The crowdfunding request was initially scheduled to coincide with the launch, in January, of Emphas.is - a new online platform for photojournalism.

Emphas.is offers a new financial model, by allowing photojournalists to appeal directly to their audiences for funding. The platform will work similarly to Kickstarter - a photographer will pitch a story, present a budget, and if he or she receives the necessary funds, they keep in touch with their backers with exclusive updates and access to the work.

Emphas.is was first expected to launch in January, but has been hit by delays, pushing Van Houtryve to publish, on his website, a pre-call for support.

Photographer Tomas Van Houtryve has been documenting the last communist holdouts around the world for the past seven years. He says that, despite a common misconception, communism is far from being dead, and "even today, the ideology lies at the heart of several contemporary conflicts and human right abuse," Laos being one of such examples.

Van Houtryve made the first trip to Laos in 2007 and describes the visit as being "extremely intense and troubling" despite of being brief. He admits being unable "to stay for long enough to put the situation in a broader context" and now aims to return and finish his documentation of contemporary Laos to "ensure this underreported story is told and distributed in a powerful way."

And he needs to go soon - "Unfortunately, my trip to Laos can not be delayed to a later date. There are key events scheduled in Laos which I should not miss," he says.

Beside gaining access to a traditional photo essay, mini-edition book and multimedia feature, Van Houtryve's backers will also receive "exclusive updates from the field [...] as the creative process unfolds." They will also be able "to help select which photos make the final edit [and] vote on the list of organizations and policy-makers to be sent mini-books."

Tomas Van Houtryve aims to raise $8800 USD to cover reporting and publishing costs and says, "though time is short, I believe that we can pull together to keep this project on track."

Visit Tomas Van Houtryve's website for more information.