CH2O Africa - ADA NFT Charity 🌎 | Lido Nation 日本語

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

Problem Reframed

There is no doubt this proposal is complex and attempting to help tackle one of the world's largest problems.

Here’s a quick reframe to really put this issue into perspective.

It is estimated (UNDESA) that anywhere from 850k to 1 million people die across Africa from drinking unclean water. Deaths attributed to COVID-19 in 2021 (highest year) in the US were roughly 460k.

Not even a complex virus, but lack of access to a basic human need causes twice as many deaths every single year. The majority of these deaths are children under 2 who do not have a strong enough immune system to fight off water-borne diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, and typhoid.

Clean sanitation is also a major issue for young girls who experience period poverty.

Technology improvements, charity, and funding efforts have increased over the years to help. However, the sanitation gap has increased due to a doubling in population in sub-Saharan Africa and aid is not able to keep pace with this growth rate.

There is no argument that this is a large issue and has a lot of complex obstacles. As a result, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of charities of different sizes that have been putting in a lot of effort to help as best they can.

However, there are a variety of different issues within existing charities that limit their ultimate impact on the problem.

Some charities have gone the route of building as many Wells as possible and as a result as many as ⅓ of them stop working within a year. Of course, this is not known to the donors or oftentimes the organizations themselves are unaware.

Others take time to bring the community together and show how to maintain the well. This takes time and there can still be issues, technical and practical, that arise that they are unable to resolve.

And of course, the issue that affects all charities is funding. Getting donations can often be difficult as some donors are hesitant to contribute when they have little evidence or proof of their money being well spent. The rise of effective altruism is a response to this void of measurement. Worse still, charity fraud has been on the rise and, after donating funds, it is generally not known exactly how those funds are spent.

Charities additionally incur a lot of expense in transaction fees sending money overseas to Africa.

Solution: CH2O - Bringing Transparency to Water & Charity in Africa

Part 1: Blockchain

As I studied blockchain architecture, I quickly realized one of the best applications for the technology is charity. Blockchain quite easily and readily solves three issues plaguing charities.

1 - Efficiency. Cross-border transactions through traditional means rack up fees and detract from a project’s overall funding — and therefore potential for success. In sending and receiving cryptocurrencies, the fees will be much much lower and faster.

2 - Transparency. All transactions by the charity would become traceable. This drastically reduces the chance of charity fraud, as the funds can easily be followed by discerning donors and watchdogs.

3- Fundraising. Digital assets, tokens, & NFTs allow for multiple flexible methods for raising capital. Due to their digital nature, this can easily be set up and can allow for quick fundraising.

Blockchain technology also has additional benefits in its ability to operate as a decentralized network for not only currency but also data. Live statuses can be captured on-chain for verification, depending on the inputs.

Further, smart contracts allow programmable money, and DAOs create programmable organizations. Donations can be secured in escrow-like environments and paid out automatically based on set preconditions established by the donor or the charity.

We have a plan to implement this new technology in a structured way that has the potential to raise massive awareness, capital, and drive productive change for thousands, perhaps millions of people.

The Cardano ecosystem has a lot of potential as the blockchain of choice due to its integration with the Cardano Africa project. They have already made partnerships with government officials in Africa (Ethiopia) and laid out the network for creating DIDs (Digital Identities) that will be tracked on-chain. Piggy backing off these discussions and utilizing existing networks where possible will be a great headstart to the infrastructure required for this project.

Part 2 - Tokenomics (NFTs & CH2O)

A lot of recent innovations in blockchain technology are implemented together in a unique way with this project that I have not seen previously. Firstly, we’ll look at the aspect of an NFT formed by the community, the NFT of the well, and how the CH2O token comes into effect.

Community Art

A robust community will be crucial for the success of this project. Not only for Well recipients in Africa but on the donor side as well (see the DAO section below).

The team will work with the community in Africa to create pieces of art embodying and representing what that community/local area represents for the people and what receiving a well would mean to them. The artwork could capture the traditions, heritage, and values of the community.

The local community would create art in a campaign to attract donors to back a well with clean drinking water! This gives the community an incentive to create, a sense of value for their art, and deeper participation in the larger project.

The Transparent Well.

Once agreed upon the next location we would send our team and contractors to dig and install the Transparent Well.

These wells would require a few advanced features. Each would be installed to proper depths and come with advanced filtration systems. Every well would have 2 flow meters reading the water movement, with a hardware oracle set up to transmit live pumping data from the well → processor -> encrypted -> blockchain. The two flow meters would have to come to a consensus on each value sent within a certain tolerance, to ensure accuracy of readings & security. Additionally, water quality data could be recorded and tracked/appended to the Well data. With the recent integration of Chainlink and Cardano, this data will be stored on-chain and utilized in the smart contract.

This infrastructure would require access to the internet to append updates to the blockchain on a constant basis.

The Community Art piece would be digitally created as an NFT and would be directly connected to the Transparent Well. These digital art pieces would go up on the H2O Africa website and auction off (similar to Nouns Project). This would foster friendly philanthropic competitiveness and push the amount raised from the auction higher than it would be from a typical mint.

The winning donor would also receive the physical replica artwork from the community receiving the well — or could elect to keep the physical art piece in the community as a celebratory memento for the well’s installation.

CH2O Tokenomics

As a holder of a Transparent Well, I would be entitled to a stream of CH2O tokens tied to that specific well’s water production. Every CH2O token = to 1 Liter of Clean Water (H2O) pumped out.

CH2O tokens are generated by the hardware oracle passing along the consensus measurement of water produced from the 2 flow meters. Every liter that flows through the well becomes a single CH2O token dropped directly into the holder’s wallet. A real live number instantly shows donors their social impact happening thousands of miles away.

Cumulative token info is collected for the NFT holders. When certain milestone amounts of "received" CH2O tokens are reached, a secondary milestone badge NFT is airdropped into the holders’ wallets to celebrate the volume of water production.

What to do with CH2O tokens?

This is where large brands can get involved. Partnerships with brands will allow us to provide holders with products, raffle entries, access to exclusive charity events, and other benefits. Brands can advertise the current & ongoing cumulative value of all the CH2O tokens or Liters/Gallons of clean water pumped out as being a part of the project, providing visibility and value for the donor-holders.

Tokens could be attained in certain quantities or burned to redeem rewards from partner brands.

The Network!

As this project grows, there would be more and more wells transmitting data regarding water flow. First, this data ensures accountability and the integrity of the initiative. If a well stops flowing, not only will the holder of the NFT know, but the entire local and donor communities can see all the well’s data in a clear dashboard. This can alert donors to maintenance issues relatively quickly so they can deploy additional capital to restore the flow of clean water and CH2O tokens.

Secondly, by knowing exactly where each problematic water source is located, the SWAT teams (Maintenance crew) will be able to prioritize and efficiently plan repair and maintenance schedules.

Third, by also incorporating water quality sensors. A health profile of each well can be created on the platform. If a source becomes contaminated it can alert the community before large amounts of children continue using the well. Often it is assumed by travelers or community members that a well is clean but this is not always the case and can result in unexpected sickness.

Finally, all this data is likely useful to other researchers and organizations, with the potential to license the data to research institutions for nominal fees in order to support the treasury and fund additional wells/teams/support.

DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) Aspect

Once the community has been built up to a certain size, it would be possible to transition the charity to a full DAO model, with CH2O tokens affording voting power. The more one donates to creating the wells, the more voting power one accrues in the DAO.

Funds within the treasury would be primarily used for building more wells and maintaining existing ones. However, additional proposals and plans for the next locations could be voted upon within the community, as well as secondary projects such as expanding internet access or enabling solar energy installation. This is where the highly engaged members would have more ability to rise up in the DAO and help lead the project.

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

With potential partnerships with other charities, businesses, and big brands, this project has the potential to drive a lot of attention to the Cardano network.

Cardano is a project keen on pushing development and truly values great community over any other project that I have seen. I was at Consensus 2022 in Austin recently and the Cardano expo booth was consistently the busiest booth area the entire weekend! To reiterate my point the deep community values here can be crowd-sourced and collaborated with to drive massive change.

This project/structure/DAO has the potential to be repeatable in other fields. Once successfully done here on Cardano it will open up a lot of doors for other similar projects and they will want to build it the same way.

Additionally, the purchase of these high-value NFTs in ADA will drive a lot of liquidity and cash flow for the ADA cryptocurrency.

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

From a recent discussion with a group of developers, there is a shortage of qualified Haskell/Cardano developers due to the added complexity of the code.
I plan to utilize multiple communities and connections to help me find the right developers who also are aligned with the values of the project.
Well being Vandalized, processors failing, Maintenance issues
As soon as Clean Water stops flowing from the well everyone on the platform and in the organization is made aware due to the transparent data. This accountability brings both the community/organization together to resolve and the particular owner will be notified.
Firstly, the community at the Well who were trained in some general maintenance practices will be contacted and the troubleshooting process will begin virtually.
One possibility would be to recreate a well in a digital 3D environment and leave VR goggles with the community. An interactive connection could be set up to allow team members in the organization to assess the well and either suggest how to perform repair, send parts or schedule the SWAT maintenance team to visit the site and repair.
With each of these wells being well funded additional R&D would go into creating redundancies and new technology to reduce the possibility of issues occurring.
Incorrect Water flow data/Calibration/malfunctions
Utilizing more than one flow meter and using an ultrasonic flowmeter as well to ensure data is within a measured tolerance between devices ensures that everything is working smoothly.
Additionally, data sent to the chain will be encrypted so that it will be known if it is modified. Secure.
Internet connections do not exist
Cardano has existing networks set up for their identity projects
Satellite connectivity and partnerships can be utilized
R&D into transmitting data via radio signals or larger satellite dishes utilized to capture signals
Data Queue technology used with pending transactions

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed plan, including timeline and key milestones for delivering your proposal.
Month 1 - 3
Proof-of-Concept built with technology (flow meters, water quality sensors).
Developers to build out hardware oracle integration, SC, and website/platform.
Trip to Africa to start conversations with government officials and community building
KPIs
Successful data transmission through oracle - test CH2O tokens flow
Support received from how many many different government officials
Month 2-6
Charity & Brand partnerships pursued
Marketing Material collected (video/photo)
Additional Development work hardware oracle integration, SC and website.
Technology company partnerships pursued for flow meters & quality sensors
KPIs
Number of charities onboarded as partners
Number of Brands/individuals onboarded as partners
Platform recording data with no issues
Technology for wells sourced
Month 5-12
Infrastructure built out and tested
Team building for the community, well installment, maintenance and virtual support team
Start first Transparent Well summer 2023
KPIs
Number of people in the organization
Successful Wells installed
Clean Gallons Pumped
Lives saved

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown.

Image File

Or see link to PDF HERE

First quarter Total $177,864

First Year Total $509,395

It is very likely that partnerships with other charities, and funding from Brands/businesses could drive the requested/needed funds down as the project progresses.

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

To be completely Transparent the majority of the team needs to be built.

But I believe the community will rally behind a project like this and help refer the right people or contribute into the right roles.

Project Managers (2)

Experience in web3
Effective at communication, planning, contracts, go-to-market strategy, and driving the roadmap/next steps

Charity Officer (2)

Experience in web3
Support for different tasks, functions, and projects on the roadmap
Help drive outreach, connections and partnerships

Charity Workers (2)

Experience in web3
Help write articles and strategize content

Haskell/Plutus Developer (2)

Experience writing Smart Contracts on Cardano

Haskell/Chainlink Developer

Experience programming hardware oracle data to Cardano blockchain

Community Manager

Customer service, in charge of Discord community, moderator

Social Media Manager

In Charge of posting content on multiple platforms.
Use content from other members in community
Social Growth

Accountant

Consultant book keeper to keep track of funds

Lawyer

Consultant Lawyer to keep track of contract, legal aspects, IP, Etc

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

If required Yes,

As mentioned previously, if partnerships with multiple charities, brands, and businesses are achieved it may not be necessary.

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

We will show progress through newsletters to an email signup form, social media posts, and PR.

We will track KPIs of, # of partners, # of people interested, Survey results of people who would buy one of these NFTs, Social media analytics, Email list size and open rates.

Once the project is flowing the platform will display water quality each day and # gallons/Liters Pumped out.

We will track milestones

Proof of concept operational (Sample well and blockchain locally setup)
Tech integration with hardware oracle
Larger Partnerships/fundings
Connections with Community leaders and Government officials in Africa
1st successful community served
10, 100, 1000, 10,000 Wells (More than a year but future vision)

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

Firstly, one word would be Community.

Often an overused buzzword, but seriously a very strong group of people that are aligned through blockchain technology to organize and deliver a solution to rudimentary basic human needs.

A brand new tech that allows digital ownership to drive funds through the transparent blockchain to help solve an age-old problem of clean water.

A strong Community will drive the success throughout the project on both the platform NFT side as well as on the ground in Africa.

So for one Success looks like a strong community vibing, planning, creating, and funding for the continuation of the project.

The second, would be Social Impact.

Real communities helped (wells), and Real people saved (lives).

Even one well can save lives. That's a success. Thousands of wells, that's an exponential effect on lives affected and thus extremely successful.

Lastly, the Use of the Cardano network for such a positive impact project will bring a ton of ADA liquidity and attention to this community that is the right kind of attention.

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

I thought of this idea roughly 1 month ago. It's evolved since with additional inspirations and everyone I've run it by has not heard of the concept and encouraged me to continue innovating on it.

Entirely new.

I currently retain the IP behind the specific hardware device setup for the project.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Rating

SDG

SDG goals:

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

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

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

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

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

SDG subgoals:

By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases

By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination

By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally

By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate

By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes

By 2030, expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries in water- and sanitation-related activities and programmes, including water harvesting, desalination, water efficiency, wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse technologies

Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management

Key Performance Indicator (KPI):

Mortality rate attributed to unsafe water, unsafe sanitation and lack of hygiene (exposure to unsafe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for All (WASH) services)

Amount of water- and sanitation-related official development assistance that is part of a government-coordinated spending plan

Proportion of local administrative units with established and operational policies and procedures for participation of local communities in water and sanitation management

Change in the extent of water-related ecosystems over time

Universal Human Rights Index (UHRI):

119.163 Continue efforts to introduce strong public health policy and programmes aimed at raising awareness among communities to constitute a solid foundation to combat communicable diseases (Eritrea);

111.86. Advance in designing a health programme allowing to tackle Malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, and continuing decreasing the child and maternal mortality rates, and increase life expectancy (Cuba);

111.107. Request international assistance in order to combat scourges such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS ( Angola );

115. To continue its laudable measures to fight poverty and combat diseases such as HIV and AIDS (Botswana);

Recommendation No. 77, para. 97: 77. Undertake further measures to consolidate the national health system in order to cut down on the spread of serious diseases (Kyrgyzstan);

56. The Committee recommends that the State party continue its efforts in line with general comments No. 15 (2013) on the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health (art. 24), No. 3 (2003) on HIV/AIDS and the rights of the child and No. 4 (2003) on adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It recommends that the State party:(a) Adopt, implement and monitor relevant national strategies on child health, including on child survival, on adolescent health and information services, and on HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis, as well as on sanitation in rural areas;(b) Focus its efforts on reducing disparities in achieving health and nutrition goals, prioritizing children living in situations of vulnerability, in particular those living in rural areas and/or in poverty;(c) Strengthen nutrition and health interventions targeting children affected by severe malnutrition;(d) Provide training to health professionals to detect ulcerative gingivitis, the first sign of noma;(e) Take measures to address increasing levels of non-communicable diseases;(f) Continue efforts to translate commitments made in the context of the African Union Campaign on Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa into results-oriented action, and adequately train health personnel on the reduction of maternal mortality and morbidity;(g) Take into account the technical guidance on the application of a human rights-based approach to the implementation of policies and programmes to reduce and eliminate preventable mortality and morbidity of children under 5 years of age (A/HRC/27/31) and the technical guidance on the application of a human rights-based approach to the implementation of policies and programmes to reduce preventable maternal morbidity and mortality (A/HRC/21/22); (h) Strengthen the relevant laws and policies to promote exclusive breastfeeding for six months, including through the regulation of marketing of breast-milk substitutes;(i) Continue its collaboration with and/or seek financial and technical assistance from UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Population Fund and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

<h3>Health and health services </h3>55. The Committee commends the State party for the efforts and major progress made on child and adolescent health since the last reporting period, including the drop in maternal and child mortality, as well as the reduction of communicable and non-communicable diseases. The Committee also welcomes the increase in the rate of exclusive breastfeeding for six months. However, the Committee remains concerned that:(a) Neo-natal and maternal mortality is still high; (b) HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis remain a major public health concern; (c) Malnutrition-related diseases, including stunting, wasting and reported incidents of noma, remain prevalent;(d) Disparities continue to exist in the level of progress made, in particular among regions and between wealthier and poorer households; (e) There is insufficient information on adolescent health; (f) The prevalence of non-communicable diseases is increasing; (g) The draft code of marketing of breast-milk substitutes has not yet been adopted.

r) strengthen efforts to protect children and guarantee their right to life, survival and development, notably by undertaking all efforts to seek an end to the armed conflict

r) recommends that particular attention be given by the State party to addressing the high infant, child and maternal mortality rates, death caused by preventable diseases and HIV/AIDS

c) at the current situation in the health services sector, including the following:

lack of adequately functioning health centres, particularly in rural areas, and the deplorable conditions and lack of human, medical and financial resources in hospitals
high infant, under-five and maternal mortality rates
high chronic and acute malnutrition rates, inadequate vaccination rates for childhood

ilnesses

difficulty for children to access health services due to costs;

c) at the very high rates of infant, under-five and maternal mortality, as well as at deaths caused by preventable diseases or by HIV/AIDS, conditions all of which are aggravated by the armed conflict

r) take all necessary measures to strengthen programmes for improving health care by supporting programmes with adequate and clearly allocated resources, while paying particular and urgent attention to mortality rates, vaccination uptakes, nutrition status, breastfeeding rates and the management of communicable diseases and malaria

r) pay specific attention to the urban/rural divide and target financial allocations in order to address the disparities in access to services, also bearing in mind measures required to improve the access for children of minority groups

n) improvements regarding infant, under-five and maternal mortality rates

c) these remain very high

n) efforts by the State party to improve health services to remote areas and the construction of new hospitals

c) medical facilities are still primarily concentrated in the urban areas, resulting in exclusion of large parts of the population, in particular those belonging to minorities, of access to necessary health services

c) low coverage of vaccinations, the prevalence of malaria and the high incidence of malnutrition

r) take steps to deal with the current situation in the health sector, where the basic health needs of the population are not being met, including by improving basic health services, increasing public spending on health and taking measures to prevent and treat the HIV/AIDS pandemic and other communicable diseases

r) take into account the Committee’s general comment No. 14 on the right to the highest attainable standard of health

i) provide detailed and up-to-date information in next report, including indicators and disaggregated statistical data, that will allow the Committee to assess progress in this area

c) despite the unprecedented economic growth, a high percentage of the population of the State party lives in poverty and extreme poverty, including persons living in rural and deprived urban areas, the landless persons, women, children, female-headed households, families affected by HIV/AIDS, persons with disabilities and IDPs

c) Poverty Reduction Strategy is apparently ineffective

c) State party has not yet created an efficient coordination mechanism to combat poverty

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