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.
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.
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.