Anywhere?
Or are we just getting started? The contest I posted, now for the second time, hasn't had too many submissions. There are supposedly a couple of them in the making, but none of them actually made it. So I'm just going to leave it up here, open ended. If anyone would like to submit something according to the guidelines, I'll appreciate it, in fact I'll even upvote and resteem it, and I might even write about it. I won't put it to a contest, unless I get a good number of simultaneous submissions... which COULD be the perfect jump-start to this entire project, so you guys are still highly encouraged! In any case, I'm far from abandoning the whole idea, but just like in a campfire, the roaring flames have become glowing embers. They'll keep going for a while, but will need some more wood in order to start the flames again.
Again, What Is This All About?
Steemians around the world, who like to grow, brew, sew, and draw things, are encouraged to get in closer contact with each other, by exchanging some of their products via mail, in a pay-it-forward fashion, to eventually circle the globe. The products are supposed to be gifts, and the shipping costs are to be covered together, by posting and upvoting on Steemit. The challenge is to find the best way to connect the interested participants in the cheapest, most efficient way possible. That's it, pretty much, in a nutshell. For more detailed descriptions, take a look at my previous posts:
Post 1 Post 2 Post 3 Post 4 Post 5 Post 6
Meanwhile We're Still Taking Baby Steps
As long as the embers keep glowing, I keep accumulating the funds, and the names of users who once said they may be interested. The payoff for the last two posts have been added to the previous amount, bringing us to a GRAND TOTAL of 36.969 SBD and 1.509 SP. Obviously, I want to add the reward for this post also. I may even keep posting about this for a while, depending on public resonance.
Post Rewards:
Post 1: 0.027 SBD, 0.025 SP
Post 2: 0.125 SBD, 0.115 SP
Post 3: 0.335 SBD, 0.245 SP
Post 4: 1.336 SBD, 1.007 SP
Post 5: 0.048 SBD, 0.038 SP
Post 6: 0.098 SBD, 0.079 SP
TOTAL: 1.969 SBD, 1.509 SP
Donations:
July 29 5 SBD
July 31 30 SBD
Interested Participants:
@ecoinstant --- Tolima, Colombia 371048 --- 1lb hand picked and finely roasted organic coffee (mmmhhh).
@stortebeker --- Mexico City 11850 --- a bottle (750ml) of home brewed mead or a jar of spirulina pesto.
@nerd-minion --- Missouri, USA 65742 --- a lost treasure, found with his metal detector!
@greenacrehome --- North Carolina, USA --- a hand-made soap or an item from his woodworking shop.
@spaingaroo --- Southern Spain 23670 --- medicinally modified extra-virgin olive oil (or, depending on the local laws, maybe another non-food item).
@ecoknowme --- India --- soap, oil, and spices that you would expect from South India AND COFFEE.
@overthewait --- Queensland, Australia --- a handmade steempunk item.
Some Similar Projects:
While this challenge is taking its time, I would like to bring to attention a couple of similar projects I have encountered. If nothing else, I can do a bit of curating:
A Bumblebee on Tour
If you are familiar with the movie Amelie, you may remember her dad's garden gnome sending home pictures of his world tour, animating the father to go traveling himself. This is a similar idea by 
BarryTheBee - The Adventures of the Traveling Steemit Bumblebee - Promoting Pollinators
A Contest for a Bushcraft Handbook
Have you heard of the Foxfire books? I haven't myself, before seeing this post, but they seem to be quite famous sources various topics concerning wilderness survival to country living. Some of the things mentioned are building log-cabins and dressing hogs, but include others, such as snake lore and faith healing. If you are interested in these topics, there is a contest for you, posted by 
Okay, so for those who may be interested, the Steem Around The World Challenge is still up. It's not gonna go away either, for a while at least, so I'm looking forward to any suggestions, will gladly clarify any questions, and always happy to read any story submissions, for those who missed the contest.