[Proposal setup] Proposal title

Please provide your proposal title

Farmer Rewards Protocol: Proof of Impact Eco-Credits

[Proposal Summary] Budget Information

Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA

199500

[Proposal Summary] Time

Please specify how many months you expect your project to last

12

[Proposal Summary] Translation Information

Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated

No

Original Language

en

[Proposal Summary] Problem Statement

What is the problem you want to solve?

Farmers can help restore ecosystem health, but today they are only paid for yields—not for environmental improvement such as returning farmland birds or habitat recovery.

[Proposal Summary] Supporting Documentation

Supporting links

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJJRrapf_T0
,
• https://incubiq.com/_prod/frp/pdf/ETNFR_FINAL.pdf
,
• https://youtu.be/vBzfF3m3hwQ

[Proposal Summary] Project Dependencies

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

No

Describe any dependencies or write 'No dependencies'

No dependencies

[Proposal Summary] Project Open Source

Will your project's outputs be fully open source?

Yes

Please provide details on the intellectual property (IP) status of your project outputs, including whether they will be released as open source or retained under another licence.

MIT License

[Theme Selection] Theme

Please choose the most relevant theme and tag related to the outcomes of your proposal

RWA

[Campaign Category] Category Questions

Describe what makes your idea innovative compared to what has been previously launched in the market (whether by you or others).

This proposal is innovative because it is the first end-to-end protocol that enables farmers to measure ecological improvement, verify it through decentralised credentials, and convert it into a tokenised asset they own.

Many projects in regenerative finance (ReFi), biodiversity accounting, and agricultural IoT attempt to measure environmental impact or tokenise ecological outcomes. However, existing platforms tend to focus on one part of the pipeline—measurement, verification, or tokenisation—without providing an end-to-end framework that farmers can trust, use, and benefit from without intermediaries. The innovation in this proposal lies not in inventing a new carbon methodology or biodiversity index, but in building a complete, verifiable, farmer-centred rewards protocol that brings real-world ecological improvement into tokenised ownership on Cardano.

🔍 What Exists Today — and Why It Falls Short

A review of current solutions highlights key gaps ([+] = strength ; [-] = limitations):

• Carbon marketplaces (e.g., Nori, Charm, Regen Network)

[+] Frameworks for carbon credit sales

[-] High verification cost, inaccessible to small farms, most focus only on carbon, not broader ecology

• Biodiversity pilots (Google Ecostack, ANSIBLE, species-mapping research)

[+] Strong measurement/AI innovation

[-] Not connected to ownership, incentives, or open-protocol tokenisation

• IoT telemetry platforms (Acre, CropX, AgriSound, Faunametrics)

[+] Capture raw ecological or acoustic signals

[-] Closed systems: data is never turned into ownership, rewards, or open credentials

• Blockchain tokenisation platforms (Open Forest Protocol, Moss, Arbol)

[+] Tokenise environmental impact

[-] Require external auditors and manual reporting, not real-time verification from sensor evidence

• Helium-style DePIN models

[+] Incentivise physical network build-out

[-] Not yet adapted to ecological monitoring or agriculture-specific impact verification.

Across all examples, no existing platform provides:

• Autonomous impact verification triggered by measurable ecological change
• Farmer-owned proof and tokenisation without intermediaries
• A modular protocol that supports different ecological use cases over time
• Alignment with decentralised identity standards and verifiable credentials
• A direct reward mechanism linking environmental action → proof → payment

This is the innovation gap our protocol fills.

💡 What Makes the Farmer Rewards Protocol Different

Let's now review how our innovation is structural, behavioural, and architectural:

1. Farmer-First Ownership Model

Instead of corporates, auditors, or intermediaries controlling environmental data, the farmer owns:

• The raw ecological data
• The verifiable credential proving change
• The resulting tokenised proof-of-impact asset

This realigns incentives: farmers steward ecosystems not only for compliance — but because the digital asset created is theirs.

2. Modular Ecological Verification Framework

Most existing solutions are single-outcome (carbon only).

Our protocol supports multiple impact types using the same logic:

🟦 biodiversity (starting with farmland birds → bees → bats → wildlife edge recovery)

🟩 soil improvement

🟪 water quality

🟧 habitat recovery

This makes the system adaptive, not locked to one methodology.

3. Autonomous Evidence-Based Proofing

Traditional environmental crediting relies on:

• paperwork
• audits
• manually submitted documentation

Our model uses:

• IoT → data
• AI → detection
• Verifier → attestation
• Cardano → proof and tokenisation

This reduces cost, removes bureaucracy, and increases credibility.

4. Verifiable Credentials + Tokenised Proof-of-Impact

No system currently combines DIDs, VCs, and tokenisation such that:

“A measurable ecological improvement mints a proof-of-impact asset owned by the actor who caused the improvement.”

That is novel.

5. Designed for Small and Medium Farms — Not Just Industrial Scale

Current carbon and biodiversity markets often exclude small farms due to cost.

This protocol allows entry at any scale, because:

• the sensor network is low-cost
• verification is streamlined
• token generation is modular and repeatable

This opens the door to millions of farms globally—not hundreds.

🚀 In Summary: Why This Innovation Matters

This proposal is not “just another ReFi project.”

It establishes the missing infrastructure layer that allows ecological stewardship to be:

• measurable
• verifiable
• tokenised
• tradeable
• owned by the people who restore land — farmers

By combining real-world measurement, AI validation, verifiable credentials, and token issuance on Cardano, this project turns environmental improvement into a repeatable economic event, not an unrecognised public good.

This is the first protocol designed to:

Turn biodiversity and ecosystem regeneration into a digital asset class farmers control.

And that — in both research and market context — is genuinely new.

Describe what your prototype or MVP will demonstrate, and where it can be accessed.

🎁 MVP and Outcomes

The MVP will demonstrate the full operational workflow of the Farmer Rewards Protocol from real-world ecological activity through to token issuance on Cardano. The prototype is designed to validate not just the technology, but the complete user journey and incentive model.

Specifically, the MVP will demonstrate:

• Sensor-based data acquisition: acoustic monitoring equipment deployed across four participating farms will record farmland bird activity in real conditions.
• Automated analysis: AI-based species recognition and trend detection models will process recordings to determine whether ecological improvement has occurred.
• Verifier attestations: a human verifier will review event summaries and issue a cryptographically signed Verifiable Credential confirming improvement.
• On-chain proof creation: the verified credential will be hashed and anchored to Cardano, establishing an immutable proof of environmental improvement tied to a decentralised identifier.
• Tokenisation and rewards: once verified, a Proof-of-Impact eco-credit token will be minted directly to the farmer’s wallet, demonstrating real-world → verifiable proof → digital asset conversion.
• Farmer dashboard experience: farmers will be able to view their improvement signals, credentials and tokens through a web-based DApp.
• Verifier dashboard experience: verifiers will access a role-specific UI to approve claims, review evidence summaries, and initiate credential issuance.

The prototype will initially run on the Cardano testnet, and both the farmer dashboard and verifier dashboard will be publicly accessible through a secure hosted interface. All smart contracts, schemas, DIDs, credential definitions, and token logic will be open-sourced here: https://github.com/incubiq/FarmerRewardsProtocol. A live walkthrough video will also be recorded to support community testing and transparency.

Describe realistic measures of success, ideally with on-chain metrics.

🙌 Measures of Success

Success for this pilot is defined by measurable adoption, verified environmental improvement, and repeatable on-chain activity. Because the protocol is designed to create a new category of digital asset tied to real-world action, success metrics include both technical and ecological validation indicators.

Core Success Metrics

• At least 4 farms fully onboarded and participating in the pilot.
• At least 8 acoustic monitoring locations deployed across participating farms.
• At least 12 validated ecological improvement events detected by the AI acoustic model.
• At least 1 independent verifier issuing signed approvals.
• Farmers and verifiers regularly interacting with the dashboards as part of normal workflow.
• Environmental improvements recorded with clear audit trails from sensor → AI → verification → tokenisation.

On-Chain Success Metrics

• At least 6 DIDs created (4 farmers, 1 verifier, 1 issuer).
• At least 12 verifiable credential hashes anchored on Cardano to represent validated improvement events.
• At least 12 Proof-of-Impact tokens minted and issued to farmers based on validated improvements.
• At least 30 on-chain transactions demonstrating ongoing usage (credential anchoring, minting, or token transfers).
• At least 20 verified DApp login sessions using wallets, demonstrating system usability and authentication readiness**.**

Adoption & Utility Indicators

• User retention in the dashboard environment after first engagement
• Feedback score ≥ 7/10 from farmers regarding clarity and usability
• Verifier satisfaction ≥ 80% (workflow clarity, evidence confidence)

Long-Term Validation Signal

If two or more farmers request continued use beyond the funded period, this will demonstrate genuine perceived value — not just technical feasibility.

[Your Project and Solution] Solution

Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem

📍 Problem: Why This Matters

Farmers regularly undertake actions that benefit ecosystems: maintaining hedgerows, reducing chemicals, restoring grassland mosaics, and creating habitats that allow wildlife, including birds and pollinators, to return. These improvements contribute to biodiversity recovery, soil function, carbon capture, and landscape resilience. Yet today, these forms of environmental stewardship are rarely valued or financially recognised.

Existing carbon or sustainability schemes tend to focus on complex soil sampling, expensive audits, or long certification cycles. These systems can work, but they are often inaccessible to small and mid-sized farms, creating a barrier to participation. In addition, current market mechanisms primarily issue carbon or nature credits through traditional registries, which operate top-down and require specialist verification.

There is clear global momentum toward eco-credits and nature-based incentives, but there is no simple, trusted, digital mechanism that allows farmers to prove measurable positive environmental change and receive rewards directly — without high administrative burden or relying on intermediaries.

This gap prevents environmental monitoring, regenerative incentives, and climate funding from reaching the ground where change actually happens.

💡 Proposed Solution: The Farmer Rewards Protocol

The Farmer Rewards Protocol is the first end-to-end ReFi protocol on Cardano that combines IoT sensing, AI-based ecological verification, decentralised identity (DIDs + VCs), and native tokens into a single farmer-owned workflow.

How It Works (Farmer Journey)

**1️⃣ Measure **– After an easy installation, acoustic sensors on the farm record bird activity.

**2️⃣ Analyse **– AI models detect changes in bird presence and biodiversity signals.

**3️⃣ Verify **– A designated verifier reviews the improvement and signs a Verifiable Credential.

**4️⃣ Anchor **– The credential hash is written to Cardano for transparent, tamper-evident proof.

**5️⃣ Reward **– A Proof-of-Impact Eco-Credit (POIEC) is minted directly to the farmer’s wallet.

Solution Overview

The Farmer Rewards Protocol is a modular, Cardano-based system designed to verify environmental improvements and reward farmers with tokenised Proof-of-Impact Eco-Credits (POIEC) assets they own and control. The protocol defines how data is collected, verified, credentialed, and translated into on-chain, issuer-agnostic ecocredits.

The first deployed module focuses on farmland bird recovery, because birds are a recognised ecological indicator and can be monitored using low-cost acoustic equipment and existing open-source classification models. When verified trends show improvement over time, the system issues a Proof-of-Impact token to the farmer’s wallet.

The architecture is intentionally extensible. Future modules — such as pollinator activity, hedgerow mapping, water quality, soil metrics, or habitat connectivity — can plug into the same verification and rewards framework. In this approach, this first use-case with birds validates the workflow, whereas the protocol enables future scale.

In summary, instead of building a single ecological credit product, we are building a farmer-first digital verification infrastructure for measurable regenerative action.

📍 Why Cardano

Cardano offers a strong foundation for this protocol because:

• Predictable low-cost transactions support micro-reward models essential for environmental measurement events.
• A native token standard called the Proof-of-Impact Eco-Credit (POIEC), later referred to as eco-credit can be issued without complex smart-contract overhead.
• Cardano already supports decentralised identity frameworks (DID + VC via Identus), allowing impact verification to be anchored in trusted attestations.
• The platform has an active ReFi and RWA community, meaning this protocol can integrate with existing tools rather than operate in isolation.

This project introduces new, repeatable on-chain activity driven by real-world events, helping demonstrate Cardano’s role as a platform for measurable environmental finance.

📍 Prototype Scope (12 Months)

This prototype is delivered across 6 milestones over 12 months (see Feasibility section for the detailed breakdown).

Catalyst funding will support:

• Core protocol architecture (identity, attestations, verification logic)
• Smart contract and token model for Proof-of-Impact ecocredits
• Farmer dashboard and wallet-based interaction layer
• Acoustic data ingestion pipeline using existing AI models
• Testnet deployment and four real-world farm pilot in the UK
• Open documentation and SDK to support additional modules and contributors

📍 Expected Measurable Outputs

• A working end-to-end validation workflow deployed on testnet and connected to real sensor
• At least 12 verified environmental events recorded on-chain
• At least 12 Proof-of-Impact Eco-Credit (POIEC) tokens minted
• At least 6 decentralised identifiers (DIDs) issued (4 farmers, 1 verifier, 1 protocol issuer)
• At least 4 farmer participant onboarded with a working dashboard
• Published protocol schema, data formats, and open-source reference code

📍 Ecosystem Impact

This project delivers a reusable building block for:

• Regenerative finance applications
• Nature-linked asset markets
• POIEC token standards
• On-chain supply-chain verification
• Public goods funding and environmental oracles

📍 Comparison to alternatives

Traditional carbon or biodiversity credit schemes create significant barriers for farmers:

• Farmer cost: $50,000+ per farm (audits, certification, specialist verification)
• Time to first credit: 6-12 months
• Ownership: Registry-controlled, intermediary-dependent
• Access: Often excludes small and mid-sized farms

This Protocol:

• Farmer cost: <$1,000 (sensor hardware only - no registration fees, no audit costs)
• Protocol development: Funded by Catalyst grant (not passed to farmers)
• Time to first reward: 4-8 weeks after verified improvement
• Ownership: Farmers own their credentials and tokens directly
• Access: Designed for farms of all sizes

The Catalyst grant covers all protocol development, infrastructure, and smart contract deployment. Once built, the protocol is open-source and freely available. Farmers only pay for their own sensor hardware (~$200-500) and minimal setup support, removing the financial barriers that exclude them from traditional environmental credit markets.

Key Difference: In traditional schemes, farmers pay $50k+ to participate. In this protocol, the Cardano community invests once via Catalyst, and all future farmers benefit with minimal cost (<$1k).

📝 Summary

The protocol ensures environmental improvement can become a direct digital revenue pathway, rather than a compliance burden or an intermediary-controlled commodity. As such, it turns measurable ecological improvement (starting with farmland birds) into verifiable on-chain assets that farmers own and redeem, creating the first working Proof-of-Impact Eco-Credits rewards system on Cardano. Most importantly, the value flow is farmer-first.

[Your Project and Solution] Impact

Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community

📢 Highlights

This project brings measurable real-world environmental activity onto Cardano as verifiable on-chain events. It strengthens Cardano’s position as a blockchain for real-world assets, decentralised identity and Regenerative Finance (ReFi), while onboarding new non-crypto users (farmers, verifiers and environmental stakeholders) into the ecosystem.

📊 Key Impact Metrics (Pilot Targets)

• 4 farms onboarded and actively using Cardano
• 12+ verified environmental improvement events recorded on-chain
• 12+ Proof-of-Impact Eco-Credits (POIEC) tokens minted to farmer wallets
• 6+ new Cardano identities (DIDs) created
• 1 open-source SDK published enabling future ReFi expansion
• 3+ months of real environmental monitoring data captured and accessible

📈 Baseline → Outcome Change

• Farmers compensated for biodiversity: 0 → 4
• Ecological Proof-of-Impact Eco-Credits tokens on Cardano: 0 → 12+
• Verified environmental credentials issued: 0 → 12+
• ReFi protocol for biodiversity on Cardano: none → full working prototype

📅 Reporting Frequency

• Monthly public video update of at least 15 min
• Continuous GitHub commits throughout the project
• Public demo sessions at Milestone 3 and Milestone 6

📏 Additional Tech Outputs:

• A testnet pilot demonstrating a complete ReFi protocol (sensor → AI → verification → credential → token)
• Open-source MIT license ensuring full ecosystem reusability
• A public SDK enabling other developers to create new environmental reward modules

📍 Impact: How This Project Strengthens the Cardano Ecosystem

This project demonstrates Cardano’s ability to record, verify, and reward real-world ecological improvement — delivering a practical, measurable use case that establishes Cardano as a leading infrastructure for ReFi and real-world asset systems.

Why Bird First?

Farmland birds are the first measurable use case, but the protocol is intentionally modular and already scoped for future modules such as pollinator monitoring, soil regeneration signals, hedgerow condition scoring, and water quality improvement. The Protocol will demonstrate Cardano’s role as a trusted infrastructure layer for regenerative finance (ReFi).

Rather than issuing theoretical or speculative tokens, this project anchors token minting to verified environmental outcomes, recorded through decentralised identity and attestations. This establishes a new category of blockchain utility: Proof-of-Impact Eco-Credit (POIEC) assets.

Direct Impact on the Cardano Ecosystem

This prototype will contribute tangible outcomes to the ecosystem:

• New wallets created by farmers and verifiers
• Verifiable on-chain attestations linked to real environmental events
• Native tokens representing eco-credits minted and transacted
• A functioning decentralized identity + verification workflow
• An open standard others can build on

These actions generate repeatable transaction flow driven by environmental data, not by speculation.

Ecosystem Enablement & Developer Value

By open-sourcing the protocol logic, schemas, and SDK, developers will be able to:

• Add new measurement modules (pollinators, hedgerows, soil, water, habitats)
• Build marketplaces, staking models, and funding mechanisms
• Extend the protocol into other real-world environmental and industrial use cases

The protocol becomes a reusable building block for supply-chain traceability, ecological reporting, and nature-based asset markets, enabling downstream innovation without reinventing the verification pipeline.

Strengthening Cardano’s Position in ReFi and Real-World Assets (RWA)

Cardano already has strong ReFi interest — but few live environmental reward mechanisms tied to real measurements. This project provides:

• A working demonstration rather than a concept
• Independent verification to avoid greenwashing
• A farmer-first model, ensuring value flows to land stewards
• A real use-case deployed in real farms in the UK

It positions Cardano as a platform capable of supporting trusted ecological accounting and incentives, rather than just token issuance.

Long-Term Potential

If successful, this early prototype may form the foundation for:

• Government or NGO-backed environmental subsidy distribution
• Corporate sustainability reporting and supply-chain claims
• Local ecological funding pools supported by communities or carbon markets
• Scalable ecocredit markets based on transparent and verifiable rules
• Changing the lives of farmers by actually rewarding them with real credits for their work which is otherwise not commercially rewarded

The protocol offers a path to environmental public goods funding on-chain, aligned with measurable real-world outcomes. If successful, this protocol could scale to thousands of farms and generate ongoing on-chain environmental proofs, creating sustained wallet activity, token minting events and verifiable ecological asset classes on Cardano.

In simple terms: this proposal proves that Cardano can validate real-world environmental change and convert it into digital economic reward. If Cardano can measure and reward restored biodiversity, it can later apply the same mechanism to soil carbon, pollinators, water quality, forestry and more. The pilot is the proof, the protocol is the foundation.

📝 Summary of Impact

This project will positively impact Cardano by:

• Bringing new real-world users into the ecosystem (farmers, environmental verifiers, land organisations)
• Demonstrating Cardano’s suitability for identity-linked real-world verification
• Driving measurable and recurring on-chain activity tied to real-world outcomes
• Providing reusable standards and open infrastructure for future ReFi and RWA development
• Showcasing Cardano as a chain enabling verifiable public good impact, not speculation

This proposal directly supports the goals of Cardano’s ReFi and Real-World Assets ecosystem by converting verified environmental improvement into digital value secured by Cardano.

If Cardano becomes the chain where verifiable environmental improvement is proven and rewarded, it becomes the infrastructure layer for the next generation of ecological finance.

[Your Project and Solution] Capabilities & Feasibility

What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

📍 Feasibility & Capability

The proposed workflow [measurement → verification → credential → token] builds on existing acoustic biodiversity technology and Cardano-native identity and token frameworks, rather than speculative research.

This project is feasible because it is based on proven components, a team with a complete Catalyst delivery record, and a tightly scoped prototype that validates the full workflow end-to-end.

📋 Project Timeline & Milestones

Here is a reminder of the Milestones described in more details in specific sections below.

| Milestone | Delivery | Duration | Cost | Deliverables |

|----------------|--------------|---------------|--------|--------------------|

| M1 | Month 2 | 2 months | 15,000 ₳ | Specs finalized, 4 farms confirmed, hardware selected |

| M2 | Month 4 | 2 months | 40,000 ₳ | DID/VC framework, mock workflow working |

| M3 | Month 7 | 3 months | 54,000 ₳ | Token logic, wallet integration, dashboards |

| M4 | Month 9 | 2 months | 18,500 ₳ | Sensors deployed, live data flowing |

| M5 | Month 11 | 2 months | 42,000 ₳ | Verification working, tokens minted on testnet |

| M6 | Month 12 | 1 month | 30,000 ₳ | Public release, documentation complete |

Total Duration: 12 months

Built-in Buffer: 30% time contingency (180 work days across 365 calendar days)

👥 Team Capability & Capacity

Together, the team combines:

✅ Blockchain technical delivery (proven track record)

✅ Agricultural domain expertise (active practitioner)

✅ 100% Catalyst completion rate (5/5 projects delivered)

✅ Direct farmer network access (4 farms already identified)

✅ Clear role separation (tech + domain = complete coverage)

Eric Duneau

-> Available Capacity: 30-35 hours/week dedicated to this project

Eric has successfully delivered multiple Catalyst-funded projects including decentralised identity (DID), verifiable credential architectures, wallet integrations, and blockchain-based authentication systems. All previous Catalyst projects were completed, documented, and reported as per expectations, demonstrating reliability, transparency, and responsible fund stewardship. Eric does not currently have any ongoing project with Catalyst, all have been fully delivered and have passed "proof of achievement".

Eric brings extensive experience in software engineering and system architecture, ensuring the protocol is implemented with scalability, maintainability, and future extensibility in mind.

Note that in ALL past projects, Eric has issued a complete 30-60min video recording of all progress details at EACH milestones (see attached docs for some examples), and will continue to do so for this upcoming project if it is granted. Eric as always received very positive comments from reviewers.

-> Verified Past Catalyst Delivery

• [Fund 8] Sign in With Cardano - https://github.com/incubiq/sign_in_with_wallet
• [Fund 11] Identity for Autonomous AIs - https://milestones.projectcatalyst.io/projects/1100164 ✅ Delivered Nov 2024
• [Fund 12] Conditional Transfer via DIDs - https://milestones.projectcatalyst.io/projects/1200085 ✅ Delivered Feb 2025
• [Fund 12] Anonymous Voting with DIDs - https://milestones.projectcatalyst.io/projects/1200194 ✅ Delivered Oct 2025

-> Evidence of Delivery Quality

• project 1200194, milestones 5: "As always, excelent job and plenty of details."
• project 1200194, milestones 3 : "Good job. Really well explained and documented."
• project 1200085, milestones 2 : "Congrats Team, as always, very well explained POC."
• project 1100164, milestones 4 : "All MS outputs are presented with details. The video of the MS is helpful and provides good overview and PoA for the MS. PoA includes the github, APIs doc and the webpage."

Edward Towers

-> Available Capacity: 10-15 hours/week for farmer coordination, field validation, communication

Edward brings field experience and expertise documented in his Nuffield research, which focuses on farmer incentives, biodiversity improvement, and regenerative agriculture economics. His involvement ensures the protocol reflects realistic farming behaviour, practical data collection conditions, and real-world constraints rather than theoretical assumptions.

-> Relevant Expertise

• Active UK dairy farmer with direct regenerative agriculture experience
• Nuffield International Scholar (2024-2025) - researched farmer incentives for biodiversity
• Published research: "Integration of new technology to incentivise environmental services" https://incubiq.com/_prod/frp/pdf/ETNFR_FINAL.pdf)))
• Direct connections to UK farming networks and agricultural cooperatives
• Experience presenting to agricultural audiences and communicating technical concepts to farmers

✨ Core Technology Components

• Identity & Credentials:

Hyperledger Identus (formerly Atala PRISM) for DIDs

W3C Verifiable Credentials standard

PyCardano for blockchain interactions

• Acoustic Monitoring:

BirdNET-Lite or similar open-source bird recognition models

Low-cost acoustic sensors (AudioMoth or equivalent)

Python-based data processing pipeline

• Blockchain Layer:

Cardano testnet (PreProd) for pilot

Native token minting for Proof-of-Impact Eco-Credits (POIEC)

Smart contracts for verification logic (Aiken or similar)

• User Interface:

React-based farmer dashboard

Wallet integration (Likely Lace first)

Simple web-based verifier interface

• Infrastructure:

GitHub for version control and open-source release

Cloud storage for acoustic data (Azure/AWS with UK data residency)

REST API for data ingestion and verification workflow

All components are proven, production-ready technologies - no experimental research required.

🗓️ Feasibility & Validation Plan

Technology choices and architecture will be validated during Milestone 1. If findings require adjustments to the rollout plan, changes will be made early and transparently, always prioritising long-term project success.

The feasibility of the protocol will be demonstrated through a controlled but meaningful implementation across four participating farms. The prototype will validate feasibility through a staged, end-to-end process:

1/ Data Capture

• Deploy low-cost acoustic devices at four farms.
• Confirm reliable recording frequency, data storage, and upload pipeline.

2/AI Detection

• Use existing open-source bird-recognition models to identify species activity and generate comparable trend data.

3/ Verification Layer

• A designated verifier reviews improvement signals and signs a Verifiable Credential confirming the environmental outcome.

4/ On-Chain Proof

• The credential hash is stored on Cardano, ensuring transparency without revealing raw ecological or farm-level data.

5/ Token Minting

• A farmer wallet receives a tokenised Proof-of-Impact Eco-Credit (POIEC), demonstrating end-to-end functionality: real-world signal → digital proof → tokenised reward.

This prototype validates the workflow and protocol, not just the sensor technology.

🧯 Risk Awareness & Mitigation

Risk (R) ; Mitigation (M)

(R) Sensor deployment variability ; (M) Four-farm design ensures redundancy and comparative benchmarking

(R) AI accuracy variance ; (M) Existing validated acoustic models reduce uncertainty

(R) Farmer adoption barriers ; (M) Simple onboarding and farmer-first wallet UX

(R) Technical scope drift ; (M) Fixed milestone structure and protocol-first design

(R) Regulatory or compliance uncertainty ; (M) Data remains anonymous, no personal data stored on-chain, aligns with UK biodiversity monitoring guidelines.

(R) Pilot farm dropout ; (M) already identified 2 backup farms in Edward's network who can replace them within 2 weeks.

(R) Dependency risk on third-party tools (BirdNET / Identus) ; (M) Components modularised; alternatives exist (BirdWatchingAI, species-audio ML models, SpruceID ; Identus can be packaged and used on our own infra).

There are no unresolved dependencies, unknown research questions, or unproven technologies — the remaining work is integration and execution.

📈 Transparency and Reporting

To ensure accountability, the project will:

• Publish open milestone reports of at least 30min deep details video recording, as well as source code on GitHub
• Demonstrate the system on testnet
• Release the protocol schema, token standard, and DID structures as open documentation
• Share progress updates publicly with Catalyst reviewers and Cardano community channels

Note that Eric has already demonstrated this delivery pattern in 5 past Catalyst projects with a 100% completion rate.

In practical terms, the MVP proves that the system works not just technically, but operationally: real farmers, real data, real verification, real on-chain proof, and real token rewards.

📝 Summary

This project is feasible because:

• It builds on mature existing components (acoustic AI, DID models, native tokens)
• The team has a proven history of delivery, including past Catalyst projects
• The team has deep expertise in the field. Tech : DID / VCs , wallet Auth, deploying projects on Cardano; Agricultural domain and credentials for first Farms onboarding
• The scope is realistic and structured around a working prototype with measurable outputs
• Risks are identified and mitigated
• The prototype directly proves core functionality in real conditions

The approach ensures a complete validation of the end-to-end workflow, from environmental evidence to verifiable digital reward, all within Catalyst timelines.

[Milestones] Project Milestones

Milestone Title

Finalize Specifications, Validate Options & Confirm Pilot Farms

Milestone Outputs

• Reviewed specs and validation of all major options (possibly with small PoCs where necessary)
• Review the necessity of adopting DID / VCs, or straight to POIEC
• Finalised protocol specification (data flow, DID formats, VC structure, token logic)
• Selection of acoustic hardware and open-source AI model to be used
• UX wireframes for farmer dashboard + verifier workflow
• Defined scope of smart contracts and off-chain services
• GitHub documentation structure created
• Confirmed participation from at least four pilot farms

Acceptance Criteria

• Protocol specification published in GitHub repo
• Architecture validated by both technical and agricultural leads
• Hardware and model choices confirmed and tested minimally
• All required roles (farmer, verifier, protocol, issuer) defined and mapped to DID/VC logic
• No open blockers to development phase
• Signed confirmation or LOI from four participating farms uploaded to the repo

Evidence of Completion

GitHub repository containing:

•	Protocol specification document (version 1.0)

•	Architecture diagrams and workflow definitions

•	UX wireframes for both interfaces

•	Hardware/model decision log with test notes

•	FARM ONBOARDING EVIDENCE folder containing signed agreements or DIDs pre-created for all four farms

Delivery Month

2

Cost

15000

Progress

20 %

Milestone Title

Core Framework for DID/VC & Mock Workflow

Milestone Outputs

• DID setup for:

*farmers

*verifier role

*protocol issuer

• Verifiable Credential schema implemented
• Minimal Proof-of-Impact token logic deployed on testnet
• Initial wallet integration (farmer can receive a VC, not full UI yet)
• Mock workflow demonstration (no sensors yet): mock data → verification → VC

Acceptance Criteria

• At least one successful end-to-end mock transaction from mock data to VC issued
• VC visible ona Test env, and can be verified by a verifier
• DID + VC schema publicly documented
• No fundamental blockers to next milestone

Evidence of Completion

• Testnet explorer link

•	A recorded video demo of what was produced

•	GitHub commit logs and documentation

Delivery Month

4

Cost

40000

Progress

40 %

Milestone Title

Token Logic, Wallet Integration & Prototype Dashboards

Milestone Outputs

• Proof-of-Impact token logic implemented on Cardano testnet
• Wallet integration updated so that:

*a farmer can receive and view an issued token

*a verifier can trigger issuance (via button/UI)

• Prototype farmer dashboard (UI placeholders acceptable) showing:

*farm DID

*activity log

*token history

• Prototype verifier dashboard showing:

*events (placeholder/mock data)

*approval / rejection flow

*credential signing action

• End-to-end mock workflow updated: mock signal → verifier approval → VC → token issued to farmer wallet

Acceptance Criteria

• At least one Proof-of-Impact token successfully minted on the Cardano testnet
• Token visible in at least one supported wallet (likely Lace)
• Both dashboards functional enough to demonstrate workflow (final UX not required)
• A verifier can approve mock event and trigger both:

*VC issuance

*token minting

• No technical blockers preventing integration with real sensor pipeline in next milestone

Evidence of Completion

• Testnet explorer links showing VC hash + issued token
• Recorded demo showing mock workflow through dashboards
• GitHub repository updated with:

*token contract

*credential issuance script

*dashboard UI code

*architecture update documentation

Delivery Month

7

Cost

54000

Progress

60 %

Milestone Title

Sensor Deployment & Live Environmental Data Integration

Milestone Outputs

• Acoustic monitoring hardware deployed across the four participating pilot farms
• Live automated ingestion pipeline receiving real acoustic event summaries
• AI model integrated for detecting bird signatures (species or category level)
• Calibration phase completed:

*noise filtering

*event confidence scores

*seasonal/false-positive tuning

• Dashboards updated to show real farm event data, not mock data

Acceptance Criteria

• All four farms streaming real detection events to the system
• At least one validated detection event per farm visible in the dashboard
• Model confidence scores recorded for each event
• Full workflow now possible using real data: real signal → ingestion → detection → verifier review
• No manual file upload or developer intervention required

Evidence of Completion

• Deployment confirmation from all four farms
• Logged evidence of real live detections (screenshots + data records)
• GitHub updated with ingestion pipeline code, model integration notes, deployment instructions
• Recorded demo showing: sensor → system → dashboard (real data)

Delivery Month

9

Cost

18500

Progress

80 %

Milestone Title

Verification, Tokenisation & On-Chain Pilot

Milestone Outputs

• Full end-to-end verification workflow operational using real sensor data

• Verifier dashboard updated to support:

  * reviewing detection events
  
  * approving or rejecting ecological improvement signals
  
  * issuing signed Verifiable Credentials
  

• Fully functional Proof-of-Impact minting logic on Cardano testnet

• Farmers receive first prototype ecocredits linked to verified impact events

• Early feedback collected from farmers and verifier on usability, clarity and trust model

Acceptance Criteria

• At least one complete verification cycle per farm, ending in: real event → verified → credential → token issued
• At least 8 POEIC testnet tokens minted in total
• Farmers can view issued ecocredits in their wallet and dashboard
• Verifier confirmations recorded as VCs and hashed on-chain
• No unresolved technical blockers preventing ecosystem demo or scaling

Evidence of Completion

• Testnet explorer links demonstrating on-chain credential hashes and token issuance

• Demo recording showing the live workflow (sensor → verifier → wallet)

• GitHub updates including:

  * final verification logic
  
  * token contract version
  
  * credential issuance scripts
  

• Pilot feedback summary from farmers and verifier team

Delivery Month

11

Cost

42000

Progress

90 %

Milestone Title

Public Release, Documentation & Proof of Achievement

Milestone Outputs

• Public-facing prototype accessible to Catalyst community (testnet)
• Public engagement with the Cardano community
• Documentation package released, including:

*Protocol spec (v1.1 post-pilot)

*Developer integration guide

*Token/VC schema reference

*Deployment instructions for additional farms or measurement types

*High-level extension proposal for additional modules (bees, hedgerows, water, soil)

• Public recorded demo and Proof of Achievement

Acceptance Criteria

• Prototype publicly accessible with instructions clear enough for a non-technical user to understand the workflow
• Final video recording demo completed and published
• At least one public engagement with Cardano Community of the project and outcomes
• Clear roadmap produced showing how the protocol can be extended or integrated with other Cardano ReFi/RWA projects

Evidence of Completion

• GitHub release tagged “v1.0-pilot” with documentation, schemas, and code
• Published demo video available publicly
• Community feedback log (still to be defined where : Discord, X post, forum thread, or GitHub issues)
• Signed acknowledgment from pilot farms confirming project lifecycle completion

Delivery Month

12

Cost

30000

Progress

100 %

[Final Pitch] Budget & Costs

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

The budget of the entire project would normally come at ₳272,993, but was discounted to ₳199,500 as the team will put their own extra money and effort to fill the gap. It is important to note that irrespective of the future variation of ADA/USD, once the project is granted, it is guaranteed be delivered. We are not a company requiring profit, or having fixed costs. We are two individuals who are here for the long term, and are not seeking profit maximization.

The cost is calculated as follows:

Cost per hour: dev at $85 ph ; test and risk mgt at $55 ph ; doc, marketing, and onsite farm installations at $35 ph

Total number of days = 180, for an average of $75 per hour across the project when no discount is applied, but after discount, we reach a cost of $54.90 per hour on average.

ADA/USD conversion rate: 0.3962 taken on 22 Nov 2025

The table below explains the real cost per each activity

In summary, the payments are as per below:

• The ADA column shows the real Milestones cost in ADA
• The USD column shows the real Milestones cost in USD
• The actual Vs Plan shows the actual workload per period (for example 75% means we have 25% risk mitigation in terms of time to deliver the full mislestone)
• The ROUNDED column shows the requested ADA funds for each milestone
• The DISCOUNT colum shows the discount vs real cost for each milestone (leading to a total discount of 27%)
• The last M% colums shows the % of fund allocated to each milestone.

• M1 (Finalize Specifications, Validate Options & Confirm Pilot Farms) : ₳15,000 (8% ot total, 41% discount on real cost)
• M2 (Core Framework for DID/VC & Mock Workflow) : ₳40,000 (20% of total, 28% discount on real cost)
• M3 (Token Logic, Wallet Integration & Prototype Dashboards) : ₳54,000 (27% of total, 27% discount on real cost)
• M4 (Sensor Deployment & Live Environmental Data Integration) : ₳18,500 (35% of total, 9% discount on real cost)
• M5 (Verification, Tokenisation & On-Chain Pilot) : ₳42,000 (21% of total, 27% discount on real cost)
• M6 (Public Release, Documentation & Proof of Achievement) : ₳30,000 (15% of total, 6% discount on real cost)

[Final Pitch] Value for Money

How does the cost of the project represent value for the Cardano ecosystem?

📦 What You Get for 199,500 ADA

✓ Working end-to-end ReFi protocol (sensor → AI → VC → token)

✓ 4 farms onboarded and operational

✓ 12+ verified environmental improvement events recorded on-chain

✓ 12+ Proof-of-Impact Eco-Credits (POIEC) minted to farmer wallets

✓ SDK, documentation, and open reference code (MIT licence)

✓ 6+ new Cardano wallets and identities created

✓ 3+ months of real biodiversity monitoring data

💵 Significant Below-Market Delivery Cost

The project's costs have been carefully considered and down-adjusted by a 27% discount to reflect a fair and proportionate investment from the Cardano Community.

As the primary architect and developer, Eric is based in the UK and typically commands a commercial rate significantly higher than the effective Catalyst cost of this proposal. The budget equates to an average $54.90/hour across the delivery period (180 days / 199,500 ADA, using ADA/USD rate of 0.3962, taken on 22 Nov 2025), which is well below market rate for senior blockchain engineering, distributed identity architecture, and AI–integrated systems development. This reflects a deliberate decision to prioritise delivery efficiency and ecosystem contribution over commercial maximisation.

The project has been scoped with a lean execution model, avoiding unnecessary subcontracting, administrative overhead, other waste or speculative R&D. Every cost has been tied directly to measurable outputs, and the work plan has been structured into six milestone-based releases, ensuring that funds are only released upon demonstrable progress. This creates a clear audit trail that the community can verify.

🏦 Long-term Value

Unlike many proposals where cost is focused solely on building a tool or user-facing application, this project delivers reusable infrastructure that benefits the wider ecosystem:

• Proof-of-Impact digital asset standard usable by other ReFi teams
• A DID + Verifiable Credential model for land-based identities
• A modular oracle-verified measurement → verification → tokenisation workflow
• A developer-ready reference implementation and SDK layer
• A working real-world pilot with four farms onboarded

This means the value extends beyond the pilot use case. Future projects in biodiversity, soil health, watershed conservation, agro-forestry, or regenerative supply chains can adopt the same protocol without needing to build the foundations again. In short, this funding does not just produce a prototype — it seeds a scalable public good asset for the Cardano ecosystem.

The proposal also addresses long-term value retention: once deployed, the protocol can operate without ongoing treasury support. Farmers and ecosystem participants become the economic drivers, and applications built on top of this protocol can sustainably generate network activity and developer adoption. Based on market rates and comparable project scopes, the expected value returned to the ecosystem over the first pilot year is 5–10× the treasury investment, due to reusable infrastructure, reduced onboarding costs, and farmer adoption leverage.

Finally, the cost is framed around delivering a fully functioning pilot, not merely research or design. Catalyst funding enables the project to move from theory into validated implementation, ensuring that Cardano becomes a leading infrastructure layer for regenerative finance and verifiable real-world asset systems.

💰 Use of Funds

The project allocates ~85% of the budget directly to development and prototype delivery, with less than 3% administrative overhead — significantly leaner than typical software R&D budgets.

No funding in this proposal is exploratory, speculative, or administrative — every ADA contributes directly to delivering working technology and measurable on-chain activity.

🔍 Summary of Value Proposition

This proposal delivers:

• High technical output at below\-market cost
• Milestone-based accountability and transparency
• Reusable protocols that strengthen Cardano as a public good
• A measurable on-chain pilot proving real-world adoption
• Future scalability without repeat treasury dependence

For these reasons, the requested funding represents strong value for money and a meaningful long-term investment in Cardano’s role in real-world regenerative finance. Additionally, compared to typical Catalyst infrastructure proposals, this budget delivers unusually high functional output per ADA because the work is executed by a senior engineer without outsourced layers.

[Self-Assessment] Self-Assessment Checklist

I confirm that evidence of prior research, whitepaper, design, or proof-of-concept is provided.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal includes ecosystem research and uses the findings to either (a) justify its uniqueness over existing solutions or (b) demonstrate the value of its novel approach.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal demonstrates technical capability via verifiable in-house talent or a confirmed development partner (GitHub, LinkedIn, portfolio, etc.)

Yes

I confirm that the proposer and all team members are in good standing with prior Catalyst projects.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal clearly defines the problem and the value of the on-chain utility.

Yes

I confirm that the primary goal of the proposal is a working prototype deployed on at least a Cardano testnet.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal outlines a credible and clear technical plan and architecture.

Yes

I confirm that the budget and timeline (≤ 12 months) are realistic for the proposed work.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal includes a community engagement and feedback plan to amplify prototype adoption with the Cardano ecosystem.

Yes

I confirm that the budget is for future development only; excludes retroactive funding, incentives, giveaways, re-granting, or sub-treasuries.

Yes

[Required Acknowledgements] Consent & Confirmation

I Agree

Yes