ErinOCon
commented
1 year ago Hi @GioiaLulu, thank you for your proposal! This grant has been approved. I have sent an email to the provided address to discuss next steps.
Closed GioiaLulu closed 1 year ago
ErinOCon
commented
1 year ago Hi @GioiaLulu, thank you for your proposal! This grant has been approved. I have sent an email to the provided address to discuss next steps.
Open Grant Proposal:
Help Suriname fight deforestation by opening NTFP bioeconomy facilities in collaboration with the local communitiesHelp Suriname fight deforestation by opening NTFP bioeconomy facilities in collaboration with the local communities :
Proposal Category:
greenProposer: Gioia Lulu (in the name of John Goedschalk)
(Optional) Technical Sponsor: `Alan Ransil'
Do you agree to open source all work you do on behalf of this RFP and dual-license under MIT, APACHE2, or GPL licenses?: Yes
Project Description
The disconnect between the world of nature-based communities and the inhabitants of the industrialized nations is a driving force of separation within mankind as we look towards finding ways to survive the climate catastrophe. While the citizens of former colonial powers and newly industrialized nations seek to align their climate contributions with the associated lifestyles, those living closer to nature are finding their reality unraveling at speed. This imbalance leads to shutting out small communities from the global marketplace and consequently makes space for other harming industries, such as gold mining practices that threaten the Amazon further in polluting the global ecosystem.
The solution of Bio.Bridge is to provide appropriate levels of access to financial capital, technology and market by supporting the development of Forest and Bio-Economy based, community-owned ventures. In exchange, the local communities sign Conservation Agreements that further protect the forest under their surveillance and careful maintenance. One facility has been built by Conservation International in Alalapadu (Suriname) as a proof of concept that is now under forest surveillance and protection of more than 200’000 hectares of standing forest. The livelihood of the community has been massively improved, new job opportunities arised and the generated revenue brought improvement in the medical and educational infrastructure. Bio.Bridge plans to open additional 200 facilities in Suriname to protect 4m hectares of rainforest and improve the economy and welfare of the whole country.
With the help of Filecoin’s Grant, we aim to first understand the global demand from the buyer's side (of Non-Timber Forest products), when presented as a MVP supply chain traceability and then, secondly, develop the technological part of the bio-based venture. The Bio.Bridge is working on developing a platform that stores, among others, tracking information about the bio-based ventures and their products and makes revenue splits transparent and accessible by the local communities, buyers and all stakeholders involved.
With the help of blockchain technologies, the products can be traced through the entire supply chain and makes information available to any person who scans the QR code on the end product. Additionally, carbon emission and sequestration information etc. will be visible on chain (to calculate the footprint). In the long run, this stored information can serve for further development of the platform (tokenization, loyalty program, NFT utility, etc.). Additionally, the mapping of further valuable plants to generate the next facility should be visible on the platform too (with the help of Bioverse Labs who can locate them with their satellite technologies).
Value
Suriname is the greenest country on earth, having 93% of the land covered by rainforest. Illegal gold mining practices and timber logging are advancing which harms the environment on a large scale. The Bio.Bridge is helping local communities to build bio-economy ventures and signing Conservation Agreements in exchange for forest protection. This contributes to the great goal to stop advancing deforestation.
The NTFP 'Non-timber forest products' that can be harvested and processed in standing forests. The first pilot project in Alalapadu has harvested the Brazil Nut of the Brazil nut Tree and processed it into a valuable oil for the cosmetic industry. The Brazil Nut oil is now being sold on the international market and generates value for local communities and an added economic advantage for the country as a whole.
In order to support supply chain tracking, Bio.Bridge is in need of a tracking system to verify the origin of the products. We are asking Filecoin for supporting the tech side in building a portal where information about what different communities has been harvesting different non-timber forest products, and its processing and sales path. The end product package contains a QR code that can be read by a smartphone by the end consumer and track back its origin. Additionally, the platform should also be able to track the ecological footprint (how much emission is released and sequestered. Last but not least, the generated revenue of the sold products and record its sending to the community. This to ensure the fair trade and profitability of the producers.
Benefits: Transparency of the origin from the product, ecological footprint and revenue share.
Risks: There is no demand for the Non Timber Forest products on the global market. The information is not well and correctly set on chain what could lead to wrong information for the end consumer.
Deliverables
A platform that has the following setup:
Dashboard with different functionalities: (part of MVP) Supply Chain Tracking Storing information about the products produced by local communities. On the platform any information of the supply chain should be accessible and visible.
_(part of MVP) Cost, revenue and profit Tracking Storing information about the costs, revenue and profits generated. On the platform any information of the supply chain should be accessible and visible.
(part of MVP) Store information on new plants in Suriname to determine the next venture With the help of the technology of Bioverse Labs, new potential trees to further harvest can be identified and stored on the blockchain.
(not part of the MVP. later development) Gamification and future investment vehicle The platform has a wallet login function. Buyers can link their wallet to the platform and if they have been involved in funding the project or next facility, they can get an NFT that proves their contribution or get ‘’CO2 requested’’ tokens airdropped. This could build further on opening an own DAO that decides on future decisions and development of the platform or the bio ventures.
Development Roadmap
Milestone 1: Approval of Grant by Filecoin, to start the process to buy the oil from Alalapadu facility and ship it to the European market. Once the product has arrived to the Netherlands for testing the market, the fulfillment process (labels, storage, etc.) starts + materials ready and we start selling over e-commerce platforms.
Stakeholders: Filecoin (Grant approval), John Goedschalk (Coordinator of the project), his team from Conservation International (shipment and packaging) and the community of the processing facility in Alalapadu (processor of the oil and prepare for shipment), Gioia Lelli (Marketing, Communication, fulfillment in the Netherlands), Nir Vaida (Marketing, Communication)
Duration: After Filecoins approval, this can be set into action immediately. Shipment will be ready within 1 week after receiving the initial funding. Marketing is ready to execute and promote.
Funding requested: $ 39,980
Milestone 2: With the help of Filecoin, the first MVP is ready for scanning the QR code on the label of the package and track back to the facility where the oil is coming from.
Stakeholders: Stefan Renton (Product lead), John Goedschalk (information and knowledge base), Gioia Lelli (QR- label on package)
Duration: Prototype ready in 2 weeks before the NOAH conference (6th of December in Zurich, CH)
Funding requested: Engineering support requested from Protocol Labs.
Total Budget Requested
The venture ‘Bio.Bridge’ enables capital, technology and market access to the franchisees, who become the next Forest and Bio-Economy based community-owned ventures.
In order to understand the demand of the buyers side, we are in need of a first grant to test the market for the Non-Timber Forest Products coming from the first Bio-ecnomy venture.
First round: The investment capital will be used for the following expenditures: Equipment: US$ 80 Furniture and Fixtures: $250 Vehicles: $100 Oil purchase Tuhka/Alalapadu 600 Liters à $30: $18,000 — Based of 30ml per bottle, the cost price per bottle is: Purchase of oil: $0.91 Transport to Paramaribo: $0.18 Transport to the Netherlands: $0.97 Glass bottle: $1.67 Supplies: $1 Total costprice per bottle: 4,73 — Ship to Paramaribo 2*1750 of a charter Cessna 206: $3,500 Shipping to NL (40liter @ 32/Liter): $1,280 Glass bottles: $1,670 Supplies: $1,000 Labor: $3,000 Advertising and Promotions: $3,000 Prepaid Insurance Premiums: $100 Legal and Accounting Fees: $2,000 Licenses: $5,000 Other Initial Start-Up Costs: $1,000
Total Required funds: 39,980 for market research and bring the product onto the EU market
Second round (after positive feedback from the first round): Engineering time Protocol Labs
Maintenance and Upgrade Plans
The Bio.Bridge will be working with many bio-economy facilities all over Suriname. The platform is therefore in need of constant development. The first development part will focus on the side of the franchisees.
New ventures will be constantly added to the platform. In the future, the platform should be improved by:
-Smart contracts releasing requested funds by local communities (if certain criteria are met) -Crowdfunding possibility of global donations (possibly via crypto) -B2C user-friendly interface to see the revenue split, transaction and possibility to share over their social media, etc. and directly interact with the local communities on the platform -Loyalty program for donors (possibly to connect with NFTs and an airdropped carbon-reward token) -An API of other technologies that bring additional insights about the forest (e.g., Bioverse Labs, OpenForest, Rainforest Connect, Forestgain, Global Forestwatch, etc.)
On the other side, the second customers are the buyers (of the Non-Timber Forest products). Once the partnerships are established, the future platform should also serve an interface for the buyers of the Non-Timber Forest products. The buyers should be able to see the live stock available, being able to track it back over the chain and purchase directly over the platform.
In terms of maintenance, it’s important to make sure that the information on the platform and chain is accurate and constantly updated to not have any orders that can not be fulfilled or would lead to distrust.
Team
Team Members
John Goedschalk, Leader of the project and CEO of Bio.Bridge
Leo Caprez, Co-Leader of the project and CEO of Brainforest
Stefan Renton, Technical/Blockchain Lead and Sustainability lead of Polygon
Nir Vaida, Venture Builder at Brainforest
Gioia Lelli, Venture Builder at Brainforest and fulfillment at Bio.Bridge
Team Member LinkedIn Profiles
John Leo Stefan Nir Gioia
Team Website
Uplink- other grant proposal
Tuhka - First franchisee client
Brainforest - Venture Studio
Relevant Experience
John Goedschalk, is the Executive Director for Conservation International’s program in Suriname and Entrepreneur in Residence of Brainforest. He has substantial experience in policy, fundraising and technical affairs. Before joining Conservation International, John had worked in the private and public sector in areas ranging from banking to telecom and green energy. He served as Executive Director of the Climate Compatible Development Agency (CCDA) where he led the development of Suriname's REDD+ Readiness Preparation Proposal, the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) and United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations.
Leo Caprez is the co-Founder and CEO of Brainforest and the former co-founder of Viaduct Ventures, an impact investing initiative, before joining the Corporate Relations team of WWF Switzerland. Prior to that, he served as CFO of Impact Hub Zurich. In his 10+ years in sustainability, Leo has held positions including Director of the Impact Pledge Foundation, Associate Director at Impact Economy Ltd, and Analyst in the Family Office Services & Advisory Team of a Swiss private bank. Leo holds a Bachelor and Master's degree in Law and Economics from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Stefan Renton, is the sustainability lead at Polygon and currently working in the Blockchain space as he believe in its potential as a tool to support and scale socio-economic sustainability, ecological regeneration, energy efficiency, and climate action.
Nir Vaida is an entrepreneur, experienced with founding his TravelTech startup in 2019 during participating in Presentense Startup Accelerator. After founding his first venture, Nir joined Lua, a B2C startup, as an Executive Intern and then as a Business Operations Manager. He helped raise $750,000 (out of $1.5m), scale the company's activity in Israel, and prepare for Europe launch. Nir led all financial and legal matters, strategy & goal setting sessions, investor relations, and fundraising procedures. Nir holds a B.A in Economics and Political Science, and he's a graduate of the European Union Studies Program, all from Tel-Aviv University.
Gioia Lelli is the VC Associate & Entrepreneur in Residence. Gioia is a multilingual professional having developed startups in the EdTech, FemTech and Web3 space. The last profitable EdTech startup, to which she dedicated the last 2.5 years as a business developer and shareholder, has been entirely bootstrapped and grown to a client base of over 750 worldwide-known clients.
Team code repositories
We have applied for another grant to cover the further (non-technical) development of the bio-economy franchise model. All the information is to be found here:
Uplink
Additional Information
John Goedschalk, Director at Conservation International and Entrepreneur in Residence at Brainforest, has been a speaker at the Sustainable Blockchain Summit in Bogota and learned more about Filecoin's grant opportunities. There he met Alan Ransil, who proposed the Green Grant for Market Research purposes.
Email address for communication and further questions to be answered: jg@brainforest.global
Additional information is to be found here:
Explorer land Summit Blockchain Summit speech of John Goedschalk about the project