Achetez un café à Paul Del Rosario

I'm Paul del Rosario, an educator, creative producer and builder based in Japan.

Most of my work starts with one question:

There are talented people here, and opportunities over there. Why aren't they connected?

So I connect them. Your support helps me do more of it.

What your coffee pays for

AI and professional software for Palestinian professionals in Gaza. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, design suites, development tools: the subscriptions that let engineers, designers, developers and creators keep working when they've been cut off from payment systems and markets.

Free workshops for displaced Palestinian professionals on remote work, CVs, scholarships and professional communication.

Platforms for paid work. Through The Itchy Olive, Olive Studio and Palestine Digital Mall, I build portfolios, products and client connections so Palestinian talent can earn from their skills.

Creative revitalization in rural Japan. Through KARAWAN, I bring filmmakers, photographers, designers and writers into depopulating towns to make real work with the people who live there.

As a rough guide: [one coffee ≈ X days of a professional tool for someone in Gaza / five coffees cover one monthly AI subscription]. (Adjust to your real numbers. Concrete figures convert far better than general appeals.)

In Gaza: partner, not donor

Subscriptions aren't the goal. Work is.

I develop projects with people in Gaza, not about them. More and more, I'm focused on ownership: products, books, software and businesses that Palestinian creators build, co-own and earn from.

I don't want anyone's relationship with the outside world to stay donor → recipient. I want partner ↔ partner.

In Japan: CREARTIVES AS REGENERATION

Japan's countryside is emptying. Houses and shops sit vacant, and younger generations leave. Meanwhile, creative people everywhere are looking for places to make things.

KARAWAN connects the two, starting in the greater Tokyo region and building outward. The goal isn't another tourism poster or mascot. It's creatives who actually come, make films, shoot photographs, build brands, run events, spend money, meet residents and stay.

In the classroom: work that outlives the semester

I've taught university students in Japan for decades. Today my students take on real problems for real communities, businesses and municipalities. I want them to leave with something that still exists after the course ends: a campaign, a film, a business, a portfolio, or a connection they'd never otherwise have made.

One thread

Gaza and rural Japan couldn't look more different, but the problem is the same: people with something to offer are disconnected from the people who need it.

I don't have a grand solution to either. I just refuse to believe that doing something small is the same as doing nothing.

My promise to supporters

Transparency: I'll post regular updates on what your support funded, including who received tools, what workshops ran, and what got built. [Monthly / quarterly]

Real outcomes: whenever possible, I'll share the work itself: portfolios, products, films and projects made possible by you.

Honesty: I'm an individual, not a registered charity, so contributions [are not tax-deductible]. Every coin goes into the work described above.

Help turns into opportunity. Opportunity turns into work. Work turns into independence.

Thank you for being part of the bridge.

— Paul del Rosario, Japan

The Itchy Olive · Olive Studio · Palestine Digital Mall · KARAWAN