its a connection with one individual or a positive impact on an entire community. I am passionate about raising awareness of the potential of gift economy, its benefits, and its magic. Finally, I hope to spread ideas about reconnection to the earth, world, each other, our food, our homes, our careers and our lives.

We hope that as the word spreads, more and more people will join us, and that soon we will have an actual armada, a fleet of ships sailing for a better world.

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