Project FoodTree

This project seeks to address two major problems: food insecurity and climate change. We see many afforestation initiatives but none that have a specific focus on planting trees that not only sequester significant amounts of carbon, but also bear food. Our solution not only ensures that every tree that is planted is also contributing to our food systems, but also puts the trees in the hands and lands of farmers who are supported as a result. Scaling this initiative will encourage the integration of trees into our agricultural lands thus increasing the resilience of these cultivated lands through the environmental benefits that trees provide. By strengthening farmers at a regional scale, we ensure that these foods are adopted widely, their businesses thrive and as our result our food systems are strengthened. 

In Hawaii, we have seen that in a space of just half a century, the local food system turn into a severely insecure state whereby up to 90% of all foods are imported. The islands are highly susceptible to outside forces as evidenced by the current pandemic which has resulted in up to 30% of the population unemployed, and the local food hubs overwhelmed by the resulting need. Even more now than before, there is a great push to revitalize our local agricultural sector.  

Our flagship tree is breadfruit, which is a fast-growing perennial tree that is a nutritious, carbohydrate-rich staple bearing up to 450lbs of starchy fruit in a season and enough to feed a family of four for decades. The crop is listed as one of the thirty-five priority crops in the multilateral system of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture for its potential to target food security and interdependence. The tree is also a woody species capable of sequestering and storing carbon especially in Hawaii where the soils are highly degraded from 2 centuries of intensive use. We propose to use our network of statewide farmers to plant breadfruit trees.

Simply put, the solution is based on providing beneficial food trees, which are paid for by third parties, to growers. The third party user is someone who is interested in offsetting their environmental footprint with trees, but also looking to make a positive impact on our food systems. The core product is a virtual marketplace that allows users to estimate their carbon footprint, make purchases of trees that can offset that, and track trees that have been sponsored and planted. The service is the facilitation of tree transfer to local farms and households, and ensuring that tree and land inventory match demand. It requires a fostering of relationships with farmers that cultivates trust and a lasting bond. Over that last two years we have been diligently building our network of farmers through our work with the Hawaii Farm Trails app, and Hawaii Farm Stand e-commerce website.

Our current prototype is using the application Shopify. We chose this initial platform for its ease in setup and transaction, and for the comprehensive way it tracks engagement to help us understand our users. With funding, we will build a mobile application and a service that can be integrated into airline booking systems. 

Supporting the widespread use of the breadfruit tree is supporting the revival the culture of mahi'ai (cultivation), one of many indigenous practices that were eroded and erased from the memories of modern day Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. Indeed, the breadfruit itself is a symbol of resilience in many Pacific Island cultures, and is ever-present in legends about creation, fertility, and solving famine and food needs. Breadfruit is traditionally planted as part of an agroforest with other culturally significant co-crop. Agroforestry is a traditional cultivation practice typical of cropping systems in Oceania that is touted for its regenerative and sustainable principles and practice. By incorporating breadfruit and its co-crops back into the cultivated realm, we are helping to drive the restoration of landscapes and food habits reminiscent of a time when Pacific peoples were alot more connected to the land. As they say, we are what we eat, and in this sense restoring the traditional foods in our diet also replenishes our bodies and our cultural identity through use and practice. To this end, despite being a project focused on providing trees to farmers, there will be an element that is dedicated to providing free food trees to backyard growers with a particular focus on Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island (NHPI) community in economically  undesrerved areas. 

This project will be working closely with a network of a farmers, the majority of which are small family farms of less than 20 acres. Because of the small-scale nature of their farming systems, there is a focus on regenerative practices that allow for the long term use of smaller plots of land. However, the inability to scale agricultural operations raise the cost of running a farm business making them vulnerable to fluctuations in the market. Participating in Project FoodTree helps farmers diversity their crops while leveraging our platforms ability to bring attention to their small business in the form of sponsorship, certification, promotion/marketing and participation in the voluntary carbon markets. 

I always like to emphasize that our ancestors were very innovative people with the ability to voyage great distances and cultivate land to feed thousands with very rudimentary tools and inputs. Their innovation came from a deep understanding of and connection to nature. Taking back our food systems is a way for us to reclaim that heritage of innovation and though times have changed, our values and our re-connection to the land and trees will help us find new innovative ways to participate in global markets and provide healthier food and jobs for ourselves.  

The innovation lies in leveraging an existing system of land stewards with the ability to care for and reap the economic and environmental co-benefits that food-tree provides. This two-fold approach to planting trees can be simply executed without hefty overheads. To my knowledge there are no U.S.-based tree planting organizations that focus on planting food trees that are culturally significant. Locally, there are very few organizations with goals to support farmers on many different levels but specifically to encourage farming practices that help to sequester carbon and to promote them for this type of practice. 

This new business model relies on a digital platform such an App or website that allows easy access, usability and transaction for customers. The platform will incorporate an exiting API for carbon footprint calculation for a quick and easy way to estimate the amount of investment from an individual or organization. It will leverage QR code technology to assign, track, and monitor planted trees. A service will be set up to accept payments from transactions on other platforms for carbon offsetting or environmental fees 

Activities: 

1. Marketing and selling of trees

2. Distribution of trees

3. Ongoing monitoring and updates to tree condition

Outputs:

1. Trees

2. Educational experiences

3. Backyard gardens

Short-term Outcomes:

1. Farmer support and promotion. 

2. NHPI households access to costly trees. 

Long-term Outcomes:

1. Locally sourced breadfruit starch in mainstream food systems and diets

2. Healthy and culturally grounded communities

3. Widespread agorforestry in agricultural lands

4. Restored watershed, healthy soils, protected reefs, 

5. Less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

We are initially serving farm members of the Hawaii Trails App and the Hawaii Farm Stand website is about 60 farms in the first year. We are expanding these platforms statewide adding criteria that will include CSA farms so we hope to serve about four times the amount of farms to about 250 in 5 years time. 

Our project gives the average citizen an option to choose sustainable practices such as offsetting their carbon emission with tree sponsorship. We hope the initial impact numbers from users in Hawaii or who are travelling to Hawaii can be multiplied as scaled to other Pacific Island nations. Our moonshot goal is seeing this model applied across Oceania and hope to share and work with organizations to make it a reality. 

Immediate challenges are time constraints posed by the pandemic with increased childcare and household responsibilities. Financially, I do not have funds to start the development of a mobile app in the short term. In the long run, I would like to achieve carbon certification which is a lengthy process that will require a higher level of effort and funding. 

Time is expected to free-up in the fall with children back at school. Funding will help to kick-start the development process. Carbon certification will occur further down the road as we work with State on certification standards, and local organizations focused on green growth as well as airlines who are required to offset their international flights through the UN CORSIA effective next year. 

1 full time, 1 part-time

I have a solid and expanding network of farmers that I have working with over the last 2 years while developing the HI FarmTrails mobile app and HI FarmStand e-commerce site (www.hifarmstand.com). These platforms are focused on promoting farms and the farming community. The relationships with the farmers have been carefully built based through a community-based and inclusive process that is expect to be long-lasting and mutually beneficial. 

My current works means I have various partners at the County and Agricultural sectors level. Specifically for this project I would like to partner with organization focused on green growth, the State, and airline industry. 

I have extensive experience with raising funds through grants with approx. 300,000 raised so far. I would like to explore raising investment capital in addition to the sale of trees and the service provided by our platform 

Solve will help me kickstart my venture on its current platform, buildup inventory and start with directed marketing.