PR

What is Project: KAring?

Project: KAring is an online alternative education portal focused on the body mind and soul. We are a community of teachers and parents looking to provide children with the tools they need to be the best versions of themselves, and we want these tools to reach the whole child.

What need led you to create Project: KAring?

When I started homeschooling I found it challenging to find classes outside of the academic enrichment realm. My children ended up participating in a lot of adult courses on emotions and internal growth. So, I wanted to provide parents easy access to teachers, and unique programs.

Was it always an online business?

Originally, I had planned for a brick and mortar, but then I realized how limiting that would be and how much more people I could assist if I created an online realm.

Why did you change the way the business operated?

Once I figured out, how to reach more people, I had to create a business model that would facilitate every child to this type of education.

What does the website consist of?

The website is split into a directory, learning portal, parents’ community, blog, and programs. With the directory having a back door for our vendors to list their business and aligned business training to really help them shine.

Why did you create the Directory?

The directory’s main purpose is to bring the student and teacher together. But it also provides our vendors a place to learn, advertise and hold classes, and a place for the students to access all their teachers.

Why did you add the option of scholarships?

It was important that this type of education was available to all. SO we created a circle business plan in which the profits from the directory listings and advertising gets turned into scholarships that the children can use towards our vendors.

What are the events like?

Our larger events are a medley of vendors offering small samples of their services all in one place. Smaller events offer classes in the more unique realms of learning, for kids and parents.

What is the hopes for Project: KAring 10 years down the line?

We hope to be able to provide free alternative education to the masses, not only for homeschooled or unschooled kids but also as extracurricular.

Why did you sell your business?

I felt completely trapped by the crazy hours that my brick and mortar business required, and I wanted to have a choice on how to use my time.

Why did you start homeschooling?

There were many reasons I started homeschooling but the main one was to provide my kids with a more well-rounded education. We were going through a really hard time in our family life and there was never enough time to process the emotions of what was happening. So, I decided to give them the give of time and choice.

What made you decide to start traveling?

While homeschooling, I felt restricted in only offering them one perspective by being in one location, so I set off to explore how each part of the world lives and how they perceive their history.

How can you afford this lifestyle?

We minimized our spending, and “things”. We travel with minimal processions and house/pet sit on the road. We also stick to free activities and national parks.

How do you support yourself on the road?

I created an online business to help me with this goal, but during its creation I did many types of odd jobs for extra cash. I am a tinker fairy, so I can build you a house or bake you a cake.

Best tip on how to safe on the road?

National Parks Pass! There are so many incredible places included with this $80/per year pass and it pays for everyone in your party!

What is your favorite place to visit?

This one is impossible to answer, as each place has been amazing for a different reason, but I would say the place I keep going back to is Asheville, NC. The weather, the mountains, the people…. great combination.

Do your kids miss home?

There are a couple of ways I make sure this doesn’t happen:

• We created their space inside their dad’s home that they can call their own, and we touch back every few months.
• We hold regular family meetings on the road to make sure they are still enjoying the experience. During these meetings, they help plan and choose the length of time before we touch back.

What about their dad?

We’ve been very lucky to have the support of my ex-husband. He gives the kids child support and touches base with them regularly so they can feel supported.

What about socialization?

We meet many people on the road, we also take detours to meet unschooling families, but they will also facetime friends all over the world.

-Was born in Venezuelan to an Argentinian mom and a Cuban Dad. She migrated to the USA when she was 10 years old.

-She has been a single mom since 2015 and a full time traveler since February 2018.

-She has two daughters born in 2007 and 2008, who she schools on the road.

-she uses a combination of homeschooling, unschooling, world schooling and life schooling techniques.

-Her lodging choices usually include camping, van/suv and house sitting to submerge themselves in the culture of each place they visit.

-Together, they have traveled through the USA and some of Canada and Mexico.

-They enjoy outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, mountain biking, etc.

-She is an artist and entrepreneur, who owed a bakery for 10 years, which she opened with $2000 and grew it to 6-figures. She sold this business to start traveling.

-In 2015, She founded Project: KAring, an alternative education portal for kids focused on the body, mind, and soul.

-She works remotely to have the freedom to travel and, not only learn from as many people as possible, but to also touch as many lives as she can.

-Karen Matamoros is a coach helping parents create freedom in life, business and homeschooling while creating daily flow and cultivating their relationship with their children. 

-At the core of her work, she believes in catering to the child as a whole, and thus she offers kids and teens classes that cater to the entrepreneurial spirit and to help children grow into their dreams.

-She has been emerged in the self-help world since 1997 and became an ordained minister with Medicine Signs Spiritual Center in 2007.

-She considers herself a nomadic hippie as she lives a conscious life, making choices based on the premise of a better and healthier world.

-She maintains a plant-based diet and practices minimalism to help the planet.

-she is a published writer with a blog in which she shares about her travels, schooling and much more.

- Was founded on August 2015 by Karen Matamoros

- We are a community dedicated to providing children with the tools they require to become the best versions of themselves, by making alternative education focused on the body, mind, and soul available and easily accessible through tools, directories, and a community forum.

- Our mission is to facilitate the cultivation of each child’s mind, body, and spirit from an early age to avoid extreme outcomes which will require healing instead of nurturing. We aim to help grow a generation who does not need to heal from their childhood.

- Our website is made up of:

• Our directory was created to bring students and teachers together. It also offers aligned business education for our vendors to really help them shine in the online world.
• Our learning portal consists of videos for kids to facilitate our mission, contests, children from the community and the world that have accomplished amazing things, and much more
• Our programs are currently held in different parts of the USA, and vary from small courses, large events with local vendor, to retreats.
• Our parent community offers parents videos and articles on different forms of education, and a community forum to connect with other parents.
• Our blog is led by our founder, Karen Matamoros, with occasional guest bloggers. We write about our thoughts and experiences on education, as well as travel, and life in general.

- Our Profits Go Back to the Community! We may not be a non-profit organization but we function as one. All profits from advertising, our directory and events, create scholarships for the children to use with the vendor of their choosing. As we believe in the importance of providing the right choice in education to every child, not just to those from affluent backgrounds.

-Our name and logo came about in complex manner, as many contributed to its conceptualization. First, we needed a name that implied action. The word project implies teamwork, precision and a particular heading, all active, all which describe us perfectly. The second part of our name is a play between Caring and Karen, the project’s creator, but also an emphasis on the Egyptian word KA, demonstrated by the hands hieroglyph, which refers to life-force or spirit. KA coupled with a seedling or sprout shows the balance between the body and our life-force. This balance is what we believe should be at the core of children’s education. As when our inner and outer self is at harmony we can achieve great things.