🌴 🌾 ReFi Lagos (a ReFi DAO Local Node) is a grassroot initiative combating deforestation and climate change in Nigeria. By organizing tree-planting events and raising climate change awareness, we aim to restore ecosystems and support biodiversity.

Why? Deforestation in Nigeria, driven by logging and agriculture, has led to the loss of 96% of its primary forests. This has exacerbated climate change impacts, including biodiversity loss and severe coastal erosion in coastal communities. Addressing this issue is crucial for environmental sustainability and community well-being and we are passionate about solving this problem

Where? Our project focuses on rural and urban communities in Nigeria, particularly coastal areas such as Lagos and the Niger Delta region. These areas are heavily impacted by deforestation but lack the resources and awareness to combat climate change effectively.

How? We are collaborating with Silvi Protocol, Celo PG, and local volunteers (stewards) to organize on-chain tree-planting events. Our activities include: Climate change awareness campaigns in local communities On-chain tree-planting events in schools and coastal communities Climate research and content at the Intersection of Climate and web3 in Africa These efforts aim to empower local communities to promote reforestation efforts in Nigeria.

When? Our project is ongoing, with specific milestones. Tree-planting activities are planned to take place throughout the year, with continuous engagement and monitoring.

Key Milestones 💪 *Q1 2023 - Launch and Community Growth: The ReFi Lagos node was established in 2023, quickly attracting a dedicated community of impact agents. *Q2-Q4 2023- Climate / Web3 Education: Team ReFi Lagos actively engaged in research at Climate Leadership Fellowship (CLF), Tsinghua University IEDE program in China, and ReFi Talents program by Frankfurt School Blockchain Center in partnership with ECOTA and Climate Collective. *Q1-Q2 2024-Climate Events: Hosted and co-hosted over 4 events to gather climate leaders/ impact agents and map the current state of regenerative finance (ReFi) in Nigeria. Notable events include climate change awareness and tree-planting at Mopo Akinlade Beach community and Omole Grammar School, Ikeja Lagos State *Q3-Q4 2024- Product Development: Began building community-driven research and content at the intersection of climate and Web3 in Africa. Plan to Publish research on ReFi DAO, Carbon Copy, and Mirror. Partner with GreenPill Nigeria to promote research and incentivize knowledge-sharing (ecosystem cross-pollination)

Past Projects/ Links ✨🎉 *Project Olókun- climate awareness and tree planting event at Mopo Akinlade community, Ajah, Lagos State. This event was supported by Silvi Protocol, ReFi DAO, and Celo Foundation through Gitcoin Grant (GG19) https://tinyurl.com/projectolokun

*Project Omole - a climate change awareness and tree planting event at Omole Junior/Senior Grammar School Ikeja, Lagos State. This event was supported by Silvi Protocol, CeloPG, and Climate Coordination Network through Gitcoin Grant (GG20) https://tinyurl.com/Treeplantingevent

*Pilot Research- a community-driven research and contents creation- Analyzing causes and effects of climate change, potential solutions and web3 use-cases in Africa. https://tinyurl.com/ReFiLagosresearch

How Does It Reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emission? 🍂🌿 *Trees absorb and store carbon dioxide (CO2), which makes up 76% of total greenhouse gas emissions. Trees can help restore ecosystems, support wildlife and biodiversity *Climate activism could drive government policies to combat major causes of climate change such as deforestation and gas flaring (methane emission) in Nigeria. Methane (CH4) is 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2) and a leading cause of many health challenges, air and water pollution in the oil-rich Niger Delta region

Impact Metric 🌱 *Hosted and co-hosted 5 virtual and IRL community events with over 1000 attendees *Planted over 100 trees in community schools and coastal areas. *Educated over 700 students and youth on climate change and possible solutions. Published educational content on ReFi DAO blog, reaching over 1,000 subscribers

Visit our blog post for content at the intersection of climate, agriculture, and Web3 in Africa - https://blog.refidao.com/author/simon/

Karma Gap Link https://gap.karmahq.xyz/project/refi-lagos-projectolkun

Challenges👥 *Navigating the complexities of Climate science and Web3 concept could be challenging. Education is important to promote knowledge and technology adoption *Environmental conservation can be difficult, especially in rural communities that rely on firewood and charcoal to cook their everyday meals. Clean energy source is key *Although Nigeria is ranked high in global cryptocurrency adoption, regulation is largely a gray area.

Unlocking Opportunities🔓💰
Climate is a multitrillion-dollar opportunity. The global carbon market is estimated at $272 billion, with a 20% annual growth rate. The voluntary carbon market is anticipated to be worth more than $1 billion, growing at 50% annually. The global impact investing market is estimated at $1.164 trillion. Expanding our impact by onboarding more farmers, environmentalists, and nature lovers to learn about Web3 and ReFi could increase financial opportunities and scale nature-based solutions in Africa

Support Our Gitcoin Grant 💚🙏

• Wallet address 0xC117d2f70BE4A766e7F3e055547E7C5403D447BC

Join The Movement🤝

• Join ReFi Lagos telegram group to collaborate and share your climate / web3 ideas https://t.me/+zGhwit24SUNkZWJh