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Ruta Pantera

PanAmerican travel with 
Chris Engholm and friends



Hola and welcome to the first Ruta Pantera company meeting.  Someone should probably take a photograph for historical purposes.  

My name is Chris.  Chris Engholm.  I’m third generation Norwegian, born in southern California.  I grew up surfing and backpacking and taking pictures.  After studying history and anthropology at the University of California, I worked as a business journalist writing books about international business.  I was very fortunate and was able to travel the world as a writer.  But  now that I don’t have to work, I have decided to hire myself for the job I always wanted --- that of a publisher of a magazine.

Introductions are in order…

I started the Ruta Pantera project a year ago.  We have one full-time employee besides myself, Heydi Bernal, who could not be with us today.  I rent a room in her apartment as the Medellin office of Ruta Pantera.  We have another office and studio space in the state of Arkansas, where I live. 

What Is Ruta Pantera?  (The Website)

Ruta Pantera is an essential source of inspiration
and advice for travelers in Pan America.

In short, we are a digital publishing platform; that is, a content-rich magazine that exists online as a “zine,” occassionally in print form, and as a “travel channel” or podcast.  An “app” version of Ruta Pantera is in development as well.

Are you with me so far? 

The name for our project has more than artistic value.  In the 1990s, a group of ecologists at Yale University in the U.S. recognized that the bioregions of the hemisphere had become over-developed and separated from each other, harming the region’s habitats.  They set out to reconnect them throughout the length the hemisphere.  They named their idea of relinking regions, “Paseo Pantera,” because this chain of biospheres roughly matched the orginal range of the jaguar cat. 

I liked this idea of saving the hemisphere through recreating connections, putting the puzzle back together again.  I also liked the idea of focusing on our own hemisphere, and generating a new paradigm for how it is perceived by people who live in it.  (The idea of Pan-American Unity has a long history, and in light of climate change, I think it is time for this idea to live again.) 

The question for me was, “How can I create a travel-related project that might help shift ecological awarness and create a new sustainable perspective.”

And that’s where the jaguar metaphorically raised its head.  Jaguars lives in the Amazon, they live in the Arizona desert, and they live in the Andes mountains.   They are super-adaptable and have no fear of traveling long distances…along their native route.  They are also curious, fearless, and can live anywhere.  Again, metaphorically, the jaguar is an “animal guide” and inspiration for all travelers in the New World.  

Hence, I borrowed the notion of a “Paseo” but I made it a “Route.”  



Ruta Pantera
We are all explorers in a new world


The Ruta Pantera is nothing less that a new pilgrimage route just like the Ruta Maya and the Camino de Santiago in Spain. 

Our purpose as writers, designers and presenters for Ruta Pantera is to invite and initiate travelers to engage with the waypoints along this route– natural sites, urban districts where culture thrives, paradise-like beaches, and places of spiritual power.  Think of us as animators of this new route for travelers seeking transformative experience and life-enriching connection. 


Ruta Pantera
Inspiring deep travel in Pan America


Our aim to inspire “deep,” or conscious, mindful travel in the western hemisphere; that is, Pan America —all three Americas. 

What is deep travel?  Ecological travel, last chance travel, culinary or gastronomic travel, romantic travel, family ancestor travel, dark tourism, and medical travel --- all of these new and increasingly popular forms of travel are fueling a growing travel & hospitality industry worldwide. 

The travel industry is the largest industry in the world, based on the number of people employed in it: 330 million jobs worldwide.  Tourism in Latin American countries is growing on average at a rate of 17 to 20% annually.  Incredibly, almost 10 percent of total global GDP is now generated by tourism.  People want and need to “Go. See. Do. And most of all -- connect.”




Ruta Pantera
Go. See. Do. Transform.


As a  publisher of travel information and destination story-telling, it is our job to introduce, invite, and initiate our members to new travel experiences in the hemisphere.  We make our guests aware of places to visit.  We help to make them comfortable with the idea of going, venturing, trying out new experiences in countries they may not have considered traveling before.

In short, we put them on the pilgrimage trail I have been on for the past 10 years, and especially this past year -- to experience legendary places, connect with culture deeply, and benefit from personal change and growth by doing so.

We are helping to connect diverse people of the hemisphere through travel, food, music, heritage, and fashion in order to foster a new, more unified, hemispheric consciousness.


Ruta Pantera
Become a part of something big


I started traveling in the hemisphere 15 years ago as a photographer and film maker, after studying History and Anthropology at the University of California.  I then became a business journalist and wrote ten books about international business in Asia, Europe and Latin America.

But I always found myself gravitating to projects about culture and exotic destinations. At one point I was crazy enough to drag my family to live at Lago Atitlan in Guatemala for a year.  In the process I gathered a huge collection of photography and video, especially related to indigenous peoples and natural places. 

When my parents passed away I decided to put their money to good use, rather then retire to a golf course community in California.  So I have been traveling and developing content for this project for one year now….and (thanks to God) we still have money left for this year. 

The project has shifted in focus a little over time, but the fundamental purpose and model remains the same.  We are a digital traveler’s magazine focused on the 35 countries of the Western Hemisphere.  Our content will take three forms at the outset: a zine, a travelcast, and an App. 

•	As a zine, we will build a user base which advertisers want to introduce to the products.

•	As a travel show, we will inform and entertain while we invite viewers to subscribe to our magazine and use our App.

•	The App will know where are members are, so you can imagine how we an then leverage our rich content to deliver customized experiences in real time.  



Ruta Pantera
Our beat is Gondwana


The platform’s website, posting sites, and App feature rich multimedia content for an audience located throughout the hemisphere, in three languages.  

Among its offerings are articles, called “Experiences,” video programs, called “ReelTours,” a TravelDesk featuring news and advisories, and the largest searchable travel FAQ of its type.  

The Experiences section is divided into types of travel that we want to profile: adventure, culture, nature, beauty and wellness, food & spirits, among others. 

Our ReelTours section contains various formats, including Waypoints, (short explanations about destinations in a vertical format), ReelTours (longer reels in a vertical format similar to a video article), Eco-streams, (introducing little-known natural places) and Short Films, documentary-style programs in a horizontal format.

Our database of travel questions, or TravelFAQ, will soon be delivered by AI-generated presenters (called Tres Amigos).

Moreover, all of the content we publish has the potential to be used in our LiveCast programming broadcast from our two studios, one in Arkansas and the other in Medellin; we plan a vigorous schedule of podcasting to generate user interest and build our brand.

Ruta Pantera also plans to offer advertising space and paid subscriptions to generate revenue, as well as solicit donations and grants for specific publishing projects.  The company also plans to review and market products in our Biotique store.


Ruta Pantera
Deep travel.   Timeless style.


In fact, “Lifestyle” is the left hand of Ruta Pantera.  While our publishing is designed to inspire deep and enlightened travel, I envision Ruta Pantera walking on two legs: deep travel and “timeless style.”

Our boutique – called the BioTique -- will be a curated space.  We can make it much more than an attractive storefront for our “merch.”  For one thing, we can curate other designers and gear and offer reviews and recommendations.  Secondly, in articles we can cover fashion trends and events, new lines, and new gear.  And third, we can help new companies advertise and create promotional reels.  And other ideas will emerge for us to pursue in our BioTique. 

We want to promote an enlightened sense of lifestyle among our subscribers -- how to see more, how to find opportunity, and what to wear.  In other words, we want to define and promote a style of travel: and our unique sense of style is what I would like this group to develop as a part of Ruta Pantera.  This report will get us started.  Ema and Jazmin produced it and I will make sure you all have a copy. 

To mention another resource for us, we have Marbelle who has been with our project since the beginning.  She is now experienced selling clothing and can be a model for the clothing layouts you design.


Ruta Pantera
Membership has its benefits


How do we make money?  The old-fashioned way.  We earn it.  Ruta Pantera is not a get-rick-quick scheme.  

We earn financial reward one subscriber, one member, and one advertiser, at a time.  We are building a family.  We win each guest, and then we turn that guest into a subscriber, paying $7 a year.  And then we turn her into a Member, paying $17 per year. 

Imagine we have earned 5,000 subscribers and 1000 members.  That amounts to $47,000 in annual revenue, a little more than our current overhead.  If we double those numbers to 10,000 subscribers and 2000 members, we can each work as many paid hours as we want.  Just so you know, I am funding this project personally without outside investors or shareholders.


Lastly, let’s talk a little about our brand. Today it’s important to be credible and “best in class,” but also personal.  So I will be the mascot. The protagonist and the guide at least at the outset. 


Ruta Pantera
PanAmerican travel with Chris Engholm and friends


However, there is plenty of room for other presenters and personalities.  For example, Jazmin could develop into a “food and spirits” reviewer and influencer.  Marbelle could influence young people as to what they wear and where they travel.  

My point is this: this platform is open for you to develop in directions that you want to develop.  If you have an idea, write it down and propose it to the group.  The worst that can happen is the group says, “No.  Try again.”  

So please feel free to propose ideas as we move towards our launch and beyond.

Ruta Pantera
The journey is the reward


I want to welcome you all to the Ruta Pantera journey.  We are all explorers in this new world.  First and foremost, let’s try keep the daily process of working on this project fun and exciting.  Support each other so we can all be successful.  The journey is the reward. 

Now, while my personal motto sounds warm and fuzzy, let’s also talk about actual monetary reward.   

At this time, everyone involved in this project is paid $20 an hour, except Heidi Bernal who works full-time so receives less per hour.  Right now, we are moving from one contracted micro-project to the next, an article here, a research report there, a set of drawings from Victoria -- one task at a time toward our official launch in December.  

For the next few months, I will be engaging each of you to do work, but I cannot guarantee you hours of work.  However, once we meet the numbers I mentioned, this will be the first thing I do.  And when we double our numbers, I will make you all regular employees (if you’re interested) as well as equity holders of a percentage of the company.

Any questions?   Thanks to you all for helping me along this “paseo.”  

Chris Engholm
What’s App: +1 479.670.1983
chris@rutapantera.com
http://rutapantera.com
#larutapantera

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