Please describe your proposed solution
Context
Our mission to combat deforestation in East Cameroon started with our Fund 8 Proposal "Treedano: Regenerative NFTrees." This proposal serves as the continuation of that work and builds upon our successful MVP to address the pressing need for reforestation in a region plagued by inadequate policy support. By leveraging NFTs as a dual mechanism for funding and fostering engagement among environmentally conscious groups. Our platform aims to serve as a place that not only enables tree adoption but also cultivates a dynamic economy and community centered on environmental sustainability and digital asset opportunities.
Context of the Problem:
In Cameroon, as in many Central and West African nations, the heartbreaking reality is that rare tree species are often harvested and exported by multinational companies without any concern for replanting what was taken. This troubling trend seeps into local farming communities, where trees are cut down for furniture or sold off, disregarding the crucial need for regrowth.
Traditional agricultural practices fuel a destructive cycle, pushing farmers to clear-cut forests for new farmland while prioritizing quick-return crops like corn. The pervasive use of products from companies like Monsanto has polluted our environment, resulting in lower food quality and alarming increases in cancer rates within local communities.
These challenges inspired us to launch a pilot project in 2021 on a 3+ hectare plot of land (19+ hectares in 2024). Our approach promotes a holistic farming model that integrates cash and non-cash crops alongside fruit-bearing and non-fruit trees. We aim to propagate nearly extinct tree species within our farming schemes while raising awareness of harmful practices and their reversibility. Our goal is to establish food forests that combine fruit trees with specialty timber species, employing innovative methods such as syntropic agriculture, permaculture, and biodynamic practices.
To date, we have identified numerous tree species, including:
- Moabi
- Sapelli
- Iboga
- Padouk
- Ébène (Ebony)
- Doussié
- Bossé
- Gliricidia
Our Approach:
We aim to empower eco-conscious individuals to "adopt a tree" through NFTrees, providing access to information, unique narratives about each tree and our journey, a voice in its care, and establishing traceability for our farm's produce.
Our solution unfolds in several phases, with the overarching goal of linking each rare tree species we cultivate on our farm to an NFTree for adoption.
In the first phase, we traveled to the East region to engage with communities commonly referred to as "Pygmies," initiating conversations to gather information about the rare and highly sought-after tree species in the area. We documented our experiences through videos, images, text, and audio, which serve as the foundation for the dynamic stories of each NFTree. We acquired valuable insights into the germination and care processes for each species, meticulously cataloging details such as local names, seed availability seasons, and any associated historical significance.
One particularly captivating story involved species that can only germinate after passing through the stomachs of elephants. Unfortunately, the decline of elephant populations in the region has led to the disappearance of these species.
In the second phase, we returned to the previously visited areas at the appropriate time of year, as advised by local communities, to collect seeds or seedlings, which we then nurtured in a designated section of our tree nursery. Over the past three years, we have cultivated over 100,000 seedlings—ranging from common to rare and endangered species—most of which have now been planted on our farm, CosTel.
In the third phase, we implemented a minimum viable product (MVP) focused on our project's core functionality: adopting a tree by minting an NFT. This allowed us to create NFTrees for some of the rarest trees planted on our farm, complete with specific documentation, including geo-coordinates. We captured images, audio, text, and video narratives tailored to the local context, establishing a dynamic connection between future stories and our initial efforts.
This proposal seeks to enhance our MVP by introducing supporting modules designed to cultivate a community of adopters. This will allow them to remain connected with our activities and, most importantly, engage with the trees linked to their NFTrees.
For more context regarding the previous related project:
- Follow this link to access our MVP
- Follow this link for our General Report
- Follow this link for our Close Out Report
Our Main Objective
The core objective of this proposal is to extend and finalize the implementation and deployment of the supporting software component of TREEdano into production. Achieving this goal is our primary focus.
Methodological approach
Having established the foundations through the development of the MVP, we have produced several key results that will facilitate future tasks. These results include three essential document describing the platform both on technical and non-technical terms:
Based on these documents, we have pinpointed the essential modules needed for our solution space. Each module addresses a specific issue, and their integration will form the foundation of our overall solution. The modules are as follow:
Identity and Access Management:
- Provides user registration, login, and password recovery. Manages user roles and permissions to ensure secure access to different parts of the platform, enabling role-based access control.
- Future iteration will integrate aspect of DIDs
Carbon Credit Inventory Management:
- Tracks carbon credits generated through reforestation and other environmental initiatives. Manages calculations for carbon sequestration, facilitates reporting to stakeholders, and allows NFTree owners to view carbon credits generated by the related trees. This module offer opportunities for futures funding opportunities from Carbon Credit sales. We were profoundly inspired by COMACO Zambia
Nursery Management:
- Oversees nursery operations, including seedling care, inventory management, and growth monitoring. Nursery is one of the core module of our platform. With this module, we will be able to anticipate future available NFTrees to our community. It will also capture and share some of the most fascinating insights on germinating some of the most complex seeds.
Tree Inventory Management:
- Catalogs all tree species within the project, including details on age, species, their rarity ranking, progress, and geographical data. Facilitates monitoring and reporting on tree populations and helps identify rare species.
Sales Management:
- Manages product listings and inventory, tracks sales transactions, and generates sales reports. Supports customer relationship management to enhance user experience.
Information Collection Management*:*
- Gathers data from various sources, including user inputs, surveys, and environmental assessments. Organizes information for analysis and reporting purposes. This is one of our key module providing the real connection between NFTree collectors and the evolution of our initiative.
Catalog Management*:*
- Maintains a comprehensive database of all products and services, including trees, NFTs, and educational materials. Enables users to browse and search for items easily.
Orders Management*:*
- Handles customer orders from initiation to fulfillment. Manages order statuses, shipping details, and provides updates to customers regarding their orders.
Payments:
- Integrates with payment gateways to facilitate secure transactions. Supports various payment methods and handles refunds and billing inquiries.
Notifications:
- Sends timely alerts and updates to users about their activities, such as order confirmations, adoption updates, and project news. Offers customizable notification preferences.
Carbon Credit Management*:*
- Manages the lifecycle of carbon credits, including creation, trading, and retirement. Provides users with insights into their carbon impact and options for purchasing or trading credits.
NFTrees Minting*:*
- Facilitates the creation of NFTs for each adopted tree, linking them to unique documentation and ownership records. Manages the minting process and ensures that all NFTs are securely stored on the blockchain.
Adoptions Management*:*
- Supports the process of adopting trees, including user registration and tracking of adopter interactions. Maintains records of each adoption and provides updates on the adopted tree's status.
Nursery Management*:*
- Oversees nursery operations, including seedling care, inventory management, and growth monitoring. Ensures the health and viability of plants before they are planted.
Collaborations:
- Manages partnerships with organizations and individuals involved in the project. Facilitates communication, resource sharing, and joint initiatives.
Statistics & Reports*:*
- Provides analytics and reporting on various aspects of the project, including user engagement, environmental impact, and financial performance. Helps inform decision-making.
Donations:
- Manages the collection of donations, tracking donor contributions and issuing receipts. Offers donors insights into how their contributions are being used.
Pricing:
- Administers pricing models for products and services, including discounts and promotions. Provides users with transparent pricing information
Recommendations:
- Utilizes algorithms to provide personalized suggestions to users based on their preferences and past behaviors, enhancing user engagement and satisfaction.
Legality:
- Ensures compliance with local and international regulations, manages necessary documentation, and addresses legal inquiries related to the project.
Mobile Application*:*
- Offers a responsive interface tailored for mobile users, allowing access to project services, tree adoption, and community features on the go.
Web Application*:*
- Provides a comprehensive web platform where users can engage with the project, access detailed information, and participate in community activities.
Governance:
- Involving NFTree Owners into the decision making process by allowing them to voices their opinion on certain wide range actions
General Roadmap
Our road-map revolves around our milestones you will see detailed in the appropriate session below that can be summarize in phases as follow.
*Phase I - 3 months: Requirements Consolidation and Planning / Design and Prototyping
- Build on top of previous work to create a comprehensive specification document outlining the application's features, user stories, and technical specifications.
- Creation of UI markups and high-fidelity prototypes for the application’s user interface capturing all use-cases.
*Phase II - 7 months: Workflow Designed and Implementation
- Development of the back-end infrastructure, including APIs, database setup, and server configuration.
- Implementation of the front-end application, integrating it with the back-end services.
*Phase III - 1 month*:Testing and Quality Assurance*
- Comprehensive testing of the application, including unit tests, integration tests, and user acceptance testing (UAT).
*Phase IV - 1/2 month: dApp Launch and Deployment
- Successfully deploy and launch dApp
*Phase V - 1/2 month: Post-Launch Monitoring and Iteration
- Monitoring application performance
- Gathering user feedback for future iterations.
*Phase VI - 1 week :
- Submit close out report and video