The Rocket Festival Project by Robert Isenberg

INTRODUCTION When Americans look at a map of Asia, they see a lot of familiar countries: Vietnam, China, Burma, Thailand. But what about Laos?
This landlocked country borders nearly every other nation in Southeast Asia -- and yet we know almost nothing about it.Laos is a land of contradictions:
Mostly Buddhist, yet ruled by a one-party Communist government. Desperately poor, yet famously kind. Centrally located, yet ignored by all.The most
peculiar fact about Laos: It is the most heavily bombed country in human history. But why? And how does a nine-year "Secret War" affect
the nation today?

ABOUT ME I am a writer, photographer and stage-performer based in Pittsburgh. For 10 years, I have written about arts, culture and global travel for
newspapers and magazines. In 2009, I trekked through the former Yugoslavia by bus, which inspired my book "The Archipelago: A Balkan Passage," published
in 2011 by Autumn House Press. The book concerns the postwar experience in Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia.This book has launched the next stage of my
writing career: To visit countries that have experienced major national trauma, and describe their recovery.

THE PROJECT I will visit Laos, starting in late April 2011. While I will travel as a civilian and tourist, I will document my travels and correspond
with my backers. Based on this exploration, I will write a book-length manuscript and produce a series of photo-essays.The project takes its name from
the annual Rocket Festival, a celebration of fertility and the oncoming rainy season. Laotians fire enormous bamboo rockets into the sky, to earn
prestige for their families and in the hopes of a bountiful harvest. I feel this an apt metaphor for the optimism and tenacity of this deeply damaged state.

YOUR GENEROUS SUPPORT My trip through the Balkans cost only $1,700, including round-trip airfare from Pittsburgh to Athens, Greece. This resulted in an
acclaimed book, a successful reading-tour, and a smash-hit one-man-show, performed at Future Tenant Gallery in Pittsburgh. I funded the trip myself.For
this project, I am soliciting $1,500 in donations in order to fly to Bangkok, Thailand, then take an overland route to Laos. I am well-known for my light
and frugal travel habits, and this budget should perfectly suit the project.

All backers will enjoy regular dispatches and exclusive excerpts from "The Rocket Festival" manuscript. Your support will not only help bring a hybrid
of journalism and art into the world -- you will also aid in re-introducing two disparate cultures, once bound by politics, history, and a forgotten
migration.