Corcovado, a creative community focused on connection with the natural world, this week announced a project called CorcoCoin to accelerate the regenerative economy and help prevent climate disaster with crypto-based rewards for the carbon captured by growing trees. With CorcoCoin, people can invest £10 (about $13) to have a tree planted. The tree’s photo and GPS location are uploaded to the Telos blockchain, minting a non-fungible TREE token (NFT). As the tree grows and captures carbon, token holders are rewarded with CorcoCoins throughout the tree’s life.
Plants use the sun’s energy to take carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the air and water, converting it to wood and releasing oxygen. As they capture CO2, trees help offset emissions. Researchers say that forest restoration may be the best climate change solution available today, with the potential to cut carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by up to 25 percent. Corcovado ensures that a variety of native species are planted, and depending on the tree, token holders could track their trees for up to 60 years. More than 1,000 trees have already been planted through Corcovado’s initiative, starting in Scotland. Photos of the trees being planted can be found here.
“Our nation’s money systems have become divorced from nature, causing climate annihilation. With CorcoCoin and the TREE token, we hope to restore that fundamental connection of trading goods and services amongst friends in our global village to create a regenerative relationship, not an extractive one,” said Dave Erasmus, co-founder of Corcovado. “It is only due to the dedicated efforts from the fellow designers that we have got this far. I want to thank Roger Davies, Rory Mapstone, Jim Hewitt, Simon Elgar, Nezir, Jim Mann, Andy Smithyman, the people who dug and planted our first trees, and the 50 founding TREE token holders who jumped in to support the original idea through crowdfunding.”
CorcoCoin is supported by a grant from the Telos Foundation, with Telos providing the blockchain infrastructure for the project. The Telos UK team initiated this partnership, and worked closely with Corcovado to build on top of the Telos blockchain. Once an NFT is created for each tree, token holders will be able to gift their tokenized trees to others, or trade their CorcoCoins on exchanges using the CorcoCoin web app.
“There is enormous potential to benefit the future of humanity and our planet through regenerative practices done today. But because the costs and work of these projects is in the present while the benefits are in the distant future, there’s little direct incentive for individuals to take the actions needed today. Everyone just hopes others will do the work,” said Douglas Horn, Telos chief architect and whitepaper author. “Corcovado is building a way to move some of the rewards for these activities into the present or near future for those providing the funding or work now. This breaks the ‘Tragedy of the Commons’ logjam and incentivizes action. At Telos, we’re thrilled to support the type of innovation that leads to a more sustainable future.”
The Corcovado Project emerged after friends recommended that Dave visit Costa Rica’s Corcovado Rainforest, where 2.5 per cent of the world’s biodiversity is represented. Inspired to continue this experience, Dave partnered with an estate to sit in 25 acres of woodland in Sussex, England observing, writing, and reflecting on his surroundings. He began sharing his experiences on his YouTube channel, growing an audience in 150-plus countries, and working to support the growing community that began to visit and co-create. The ‘Corco Community’ now has local bases and events in areas ranging from Mexico to Melbourne and all across Europe.
CorcoCoin is now live. To purchase a tree and start earning rewards on the Telos blockchain, please visit https://corcocoin.org/. To shop with your TREE tokens, please visit www.corcova.do/shop.
