Waka Gram for Democratizing Climate Action through Carbon Credits

Given that 80% of the world's forests are cared for by indigenous communities, with these forests occupying 16% of their land, there is a need to safeguard the interests of these individuals. Typically, the world has yet to pay heed to these indigenous communities despite their vital role in conserving our forest ecosystems. In Kenya, about 84% of the country is arable land, with only 16% being fit for cultivation to feed more than 50 million. These statistics underscore the need for ecosystem restoration projects to help bring more land under cultivation. For example, the Sahel Region has used half moons to restore marginal land in Chad and Niger for cultivation. A similar practice has been observed in Ethiopia, using farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR).

We are working with fourteen indigenous communities in the northern part of Kenya, where we are planting trees to help regenerate the land. At its full implementation, the project intends to cover close to half of Kenya's land mass, with over two million people getting fresh air. The project has the capacity to create more than 100,000 carbon credits per year, whose proceeds will go straight into helping in conservation efforts.

Generally, the need for more transparency in the carbon credit markets has created mystery and a lack of trust among the indigenous communities. Many distrust the players, thinking they are being conned and that the financial gains made are not proportional to their efforts. Therefore, creating an open marketplace accessible to all the players is essential in instilling openness in the carbon credits market, especially for underserved communities. From the current price of US$40-80 per carbon credit, BloombergNEF's (BNEF's) Long-Term Carbon Offsets Outlook 2024 report predicts that the prices will hit US$238 per carbon credit with the market value reaching US$1.1 trillion annually by 2050. These findings present a unique opportunity for indigenous communities to prosper in this technologically advancing world. Therefore, with transparency and accountability in place, we can safeguard the interests of low-income communities from the global south that are actively involved in conservation efforts.

Waka Gram

Waka Gram is a carbon credits marketplace crafted to advance climate change action initiatives through an open market-based model that makes purchasing carbon credits effortless and impactful for individuals, businesses, and organizations of all sizes. Our services include a carbon credits marketplace, customized carbon offset solutions, transparency and verification, and educational resources. This fete is achieved by offering an atmosphere that helps discover impactful projects, purchase carbon credits, and offset one's emissions. Another approach is to bring personalized strategies, carbon reduction plans, and sustainability consulting. There is also vigorous verification, transparent reporting, and environmental accountability to minimize mystery within the carbon credit markets. Furthermore, our emphasis on climate change, sustainability, carbon offsetting, and ecological conservation aims to foster educational resources.

Our mission is to advance the democratization of climate financing by making climate credits ubiquitous. This is to be achieved by creating equitable and sustainable climate economics characterized by win-win situations that emphasize transparency, equality, and sustainability. We act as intermediaries between the local actors and the global markets to ensure a transparent, verifiable, and effective carbon credit model that advances carbon credit exchange and climate-friendly investments by providing a comprehensive portfolio of projects across various companies. Through green industrialization, we aim to get partners to accelerate efforts.

The 5th Industrial Revolution was based on clean energy, a data and market-driven approach. We also believe in promoting climate equality through market-based ecosystems and carbon-related investments, either at the essential stage of carbon sequestering or at the energy intervention stage. We are also keen on developing and showing a portfolio of diverse climate-friendly investments such as green energy, climate tech mitigation and adaptive systems, and smart agriculture, among others.

Therefore, Waka Gram offers a data-driven standard bank and shared marketplace solution. It adopts a blockchain technology system, with each project listed there and a unique tracking number. There are multiple verification systems to ensure the security of the project and accurate matching conception. Ours is an open market system and a carbon bank essential in providing a universal accounting for the synchronicity of climate action. The Waka Gram includes measurement of the core actions using a carbon accounting method and an open records system. Our open governance emphasizes using a straightforward model of operations, with ease of tracking individual projects and ease of operations, as well as high levels of transparency and monitoring. As for customer services, the platform guarantees ease of operations, a broad portfolio of value to the users, and B2B and B2C connectivity across the globe.

Our project targets the indigenous communities that have been especially participating in climate actions. Statistics indicate that these indigenous help conserve up to 80% of the world's forests, which occupy 16% of their land. This statistic is a very tremendous figure. However, these communities receive little or no compensation from the proceeds of carbon credits they naturally work so hard to create. As a result, there is a need to factor these communities into the development that can be funded by the proceeds from the sale of these carbon credits to help them improve their lives.

Different regimes have consistently and deliberately ignored the communities living in the northern part of Kenya. This approach by different regimes has systematically alienated the region from significant developments. The problem is further compounded by the place's marginalized land that cannot support agriculture. The poor infrastructural development in the area and the high poverty levels have discouraged many investors interested in going there. The communities' cultures have also contributed to the lag in their development. In many of these places, early marriages and female genital mutilation have been happening for a very long time.

Therefore, our solution will bring income to those who will be taking part in our projects. So far, the creation of Marsabit Botanical Gardens has created jobs for several households. Even as we work on constructing a museum for the fourteen communities living in the northern part of Kenya, we envision that we will open up the place for tourism and contribute to improving the lives of the residents. Our work of generating carbon credits through ecosystem restoration projects and listing the credits on our platform will ensure that the participants in these projects have a source of income. The credits will also fund conservation efforts and community-based projects like constructing schoolhouses, health facilities, and boreholes for clean water.

We are working with fourteen indigenous communities in northern Kenya, planting trees to help regenerate the land. At its full implementation, the project intends to cover nearly half of Kenya's land mass, with over two million people getting fresh air. The project can create more than 100,000 carbon credits per year, whose proceeds will go straight into helping in conservation efforts.

Generally, the need for more transparency in the carbon credit markets has created mystery and a lack of trust among the indigenous communities. Many distrust the players, thinking they are being tricked and that the financial gains made are not proportional to their efforts. Therefore, creating an open marketplace accessible to all the players is essential in instilling openness in the carbon credits market, especially for underserved communities. From the current price of US$40-80 per carbon credit, BloombergNEF's (BNEF's) Long-Term Carbon Offsets Outlook 2024 report predicts that the prices will hit US$238 per carbon credit with the market value reaching US$1.1 trillion annually by 2050. These findings present a unique opportunity for indigenous communities to prosper in this technologically advancing world. Therefore, with transparency and accountability in place, we can safeguard the interests of low-income communities from the global south actively involved in conservation efforts.

These are the motivations with which our team is working to provide solutions to the communities' most pressing challenges. Our background in living and schooling in Kenyan villages helps acquaint us with most of the activities among African indigenous communities. Therefore, we need to work on blending with the communities. We have also forged partnerships with indigenous community-based organizations like the Northern Indigenous People Organization (NIPO), which have already established working relationships with them; hence, we ride on this to expedite the implementation of our projects there. We also liaise with the local authorities to help us win the trust and ensure there is legal rigor in our work.

We have five clients who have approached us with the desire to have their projects listed on our website. We have listed one of them so far, and negotiations are underway with the potential buyers of the carbon credits. We have also struck a consultancy deal with an international organization to train their counterparts in Africa on ecosystem restoration. The projects have also impacted more than one hundred individuals in the northern part of Kenya.

There are also cultural barriers that have hampered meaningful development in the northern parts of Kenya. The nomadic way of life implies that women are often left caring for their families, whereas the men herd the animals in the wild. Coupled with female genital mutilation practices, early pregnancies, and early marriages for girls, we expect to encounter challenges in achieving gender parity for the trained professionals from among the locals. Furthermore, the challenges of extremism are also alive, given the banditry that keeps happening sporadically. Unfortunately, scores are always left dead, and hundreds of families are displaced from their homes. Some areas are under constant sporadic attacks from the Alshabaab militants as well. However, the government has always been on high alert, and their response has been swift and effective in most cases.

The challenges of prolonged dry spells may also slow our ecosystem restoration efforts, coupled with fewer finances to handle the many things falling within our portfolio. The good thing is that we are experts in ecosystem restoration, and we plan to plant most of our trees during the long rainy season and harvest the water into small dams, which can be utilized sparingly during the dry season. Our financial strategy has always been to pull resources from various donors to have more resources to work on the projects. So far, we have a team of seven dedicated persons working on our projects, complete with a developer to code on our website and showcase our work. Our marketing strategy for the carbon markets is excellent, given that we have attracted five organizations, three of whom we are engaging with voluntary buyers. Once the transaction starts rolling over, we will have the money to expand our conservancy projects. Therefore, I believe SOLVE can elevate us by linking richer networks for more knowledge sharing and collaborations with like-minded individuals.

Generally, the need for more transparency in the carbon credit markets has created mystery and a lack of trust among the indigenous communities. Many distrust indigenous people the players, thinking they are being tricked and that the financial gains made are not proportional to their efforts. Therefore, creating an open marketplace accessible to all the players is essential in instilling openness in the carbon credits market, especially for underserved communities. From the current price of US$40-80 per carbon credit, BloombergNEF's (BNEF's) Long-Term Carbon Offsets Outlook 2024 report predicts that the prices will hit US$238 per carbon credit with the market value reaching US$1.1 trillion annually by 2050. These findings present a unique opportunity for indigenous communities to prosper in this technologically advancing world. Therefore, with transparency and accountability in place, we can safeguard the interests of low-income communities from the global south actively involved in conservation efforts.

Therefore, our solution creates an open system that is accessible remotely by anyone who has access to the internet. The persons can see our services, ask questions, contact us, and register for our services either as buyers or sellers of carbon credits. The registration goes through a verification process of hours, after which their intention to buy or sell carbon credits can be listed. Listing of the projects comes at a fee to help service our operations. This approach will help change the carbon credits ecosystem by instilling openness and transparency so that people can trade freely without the fear of being conned by unscrupulous players.

The sales proceeds are released directly to the owners of the carbon credit projects, who must comply with the existing standards. We only work with companies and organizations that have certificates of compliance as part of our strategy to eliminate lousy play. Some of the funds are also committed towards community empowerment projects such as building schoolhouses, boreholes for clean water, and health facilities within the communities. The proceeds are also used to expand conservation efforts to reach more places and help restore more land. To assess the impact of our project, we intend to have an open system where people can submit reviews of their experiences in being by us. We will also assess the persons impacted by our projects to inform us of whether it is worth expanding.

Green industrialization

We firmly believe that the green industrialization era is upon us, and it is upon all partners to accelerate efforts for the 5th Industrial Revolution based on clean energy, data, and a market-driven approach.

Climate equality
We believe in promoting climate equality through market-based ecosystems,
and carbon-related investments, either at the essential stage of carbon sequestering or at the energy intervention stage.

Climate Investments
We are keen on developing and demonstrating a portfolio of diverse climate-friendly investments, such as green energy, climate tech mitigation and adaptive systems, and smart agriculture.

Waka Gram offers a data-driven joint bank and shared marketplace solution. It adopts a blockchain technology system, with each project being safelisted and having a unique tracking number. There are multiple verification systems to ensure the project's security and accurate matching conception. Therefore, we offer a digital service cloud platform that fosters open governance. The open market system and a carbon bank are essential in providing a universal accounting for the synchronicity of climate action. The Waka Gram includes measurement of the core actions using a carbon accounting method and an open records system.
In conclusion, we uniquely combine blockchain technology, the Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI) in our operations, given that we are based online, and the data we use is housed in a database. Blockchain helps enhance our security, speed, transparency, and cost-efficiency. IoT assists with smooth communication within our platform, whereas  AI helps obtain real-time information about customer behavior on our website.

Three full-time staff

Five tart-time staff

Waka Gram-Eight months

Waka Africa Organization-One year, ten months

We uniquely recognize the contributions of diversity to Waka Africa. We have achieved gender equity in our administration with a ratio of 1:1 for male and female executives. Our team has four ladies and four gentlemen working on our different projects. We have one person with disability among our executives, and we respect the rights of all individuals as defined in the 2010 Constitution of Kenya. I have also been trained to understand different personalities by Equity Group Foundation. As a result, I can listen to people who differ from me in their identities and ideas. I bring their ideas on board, and we openly discuss them with the rest of the members and adopt those ideas that we collectively agree upon as a team. In this regard, we have been able to adopt community outreach programs courtesy of brainstorming among our members. We also conduct weekly meetings to review our progress as departments and harmonize our departmental activities. We also have a solid social media presence to help us engage with fellow youths and help them come up with valuable ideas. We have an open policy on publication where individuals can write stories, research articles, and infographics that align with our organization's objectives, which we then publish on our website. That way, we remain more inclusive and agile with the emerging trends as we contribute outstanding solutions to the world's crises and help create intergenerational equity.

Waka Gram Business Model

The Waka Gram is a carbon exchange platform that democratizes climate finance by connecting the Global South to the Global North through transparent market ecosystems while advancing inclusivity and community sustainability. Our business model focuses on attracting climate finance investors to scale international regenerative capacity focused on equity as we prove that economically robust models can most exquisitely serve environmentalism and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Our equitable climate finance models recognize indigenous peoples' rights through direct market participation, promote core climate action points such as sustainability and biodiversity, and advance transparency in the market through precise data models based on blockchain technology. Waka Gram will be able to offer a minimum of 500 million USD worth of carbon credits and possibly more based on the values, goals, land, and projects by engaging indigenous partners who are showing substantial interest.

The carbon exchange app democratizes carbon credit access so that everyone can scrub their carbon footprint through individual carbon sinks and their respective credits in which we have great confidence because we have the data transparency, scientific expertise, and grassroots leadership that secure our ability to ensure our carbon credits meet accreditation standards and are, in fact, of the highest quality available worldwide.

Some of the outstanding characteristics of our Waka Gram Product include: 1.    B2C Model – the climate fintech financing model aims to connect the industrial powerhouses to financing the climate efforts in the Global South 2.    Open Governance—The climate fintech model advances the concept of open governance of climate financing worldwide to ensure transparent and effective use of climate-matching incomes. 3.    Climate Equality Model – it assumes that no one is left behind, with every individual being represented in the climate change model 4.    Authorized Partners and Verification—The model optimizes authorities verifying the work done. If it is a tree planted, there is a system of audits, and significant certification is done to score the credits. 5.    Data Centralization – the flow of climate matching efforts ought to be centralized to promote a model of accountability and verification. 6.    Artificial Intelligence and Multiple Cash-out System – The cashing-out system for the project is superficial and localized to allow users an easy experience while doing their climate work. 7.    Individual Representation and User—As in any democratic system, the individual is at the heart of the conversation, and hence, the individual user is part of the global climate action and climate finance system.

Proof of Business Concept

We have listed two projects – the Chyulu Hills project, which involves indigenous people, especially the Maasai and the Samburu people, who are major pastoral communities. The project is worth 2 million carbon credits, and a Hydro-Energy power plant project is worth 4 million. We are in talks with market partners to get significant market sales for the projects in which our organization will receive 1 percent of the sales. We hope to answer the scaling question by focusing on the inclusivity of marginalized communities and indigenous people. We project that Waka Gram will be able to offer a minimum of 500 million USD worth of carbon credits and possibly substantially more based on the values, goals, land, and projects of identified communities, including in Marsabit, where we are working with Northern Indigenous People’s Organization, an affiliate organization and thus help to address the loss and damage arising from climate change on these indigenous people. It also brings climate economic justice to the communities by onboarding their data. The Waka Gram shall be used to advance inclusivity in climate finance and hence repatriate individuals through both direct carbon credit benefits and through direct financing through the portals from global communities that want to have an impact directly with the community.

At the moment, the acceleration of the project shall help bridge the gap, showing the climate efforts, loss, and adaptation measures taken and hence offer both funding institutions and corporates the opportunity to see the source of their carbon credits and pass the benefits to these communities directly. It is estimated that while Marsarbit is the first case study, we shall scale to include other communities, such as Machakos County, to prepare farmers for ecosystem restoration and involve youth in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands who have been robbed of economic opportunities by the current loss experienced due to rising aridity a chance to make income by participating in carbon credits projects through the Waka Canopy Project which is part of the project.