Treetracker app

In East Africa, a severe drought of unprecedented scale is unfolding, affecting a staggering 40 million individuals. The dire consequences of this drought are looming, with many on the brink of famine and acute malnutrition due to the scarcity of food resources. Widespread food shortages currently besiege the region and it teeters on the edge of famine, exacerbating the plight of millions of children under the age of 5 who are now battling severe malnutrition.

Kenya, in particular, has endured an alarming six consecutive seasons of below-average rainfall, compounding the challenges posed by the drought. The agricultural sector, a cornerstone of Kenya's economy and food security, finds itself particularly vulnerable to the perils of climate change. Accounting for approximately 28% of the nation's GDP and more than 65% of its exports, the agricultural industry stands as a critical pillar of the country's economic stability. Moreover, as of 2015, it remains the primary source of employment for 80% of Kenya's workforce and a lifeline for over 80% of its rural population.

Yet, the escalating threat of climate change presents a grave danger to Kenya's coastal regions. Rising sea surface temperatures and the relentless erosion of coastlines imperil the delicate balance of coastal ecosystems, estuaries, beaches, and coral reefs, along with the rich marine biodiversity they harbor, including vital fisheries. The agricultural sector along the coast faces an ominous future, with an estimated loss of $472.8 million in income looming as mango, cashew nut, and coconut harvests stand to be severely affected by a projected one-meter rise in sea levels.

We have created an open-source Tree tracker platform as a “tree verification” system that collects geo-tagged, time-stamped photos and sends them to a database. The app/cloud-based tool assists individuals and organizations in mapping, tracking, and networking trees. We add a data-driven, scientific approach to current reforestation efforts.  

This framework verifies, measures, and values trees from the day they are planted and attributes that value directly to the responsible individual, organization, or community.  We are using technology to create a protocol that can measure carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services of an individual tree, quantify the global benefits of a living tree’s unique existence, and convert each tree’s value into a digital asset that can be sold as a marketable commodity that supports economic development while promoting future tree growing efforts in some of the planet's poorest,at-risk and depleted environments. 

Our solution, the Tree tracker app, is designed for individuals in remote, economically disadvantaged areas of developing countries. The Tree tracker app is also used by Tree Planting organizations and local tree growers who digitally document and verify successfully planted and maintained trees for their donors. In addition, donors can use the Tree tracker app to verify that funds are being efficiently used. 

Our solution is a framework for data-driven science poverty alleviation and eco-restoration. Our platform incentivizes growing trees by creating a transparent link between individual tree planters and donors. Paying for data collection that measures tree survival rates. This system can have a significant impact on tree-planting operations worldwide, thus making the planet a greener, healthier place.

The solution, Tree tracker app has been deployed all over Kenya. We have a community of over 1,000 volunteers, including experts in science, technology, finance, and agroforestry who are from sub-Saharan Africa, including Kenya. They work closely with several local planting organizations for tailored solutions, including FairTree, Roots Without Borders, and Kwaela Sere, who have implemented a pay-to-grow model in Kenya for several years.

Growth: The solution has been launched in 86 countries and a community of over 3000 volunteers.  The platform solution has successfully mapped and verified 5,000,000+ trees. The consistent design and approach are ready for further growth in multiple communities or countries.

We are looking to enhance our pitch to investors, refine our technology platform, and ensure our product market aligns with the needs of stakeholders. Through the program, we seek guidance in effectively communicating our mission and financial sustainability to potential investors. Additionally, we seek technical support to optimize our technology platform for better data collection and analysis. Moreover, we are eager to receive insights on aligning our product offerings with market demand to maximize our impact and reach. We are also seeking funding to support the completion of the open-source solution to the tokenization and trading of ecosystem services.

The Tree tracker solution adopts a holistic approach to sustainable farming. Our pioneering Token Model is the only inclusive climate fintech model known to place the value of incremental growth of individual trees into the hands of farmers. This innovative model empowers farmers to trade the value of their trees both locally and globally, offering a new income stream. By integrating features such as fair farmer payments, open collaboration, open data, empirical data analysis, biodiversity consideration, urban use cases, digital tokens, impact chain of custody, and interfaces for point of sales systems, we not only address the financial aspects of farming but also promote transparency, community involvement, data-driven decision-making, and environmental conservation.

Climate vulnerable planters use the Tree tracker platform to access data and information about trees in order to make informed decisions about their farming practices and land management. 

Donors use the Tree tracker platform to monitor their donations in real-time, viewing the number of trees planted, their location and communities benefiting from their contributions. 

Organisations use the Tree tracker platform to monitor recruited planters and set up a schedule to pay planters based on transparent data. This open source technology is leveraged to replicate and scale similar models in other climate vulnerable regions or sectors. 

Climate vulnerable planters receive fair compensation from the Token Model for their efforts from donors or organisations, thereby improving their financial stability in climate vulnerable area. 

Empowerment of the donors (transparency, impact and choice), planter (income, knowledge, and recognition) and organisations (scalability, effectiveness, and accountability) will, in turn, promote reforestation, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity conservation. Additionally, its focus on empowering farmers financially encourages sustainable land management practices, ultimately contributing to resilience against climate change impacts.

Our goal is to implement and advance transformative Impact Token models, empowering 43% of the world’s climate-vulnerable communities financially through verified impact data. We aspire to surpass our current impact by more than doubling the number of trees planted yearly to 5 million. Additionally, we aim for organizations globally to leverage our open-source technology, facilitating maximum scalability and impact replication. 

Key indicators we monitor include environmental impacts like carbon offset data, the quantity and distribution of trees grown, the outreach to growers, the volume of tokens minted, and the estimated value of tokens generated and exchanged.

See attached: https://drive.google.com/drive...

Planters use a mobile app (available on iOS or Android) to confirm tree planting and survival by taking geo-tagged, time-stamped images.These tree images and data are analyzed and shown on a map. Partner websites can embed this map, enabling their clients to view their planted and mapped trees.

The digital wallet service allows people to create/register wallets and transfer tokens. Each Greenstand Impact Token is based on a verified ecological impact, such as growing trees. The tokens can be traded via an interface.

3 paid staff, 35 part-time staff, >3000 active volunteers

9 years

We are a diverse global community comprising individuals from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and linguistic backgrounds. Our team consists of experts spanning multiple disciplines, including designers, communication specialists, field monitors, data engineers, data scientists, android developers, backend developers, conservation biologists, environmental finance specialists, fund managers, ecologists, and anthropologists. 

40% of our volunteers hail from or reside in developed countries where our solutions are deployed, and they represent a variety of ethnicities, ensuring gender balance. Our leadership team includes a Kenyan female, who is the Managing Director. 

Over the years, we have dedicated more than 50,000 hours to collaborative efforts with community tree-planting organizations in crafting our solutions.

We generate revenue through various channels, including sales of software as a service, fees from Impact Token minting, digital services, and contracts for data services. Additionally, we receive funding through grant donations, in-kind contributions, and finance activities. These funds are crucial for advancing our technology and supporting skilled labor.

Organizations involved in tree planting then utilize our services and adopt our solutions to make a widespread impact. Furthermore, we engage in Data Services and Technology Development Contracts with development partners.

1. Enhance scalability and integration Tree tracker platform within carbon markets, aiming for recognition by the United Nations to provide advisory services leading to Carbon Neutral Certification, thus expanding our donor base. 

2. Secure membership within the Science Task Force, contributing to the development of global principles for ecosystem restoration. 

3. Partner with UN agencies to actively provide technical and advisory services in impact measurement and technology solutions to government agencies implementing Climate Action Plans. 

4. Partner with sustainability-focused organizations such as Karma Wallet to increase fundraising efforts and establish a rewards system. 

5. Target a minimum annual fundraising goal of $500K by levying a 3% fee on each generated impact token. 

6. Generate revenue from offering software solutions to users and organizations for a recurring fee based on access to premium features.

7. Raise funds from multi-year grants from NGOs and foundations operating within environmental spaces.