HONEYBEES ON BLOCKCHAIN

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem.

Develop an NFT marketplace and unique NFT art collection to help increase and sustain honeybee population. Each NFT address is the proof of honeybees' work.

[GENERAL] Summarize your relevant experience.

Dr. Margarita Mouza has been working on subjects related to the well being of society including technology, nature and neuroscience. She is a teacher, proposal writer and managed a number of projects funded by EU and UNOPS/UNHR until today.

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

Honeybees are responsible for $30bn a year in crops and for keeping ecosystems in balance. Not only they do not receive the economic recognition they deserve, they are also dying in massive numbers due to human activity that inconsiderately contributes to their extinction. There is a need to monetize honeybees’ work. This will help

(a)  increase and sustain honeybee population,

(b)  sustain beekeepers’ work

(c)  expand Cardano use in commerce

(d)  increase Cardano users/holders

(e)  secure sustainable living for all

These can be achieved by creating a proof of honeybees’ work on blockchain. 

Honeybees on Blockchain

A metaphor to explain how blockchain will be used to secure sustainability of beekeeping and increase honeybee population.

How to put honeybees on blockchain

The Means 

1. NFT Collection: A Limited Edition of 25 art works will be drawn specifically for the honeybees. Selling the NFTs will put honeybees on blockchain and the honeybees’ proof of work will be recognized. As sustainability is important more NFTs will be developed even after the project is completed to continue sales. 

2. Web page/marketplace: A web page/marketplace will host and promote NFT sales. Buyers will have the option to mint on NFT-MAKER and/or Block.co Continuous sales of NFTs will help Cardano beekeepers sustain the beehive fleet and protect the honeybees. The web page will be also used to raise awareness on the importance of honeybees in our lives as well as other add ons that may arise in the future. 

The procedure 

1. Onboarding of beekeepers to the project: Beekeepers will be recruited using the Register of Beekeepers from countries of close proximity to Cyprus. Already, beekeepers from Cyprus, Greece and Italy showed interest to participate in the project. The project is open to beekeepers new to the profession.  

2. Beekeepers’ responsibilities: (a) register to catalyst community, (b) register a Cardano wallet, (c) identify as “Cardano Beekeepers”, (d) sign up 5 beehives from their fleet to the project. 

3. Adoption of beehives – an ethical investment: Each person buying an NFT immediately adopts a hive and receives information on the location, progress, honey production, etc. Each beehive corresponds to an NFT. Technically the NFT has an address on blockchain. This address is the proof of honeybees' work.

Sustainability of beehives

ADA received from NFT sales will be distributed to the wallets of Cardano Beekeepers who will use ADA to secure sustainability of honeybees communities and beekeepers' profession as well as increase honeybee population (buy new hives, treat/protect bees from illnesses, etc). NFT sales will continue even after the project is completed for sustainability purposes.

Campaign

The campaign will include:

NFT promotion and sales on the webpage/marketplace using Customer Relations Management (CRM) technology, social media advertising and videos. Monthly reports and metrics of campaign results will be shared. The campaign will be ongoing to raise as much awareness as possible on honeybees thus achieving the sales target. The NFT promotion will concentrate on Cardano's environmental protection philosophy.

Dissemination

Upon completion of the project, results will be disseminated to the Cardano Community as well as to the general public through the ongoing campaign in an effort to increase awareness on the bee problem caused by us humans.

[IMPACT] Please describe how your proposed solution will address the Challenge that you have submitted it in.

Blockchain is powerful and Cardano has the means to bring on board anyone that wants to be part of it, including the bees and their keepers. Honeybees on Blockchain seeks to to show that even daily life situations can be on blockchain and be part of an evolving technology.

By integrating the bees' work on blockchain, beekeepers enter a global competition and have access to tools that will help them catch up with technology, modernize their role, increase their income, and sustain their role. Putting the bees' work on blockchain opens the way to other small businesses and professionals aiming to become part of Cardano's family through innovative services offered on the blockchain. As such, the promise of large-scale benefits of this technology will be closer to fulfilment.

[IMPACT] What are the main risks that could prevent you from delivering the project successfully and please explain how you will mitigate each risk?

The risks and challenges foreseen are:

(a) Due to the instability of the bee population, the number of beehives that will be assigned cannot be secured. But beekeepers never stop the process of increasing bee population. They work continuously to keep their hives alive and filled with population. Thus, the target number of beehives will be achieved sooner or later.

(b) Reaching the location of beehive populations is a major challenge. Beehives are found in many different areas away from city limits and many times in hard to access mountainous areas. For this reason the exact milage can not be provided in advance, neither the exact travelling costs. We have added indicative travel costs. In case more funds are needed for traveling, these will be covered from own funds. We are prepared to drive long distances to rich and confirm beehive populations, or even travel outside of the country when needed.

(c) Beekeepers might be reluctant to the idea of blockchain just out of ignorance. Prior to signing up the beehives, beekeepers will be educated about Cardano and the benefits of entering a new world of business that will also benefit their work.

(d) NFT buyers might be reluctant to spend Cardano thinking that the bee population of the beehive they will adopt may die, thus losing their investment. This is an ethical issue. Supporting a beehive is not a for profit investment, it is an investment on ones future in this world. You invest in the bees, you invest for your future.

(e) The implementation team maybe criticized for getting involved in an area outside their expertise. We care about the world we live in, we raise one of the many problems our world encounters. We have the knowledge, the energy and the time to do what we do best - write, manage, develop and solve the problem. We can assist beekeepers who have undertaken a more difficult task – that of taking care of the bees and the environment we live in.  

(f) Why we go solo: we will not involve any government offices in the project because bureaucracy, personal ambitions, lack of knowledge about blockchain are a few inhibitory factors that will not favor the implementation of the project on time and with success.

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed plan, including timeline and key milestones for delivering your proposal.

Months 1-3

During this period all actions will run concurrently.

(a) Team meet-up, set up strategy, allocate tasks, and set timeline

(b) Development of webpage to whitelist and campaign NFTs of Honeybees.

(c) NFT art work - Already in process. It includes art work and digital formatting.

(d) Onboarding of beekeepers - Already in process. It includes communication with beekeepers, personal appointments to raise awareness on Cardano ecosystem and Catalyst Community, personal and group meetings with beekeepers to assist on onboarding and wallet registration.

(e)Onboarding of beehives - travel to beehive locations to confirm the existence of beehives, film and take pictures of beehives,

(f) Marketing campaign - already in process. First awareness raising video posted on this proposal. Posting of video and awareness raising material on social media platforms. Promote NFT collection through the webpage and CRM. 

Months 3-6

(a) Sales of NFT collection

(b) Marketing campaign (cont.) involving digital marketing, CRM (Metrics and reports of campaign).

Months 6-9

Marketing campaign (cont.) - Dissemination of project results to Cardano Community, acknowledge honeybees' proof of work and Cardano's ecosystem philosophy on social media through a series of videos, posts, pictures, etc.)

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown.

Webpage development $4100

(a) Developer (setup, plugins & graphics) $3500/9months

(b) Domain & Hosting $250

(c) Maintenance $350/yearly

NFT development $2000

(a) Artist $1200 for 25 pieces of art work

(b) Digital formatting $800

Campaign $5630

(a) Digital Marketer $170x9 months P/T = $1530

(Includes Campaign Management, Marketing and Reporting, Ongoing optimization, targeting, bidding, and overall campaign health. Monthly reporting of campaign metrics, results, optimizations, and insights.

(b) Content writer $1200/6months P/T (content writing for both webpage and campaign)

(c) Digital marketing & advertising costs (CRM, social media advertising and promotion) $900/9mns

(d) 1Video x $2000

Onboarding $3400*

(a) Individual & group meetings with beekeepers (as many as needed)

(b) Presentations (2-3)

(c) Administration costs $350

(d)Travel costs - exact travel costs to locate beehives cannot be determined at this point since beehive keeping whereabouts can be anywhere up on the mountains and in forests - usually in off-road areas (Indicative prices $2.10/L petrol, approximate minimum travelling distance within Cyprus 500km@0.95cent/km, one trip abroad@$1200).

*The cost is a lump sum that will cover all expenses related to onboarding. Since petrol prices increase day by day, and since distances cannot be calculated in advance, in case more funds are needed, then costs will be covered by own funds.

Dissemination $4150

(a) 1video/ $2000

(b) Content development for video script $200

(c) Exposure of project results $850

(d) Digital marketing $1100

Project Manager $3500

Management & Coordination 3500/9mths P/T

Hidden costs (unforeseen expenses) $540

This amount will cover any unforeseen expenses that may arise during implementation. If no such expenses arise, funds will be invested in the marketing campaign and dissemination of results.

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide details of the people who will work on the project.

All team members are new to Cardano Community in an effort to expand Cardano's family as well as introduce young generations to the world of Cardano. Gender parity has been also taken into consideration. The proposer is already a member of Cardano Community and a PA.

1. Project Management & Coordination: Dr Margarita Mouza

(99+) Dr. Margarita Mouza | LinkedIn

Margarita Mouza (0000-0003-1370-5029) (orcid.org)

2. Web Development: Vangelis Panagoulia - Developer (full cv attached)

 https://prometheus-technologies.space/

https://eliotcosmetics.com

- https://allaboutphones.gr/

- https://ionideco.gr/

- https://dronexprts.gr/

3. Campaign &Marketing: Georgios Chrysostomou - Digital Marketer (full cv attached)

4. NFT Art Work: Elena Paschali - A freelance artist but also a pationate early-stage researcher with a Master in Ecotechnology and Environmental Science at Mid Sweden University specialized in sustainability, system modeling and environmental assessment and with an interdisciplinary interest in environmental science, systems ecology and ecophilosophy.

(99+) Elena Paschali | LinkedIn Elena PASCHALI | Master of Research with major in Environmental Science and Sustainability | Mid Sweden University, Sundsvall | Department of Engineering and Sustainable Development (researchgate.net)

5. Filming: Petr Smělik - documentary filmmaker and editor with 16 years of experience, works for TV & film, for independent companies and for Cardano community, holds several awards for his editing skills and one main award for documentary directing. For more details visit www.vivatscreen.com

[FEASIBILITY] If you are funded, will you return to Catalyst in a later round for further funding? Please explain why / why not.

We will not request further funding within the current funding cycle, but it is in our plans to request funding in the future for an app that will incentivize honeybee product buyers with an ADA rebate. Cardano Beekeepers will benefit from sales and buyers will receive ADA as a reward after purchasing honey products from Cardano Beekeepers.

[FEASIBILITY] Are you or any member of your team working on any other proposals in this Fund9?

[FEASIBILITY] Are you or your team working on any other proposals from previous Funds?

[AUDITABILITY] Please describe what you will measure to track your project's progress, and how will you measure these?

To track the project's progress the following will be measured:

• Number of beekeepers onboarding (number of new wallet registrations)
• Number of beehives registered (connected to the number of NFTs sold)
• Products developed (webpage/marketplace, NFT art)
• User engagement on webpage (through CRM)
• Web traffic analytics and reports (through CRM)
• Number of NFTs sold (visible from marketplace)
• Total gains from NFT sales (ADA in Beekeepers' wallet)

[AUDITABILITY] What does success for this project look like?

Success would mean:

(a) sell first NFT collection

(b) have a sustainable number of populated beehives

(c) onboarding of beekeepers from different countries

(d) increase cardano users

(e) increase adoption of cardano by all stakeholders involved in beekeeping (beekeepers, NFT buyers etc).

[AUDITABILITY] Please provide information on whether this proposal is a continuation of a previously funded project in Catalyst or an entirely new one.

This is a new proposal and has no connection within any other Fund submissions.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Rating

SDG goals:

End poverty in all its forms everywhere

End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

Reduce inequality within and among countries

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

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

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 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally

By 2030, ensure the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their biodiversity, in order to enhance their capacity to provide benefits that are essential for sustainable development

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

By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment

By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality

Increase investment, including through enhanced international cooperation, in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services, technology development and plant and livestock gene banks in order to enhance agricultural productive capacity in developing countries, in particular least developed countries

Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services

Key Performance Indicator (KPI):

Universal Human Rights Index (UHRI):

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