What would happen if every time someone asked you something , you said “ Yes ”? In a ground-breaking experiment , we decided to find out . Andrew Clover is ... The man who says “ Yes ”. This week , Andrew goes to the Dominican Republic ...
The vow always to say “ Yes ” started on a cliff top in Cornwall , at a retreat about Magickal Thinking , which states “ If you align your desires with those of Mother Earth , she ’ ll help .” I was being afflicted with a wild desire to do three things , which I wrote down : 1 : To find help to sail the Atlantic 2 : To find ruined rainforest to rewild 3 ) To learn why I wanted all this . Then I tucked the paper in the rock . A week later , someone from the retreat invited me to write five Ted-Talks on the Climate Crisis , where I learned the average Brit makes six tonnes of CO2 a year , but scientists say the sustainable amount is 2.5 . Could I reduce ? I wondered . How ?
The day after the Ted Talks , I had a date with a professional explorer , so asked her , “ Where would you find ruined rainforest ?” “ Minca , in Colombia ,” she said . Six months later , she said she ’ d come with me .
I was then contacted by ex-Brighton resident , Kate McAllister , who runs The Hive , a school of self-directed learning in the Dominican Republic . Would I visit their school ? I ’ d teach a term in spring 2023 . I replied I would – if the school could help plant a thousand trees .
The explorer and I both paid a deposit to sail the Atlantic on a schooner . The next day she chucked me . Heartbroken , I sold off my possessions , rented out my house , and set off to sail the Atlantic – where I was delighted to see minke whales , sperm whales , Atlantic dolphins , gannets , cattle egrets , and – 900 miles from land - a swallow , who spurned my seeds and water . He just wanted what I wanted on that ship : a rest .
Arriving in the Dominican Republic , I sought a tree-planting project to learn what trees grow there – and the only one that replied was in Haiti . At the border to Haiti , I learned criminal gangs were kidnapping foreigners . A text arrived from my ex , telling me not to contact her . I thought I might as well proceed .
In Haiti , forbidding instructions , trying to contact the ex , I fell 10 feet to concrete – breaking ribs , and spent six days lying on a floor , where my only visitor was Patrick , who wanted £ 400 to train as a plumber . I gave it to him . Next day , I planted my first trees .
Back in the Dominican Republic , I planned to visit local schools , to persuade 1000 children to plant 1000 trees . But the project ’ s hardest moments ( after the heartbreak ) were the seven two hour visits to the bank , seeking 3000 dollars , to buy trees . Almost catatonically depressed , I applied Antony de Mello ’ s
advice : “ Don ’ t change yourself , observe yourself ” and I saw myself objectively – still heartbroken , and desperate for encouragement .
Realising I was the witness of the thoughts , not the thinker , it engendered grace . Now magical things happened fast . Having only paid 1200 dollars , I was given 1000 trees . I was approached by a headmaster , who invited us to visit .
Still , as we started the day giving out trees , we had arranged only two school visits , reaching 140 children . Leaving the first school , the bus driver stopped at a second , where we met the mayor , and were photographed for the local paper , spreading our message further . Another school contacted … By the day ’ s end , we ’ d seen six schools , giving 840 trees .
That still left 160 , but a friend from the Atlantic crossing connected me to a local organic farm . I took the 160 trees , and 20 volunteers turned up to plant them . We quickly filled the organic farm , then doubled its size , by buying a new fence …
Though proud of the project , I ’ ve not publicly written or spoken about it – from bashfulness , and serenity too . But …
“ We ’ re doing a Fringe edition ,” said The Whistler editor last week , “ Have you a story you can make into a show ?”
Well , I do , as you ’ ve heard , but surely I was too late to register it , wasn ’ t I ? I dived into the Festival website , where I learned of the hundreds of venues which even include someone ’ s back garden , and found a spot at the Caxton Arms , at 13 45 pm , on Sunday June 2nd . I ’ d walked it the day before , and an instinct said , “ This is your venue ”.
So I ’ ll be there , longing to tell the tale , and to meet like-minded folks afterwards . I ’ ll also tell the juiciest bit of all – how I got lost in Colombian jungle , as I headed for Minca , but found my way to the Lost City of the Kogis , where I made a life-changing discovery – even more impactful than the idea “ If you align your intentions with those of Mother Earth – she ’ ll help .”
Will you please come and hear what it is ? l The Caxton Arms , 36 North Gdns , BN1 3LB
01273 387346