Today we have a great interview with Lisa Field Elliot, who’s been working on a fascinating documentary project around the world. Grab a cup of tea and read on to be inspired!

Lisa, you have a website called Doorways Traveler which is the home-base of a project you’ve been working on that combines your passion for travel, beauty & connection. When did you start that project and what is your vision?

The Doorways Project was born out of a trip I took to India in September, 2009. It was my first humanitarian documentary trip, and the place where I woke up to the true essence of my passions. Quite literally, I was in a remote village, sharing a cup of tea in the home of my new friend Sugan, talking about what it was like for her to become a member of the first women’s empowerment group in her village. I was completely taken by the beauty of the moment, of our fast-friendship, of what it is to see and be seen. It was right then that I recognized a glimpse of what freedom is for me: total presence. And I wanted nothing more than to have that experience again and again.

When I returned home from India, I decided that I wanted to create a project that explored the subject of women walking through doorways toward greater freedom in their lives. These doorways represent subtle or significant life decisions that demonstrate courage and compassion, and may defy reason and traditional choices, all leading to greater peace, happiness, and, ultimately, greater freedom. Further, it was my vision that the Doorways Project would create new doorways through alliance with compassionate international humanitarian organizations and the populations they serve; namely, those women who may not have the strength or resources to open the door for themselves.

Have you always led an adventurous life full of travel and connection?

I certainly always hungered for adventure and looked wherever I could to have the experience. When I was young, our family travel was all within the US, mostly around camping and boating. When I was in my early twenties, I found a way to adventure through working at camps for people with special needs in other states like Alaska and New Mexico. I loved the culture of camps, how the staff became family overnight. My husband and I married and became parents in our mid-twenties which postponed international travel until about five years ago when we went to Bali. It was in Bali that my realization of myself as a traveler really took hold. I finally acknowledged to myself that travel, for me, was as essential as any other form of self-care. I craved and needed the experience of the world becoming smaller. My career as a writer and photographer really came out of that trip.

How do you juggle family life and such projects that involve travel and extreme dedication?

Not very well! That said, we’re getting better at it. My upcoming trip will be the fifth international trip that I’ve taken solo since I launched Doorways Traveler. I have two children, ages 15 and 11, and we’ve learned as a family how to plan in advance so that needs are met while I am away. Sometimes that means after-school help, help with meals, or the occasional sleepover. My husband works from home, also, so that is a huge advantage.

When I am not traveling or working an extended photo shoot, I work early in the morning and during school hours. While I don’t always juggle gracefully, what I know is that I am a better parent when I am living my personal and professional passions. There is a famous quote by Carl Jung that resonates very strongly with me. It is, “The greatest burden a child must bear is the unlived life of the parents.” I live my own life, and I am a devoted wife and mother. One is not exclusive of the other. While we may eat out more than I care to admit, and there is laundry often left unfolded, we are happy. That’s what matters to me.

There are lots of women out there that have put off a life of travel and adventure because of financial constraints. You are using Kickstarter to fund your projects. Can you share with the GGG community how Kickstarter works and what has been your experience with it?

Kickstarter is an incredible web platform for the express purpose of crowd-funding creative projects. Project proposals are submitted, subject to approval by Kickstarter staff, and, once approved, given a dedicated web page to present the project and take pledges for backing. Once a project is fully backed, and ONLY if it is fully backed, fund pledges received for the project, and payments are processed securely through Amazon payments. It really is an incredibly easy, yet high integrity, way to fund creative projects. I have loved backing other photographers and film makers, and it feels great to be a part of making something beautiful happen.

It is a vulnerable experience to put our creative vision out there and to ask others to back them with money. But the idea is that a little from many can allow for so much more opportunity. I love that Kickstarter does not allow for the project creator to pledge for their own project in order to meet the funding goal. There is an interdependence in that policy–I can back you, but I need you to back me.

Your next Doorways project is in Mexico. Where are you going and what will you be documenting?

I will be traveling to San Miguel de Allende and to the Copper Canyon in Mexico  August 17-27, 2011 where I will be documenting the work of midwives in both Central San Miguel de Allende, where the CASA maternity hospital and midwifery program are located, and then deep in the remote Copper Canyon, where One Heart World-Wide is working to create a network of safety with the indigenous people of the region, the Tarahumara, among the poorest and most highly effected by maternal mortality in the world.

The goal of this project is to document midwives and mothers working together, in both the CASA maternity hospital and in the One Heart World-Wide Clinic in the Copper Canyon, to show both the need for life-saving skills and resources to reduce high rates of maternal and infant mortality, as well as the personal impact that these programs have already had on the health and lives of rural mothers in Mexico.

This project has extra significance for me because for many years I thought that I would someday become a midwife. I had my own two births attended by midwives, and I attended many births as an apprentice, a doula, and, briefly, as an OB nurse. I speak the language of mothers and birth and I speak the language of story and imagery–I cannot wait to have the two intersect.

That sounds amazing! I completely believe that by supporting the dream of others we get closer to achieving our own dreams. It is my experience that by chipping in to make someone’s dream a reality, we are basically putting some money into our own karmic cookie jar, so when our turn comes around – when we are ready to declare our own dreams out loud and ask for help – we also find the support we most need for ourselves.

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Since I know we have a community of travelers and bold dreamers here, tell us: How can we help you meet your goal?

I’m getting very close, but I definitely need more pledges to meet my funding goal, and I’ve got just one week to go! Like I said before, Kickstarter only funds fully backed projects and charges are only made once the funding goal is fully met. I promise to pay it forward and to continue to back other projects. I truly believe that there is enough to go around to make all of our dreams come true. Again, the link to the page is {here} Please share it on Facebook, Twitter, Blogs and anywhere else you can think of! Thank you so much for having me, Alex. I am so inspired by the Gypsy community and all the creative generosity in this space. To passion, freedom, and many open doors ~ Lisa

Lisa Field-Elliot is a photographer and writer from Santa Barbara, California. She shares her experiences, in words and images, at doorwaystraveler.com with the hopes of inspiring you to look for your next doorway to freedom.

posted by Alessandra Cave.