Witzil: using the Cardano Blockchain to bring decentralized, collaborative change to Mexican urban enviroments

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Iker Toledo

[GENERAL] Email address of main applicant

deikerio@gmail.com

Additional applicants

Andrés Leal

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

12

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language.

No

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

Yes

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.” .

Witzil has spent the last few years developing an amicable relationship with experts in the field, gathering trustful and respected voices in the Mexican urbanization and development community and academia as well as gathering the necessary knowledge to approach local government officials.

We depend on the local governments (town halls, municipalities, etc) to get permits for our work to be possible and we're proud to be able to confirm that we've already succeeeded on a small scale to do so.

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

No

[GENERAL] If NO, please describe which outputs are not going to be open source. If YES, please write “Project will be fully open source.”

We expect to have a third party minting infrastructure which will help us down the line. We only talk on our behalf but for anyone wary about the needs and wants of our project, it's all about collaboration. We know that open sourcing our work and making it available to everyone is essential for our success.

[METADATA] Category of Proposal

NFTs

[METADATA] SDG rating

SDG goals:

Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

SDG subgoals:

By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries

By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities

Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning

By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements

By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts

Mobilize and significantly increase financial resources from all sources to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and ecosystems

Mobilize significant resources from all sources and at all levels to finance sustainable forest management and provide adequate incentives to developing countries to advance such management, including for conservation and reforestation

Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all

Key Performance Indicator (KPI):

Proportion of cities with a direct participation structure of civil society in urban planning and management that operate regularly and democratically

Average share of the built-up area of cities that is open space for public use for all, by sex, age and persons with disabilities

Number of countries that have national urban policies or regional development plans that (a) respond to population dynamics; (b) ensure balanced territorial development; and (c) increase local fiscal space

Forest area as a proportion of total land area

Proportion of important sites for terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity that are covered by protected areas, by ecosystem type

Universal Human Rights Index (UHRI):

#proposertoolsdg

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

At Witzil, we believe that one of the main issues a population that lives in a society in development is their high level of distrust. How can one love thy neighbour when rampant corruption creates a dog eat dog enviroment where everyone is on the lookout for themselves? How can someone think of helping others when they don't see help for themselves? How can one care about the state of their community, when the resources that should be gone to their development go to those at the top? Indeed, the sad state of affairs in Mexico are quite paradoxical. Such a rich country where its richness go to so few and where it seems like there's not much for the rest.

Witzil doesn't pretend to change the world with pretty promises but we know that little by little, we can make our cities a better place. We started as a simple idea, make public areas better. How? We are comformed by a community of capable architects, designers, artists, media figures and creatives. We started this project years ago and we tried to have a solid understanding of what's needed to make this possible.

For us, trustless solutions in the form of the blockchain technologies have been the missing link to make our vision possible. After years of deliberation on how Witzil should move forward, we became 100% convinced that without Cardano, our vision, our scope, wouldn't be possible

When we say that we've spent years gathering the most capable team we could think of, we aren't making empty promises. Because we also want to be part of Cardano. We are here to change the world, one brick at a time.

[IMPACT] How does your proposed solution address the challenge and what benefits will this bring to the Cardano ecosystem?

Witzil will not only serve as a non-profit focused on making our public areas a better place. Think of Witzil as a marketing think-tank for all Cardano related things. One of our main mottos is "Good design shines bright in the darkness". We might want to make our cities a better place to live in, but we're a deeply focused art, architecture and design project. We are here because we think that even though NFTs as exciting pieces of art that create a new form of resonation and identification of the holder, they also are untested water for real life creatives.

One of our main jobs, is to find that light within our youth through creating partnerships with the best design and architecture universities in the city. We want to introduce hundreds if not thousands of young, capable people to the concepts of decentralization and open sourcing their own work.

Mexico City has a population of around 9,209,944 people (INEGI, 2020).

How would you feel, as someone who cares about the Cardano ecosystem, if you had the chance to share this amazing piece of technology and all the possibilities of its use to millions of people, every day

THAT, is what we want Witzil to mean to Cardano

[IMPACT] How do you intend to measure the success of your project?

Well, you will certainly hear more Mexican chilango slang in twitter spaces.

But in all seriousness, we've had the chance to learn and consult from amazing data gathering experts. We can be certain that we would be able to gather basic information like QR code scans, number of pedestrians in the area, CO2 levels, development of flora and fauna, and many more!

We also want to focus on creating a thriving community of artists, architects and designers which will be, quite literally, part of our work. What they'll unleash upon the world thanks to Cardano's technology won't be easy to ignore.

[IMPACT] Please describe your plans to share the outputs and results of your project?

There's not much science to the logistics of what we're sharing. We're building stuff, literally.

We want to be able to show accountability and progress to our community, of course. But what a better way than actually showing the progress of our work?

Keeping records of our assets, designs, artwork, ideation, prototypes, etc. These will be shared, even given (with our open source approach) to our community.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability?

I've been within this community for more than 2 years. In this time, I've developed relationships with communities and people that I hold dear. I've shown artistic, design and intellectual work which, even though I tend to do in facetious manner because of an irrational disdain for protagonism, has proven that I have a set of skills that could be consider above the norm.

Well, if I'm risking my image and all my work in the Cardano community all these years, you better believe that I will gather a team that I consider in extremely high regards.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What are the main goals for the project and how will you validate if your approach is feasible?

Our main objective is to empower our crowd-sourced restoration of public areas with the Cardano blockchain.

Our first goal is to achieve this on a small scale and keep growing

Our secondary goal is to create a community of like-minded individuals to expand on this concept to higher hights.

Our end goal is for Cardano to change Mexico for the better.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed breakdown of your project’s milestones and each of the main tasks or activities to reach the milestone plus the expected timeline for the delivery.

Our first milestone would be the development of the area and gathering of our community. This should be showing signs of feasability around the 5th month, with constant updates and improvements

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please describe the deliverables, outputs and intended outcomes of each milestone.

We will produce changes in the enviroment

We will have Cardano shown to thousands of people on a daily basis.

We will also provide NFTs which will stem from a community of artists, architects and designers

We have access to universities to further our search for the best talent

Our progress will be measured through creation mainly yet we also have the technology to gather hard numbers

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

We've already budgeted for our first area, it's around 100k USD, yet we expect that most of this money will come from the sales of NFTs within our community.

We need the 50k ADA to

Initial payments for artists, designers & web development = 20,000 ADA

Acquiring the technology needed for data gathering = 20,000 ADA

Consulting and paid promotions within the Mexican Republic = 10,000 ADA

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

Aside from material costs like equipment and raw materials, most of the rest of the costs are actually higher than what we're asking, if you were to simply hire a professional. It's our commitment to put our highest efforts into this, as we've done for years before we reached to this stage.

[IMPORTANT NOTE] The Applicant agreed to Fund10 rules and also that data in the Submission Form and other data provided by the project team during the course of the project will be publicly available.

I Accept