🌍 project eben – same seed but different

A group of craftsmen who’ve known each other for a lifetime want to make a change. With our minds and our hands, we create something – for and with people we don’t even know.

Help for Self-Help 2.0.

💡 The Idea

project eben – same seed but different is an international three-phase permaculture project that shows how people can shape their own livelihoods – sustainably, locally, and together.

Our vision:

To develop a self-sufficient garden that can feed up to 30,000 people all year round – not as recipients of aid, but as independent creators of their own future.

“We can't solve problems with the same way of thinking we created them.”– Albert Einstein

project eben is just that – a new way of thinking. Moving away from short-term help toward long-term growth.

Nature doesn’t need people, people need nature.

🌏 The Three Phases

Phase 1 – Philippines (Asia):

Building two functional permaculture demonstration gardens near San Carlos City – as models for self-sufficiency and education.

Phase 2 – Madagascar (Africa):

Adapting the system to African conditions and creating a learning network.

Phase 3 – Bolivia (South America):

Combining the experiences from all regions into a globally adaptable concept.

After about twelve years, we aim to develop a fully modular permaculture system – a sustainable garden that can be built anywhere in the world, almost like assembling an IKEA kit.

Then begins the next step:

👉 project even – we can only give you everything.

Our guiding thought:

“We want to give people in disadvantaged regions access to food with ingredients they can pronounce.”

🛠 The Journey So Far:

My name is Jean-Jacques Baasch, born in 1978 in Cuxhaven, Germany. My mother is from the Philippines, my father was from Hamburg, and I have a French first name – I’m basically my own little three-country corner.

For nearly 20 years, I’ve been carrying this idea within me. It started when I first visited the Philippines as a child in the 1980s.

In 2007, I began searching for a place where I could create something meaningful with friends – a place where community, craftsmanship, and purpose come together.

In 2018, the pilot project “Mabuhay 2.0” came to life on the island of Sipaway near San Carlos City, Negros Occidental. We were supported by the mayor and the local disaster management team.

In 2020, everything was ready for the next step – then came the pandemic. My father passed away, and the plans had to be paused.

But dreams don’t stop.

Since February 2024, we’ve received official approval from the City of San Carlos and the Department of Agriculture, who have provided us with 6 hectares of land for Phase 1 – free of charge, for the people.

Over the past year and a half, my mother and I have shipped all our belongings, taken down our life in Germany, and are ready to start anew in the Philippines.

🌱 The Next Step – and Why We Need Your Support

So far, I’ve funded everything out of my own pocket –the idea, the travels, and the initial groundwork. Now it’s time to bring the land to life.

Over the next two years (2025–2027), we plan to:

• build rainwater cisterns and irrigation systems
• regenerate soil and establish composting zones
• plant trees (Moringa, Mango, Papaya, Bamboo, and more)
• construct a small training and community center
• organize workshops with local farmers, students, and families
• document everything openly so knowledge can be freely shared

💶 Funding Goals:

• €7,000 - Flights & collaboration with San Carlos City & website
• €30,000 - Two years of on-site development & independent work

Every contribution – big or small – helps my mother and me set foot on the Philippines before Christmas and lay the foundation for a garden that gives life.

Please help me to be helpful.

🤝 Get Involved & Contact:

If you’d like to learn more, become a patron for one of the project phases, or simply join in, feel free to reach out:

📧 [email protected]

All we have is now.

With love, Jean-Jacques