Our Vision: The Regeneration of Tulum, Mexico

A vision of regeneration for Tulum must be developed that emphasizes sustainability, community engagement, environmental stewardship and the uniting of the many organizations, both nonprofit and governmental as well as local and expat groups that are working to build a regenerative future for Tulum.

Our vision focuses on using education, community gatherings, women's empowerment, brand and digital collectible activations and storytelling to accelerate Tulum's regenerative future. By working with local communities, this project aims to improve access to web3 education, increase women's participation in local decision-making, and promote the use of regenerative practices in the area. By empowering local residents to become agents of change, we hope to create a more sustainable and equitable future for Tulum.

The Challenges

Tulum is a unique and precious destination, renowned for its breathtaking beaches, vibrant culture, and stunning natural beauty. It is a place that has become a mecca for people from around the globe who feel called by an indescribable and energetic pull to this mystical jewel of the Caribbean.

However, the same beauty and pristine nature that make so many fall in love with Tulum, are in danger, as Tulum and the Quintana Roo area of Mexico are being pushed to the verge of ecocide. The fast pace of development, fueled by expat demand for condos and luxury living, has put a strain on all of the city's resources and exacerbated its lack of proper infrastructure to adequately service its growing population.

Key environmental and societal issues facing Tulum include:

• Pollution: It's hard to take a step anywhere in Tulum without seeing waste or garbage strewn about, whether it's on the beach, in the jungle, in the suburban high-end developments of Aldea Zama, its Centro, or in the outskirts of new building areas such as La Veleta. The problem is due to a lack of proper infrastructure for garbage pickup and disposal, as well as a lack of facilities to sort and treat garbage waste.
• Water treatment: Tulum is facing a water issue due to overdevelopment and a growing population. Additionally, more than 80% of Tulum's hotels do not have proper treatment for their wastewater, resulting in daily shipments of dirty water by trucks supposedly bound for Tulum's water treatment centers. In 2020, with treatment plants already at capacity, it was discovered that some of these trucks were dumping the dirty water directly into the jungle and nearby cenotes, which are underground rivers and natural sinkholes that lead directly into the ocean, and polluting the local aquifers. This has caused a decrease in water quality which poses a serious threat to the local ecosystems and the health of the people who rely on the water supply.
• Stray animals: Tulum is home to many street dogs and cats, and while many tourists, expats, and locals care for them, their overpopulation outpaces new adoptions. This exacerbates the water issues Tulum faces, as the waste from these street animals seeps into the jungles and porous land, making its way into aquifers, cenotes, and the ocean. These street animals also pose a threat to the native fauna.
• Poverty and education: Despite being one of the most expensive cities in Mexico, Tulum faces major issues such as affordable housing, food, and healthcare, especially in tourist areas. As a result, many local residents struggle to make ends meet. Informal settlements lacking basic public services, such as waste and sewage disposal, are common.
• Sargassum: Every year, The Mexican Riviera’s picturesque beaches suffer from a several months long invasion of Sargassum (seaweed), commonly known as the "red tide." in Brazil caused by an excessive use of fertilizers, and is brought to the shores of Tulum by ocean currents. It is then exacerbated by the city’s improper wastewater disposal practices and dirty run off into the ocean. The accumulation of Sargassum can quickly turn a beach visit into an unpleasant experience, as the decaying seaweed attracts unwanted insects and emits an unpleasant odor.

A Focus on Solutions via Web3

To kickstart Tulum's regenerative future, a multi-faceted approach is necessary that encompasses education, awareness, community gathering, women's empowerment, activations, and storytelling.

• Education is essential to building a regenerative future. As a core web3 community member, our team at the NFT Boutique has been working to onboard the public through various awareness and educational campaigns.

• Plastic Collection Sculptures - We make education fun and accessible through tangible public facing art pieces that also double as plastic collection containers. These containers take the shape of many different whimsical animals such as cats, foxes, jaguars, fish and mermaids and are clearly labeled in both Spanish and English with signs like “Tengo hambre, Solo como plastico, I’m hungry, Only feed me plastic”

  

• Weekly Meetups: For over 1 year, we have been hosting weekly gatherings at the NFT Boutique for women that are interested in learning about Web3 topics from how to set up wallets, to creating NFT collections, to fractional real-estate. We keep the meetings bilingual and also do hybrid events in the Metaverse. We are passionate about empowering women to learn and adopt web3 as a means to financial security, independence and encourage womens' entrepreneurial efforts. can also play a significant role in driving sustainability initiatives in Tulum. Women are often the primary caregivers in households and can act as agents of change within their families and communities. By providing women with education and resources, we can empower them to make positive changes in their homes and communities, promoting a more sustainable way of life.

• Twitter spaces, podcasts, Linkedin Audio Continued and extended conversations related to feminine leadership, storytelling, regeneration and more.

  • Exploring the Intersection of Symbolism, Storytelling and Sustainability in Web3
  • Mother Earth Poetry Jam
  • Supporting the Fierce Feminine in Refi
  • Corporate Capture and ReFi lessons from COP27
  • Alpha Talks with FrontierDAO
  • Empowering Web3 for Women in LATAM
  • The New Plastic to Energy Economy via web3
  • Mega Impact Space with Jimi Cohen
  • LATAM Impact in ReFi

• Articles - GritDaily

  • Sandra Ponce de Leon is a prolific and active writer that covers planet positive technology and social impact. She will continue to expand her writing and offer her this platform to other ReFi nodes to provide expanded exposure and awareness to regeneration projects being built around the globe.

Expanding Partnerships

We plan to expand this work to partner with local government and non-profit organizations to implement educational programs that teach the community about the importance of regenerative practices such as waste reduction, plastic transformation and campaigns for stray animal sterilization and adoption. In addition, we plan to continue to onboard the community into web3 through various activations and sharing the power of web3 to create change that will benefit Tulum's environment. We will also continue to cultivate our relationships with other ReFi nodes such as Mexico City, sharing colearning, cross promoting and planning collaborative activities throughout the year.

Community Engagement

Community gatherings can provide an opportunity for people to come together and collaborate on sustainable initiatives. By facilitating open discussions and idea sharing, we can harness the collective creativity and knowledge of the community to develop practical and innovative solutions for Tulum's environmental challenges.

Art Activations

The NFT Boutique has been a frequent community activator in Tulum through its regular programming of web3 education and art. We have been holding ongoing events that make web3 accessible to all, such as art nights, karaoke, storytelling, shill nights, lessons in making your own NFT, and art installations made from plastic waste. These activations serve as important methods to engage the community in environmental issues. We believe the arts are a powerful medium to educate and activate the community, we plan to continue to create new activities to engage Tulum's community to not only showcase sustainable web3 solutions, but also create inspired action for its regeneration.

Goals

-- Formalize communications under ReFi Tulum brand -- Launch Podcast with a focus on regenerative leaders, women, and indigenous populations -- Continue hosting web3 gatherings at the boutique with a goal of featuring 3 new web3 projects per month -- Develop community fieldtrips 1 / quarter to visit regenerative farming projects, communities such as Calakmul, or visit to a jaguar habitat with community members -- Formalize social channels, twitter and telegram groups and grow to 300 subscribers and supporters -- Grow team and be able to provide fair compensaiton for services offered such as writing, social media and more

About the Team Sandra Ponce de Leon is the creator and owner of NFT Boutique in Tulum and builder of the Blue Heart Economy. Before establishing her home base in Mexico, Sandra enjoyed a long and fruitful career in the Silicon Valley tech scene as a marketing executive, startup cofounder and advisor to companies through several successful exits. Sandra writes regularly in publications such as Grit Daily, Forbes, and The StartUp. She is a tech passionista, ocean actionista and ReFi Warrior that has a focus on tech for good is passionate about Web3, blue tech, regenerative technologies, IoT, and AI. Sandra's long history in Silicon Valley has enabled her to forge friendships and business relationships with the industry's top tech leaders and influencers. Sandra is also the cofounder of Blue Economy Agency and Unlockable Content Agency and is currently connecting the waves of the Blue Heart Economy.

Chucho Escoto Faces is the founder of Petgas, a Mexican company endorsed by the United Nations and the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an innovative and real solution to the destruction of oceans caused by plastic waste. As a marketer and environmentalist, his focus has been on exploring how waste can be transformed into something that "heals" the planet through the use of new technologies. This has led him to explore Web3 as a way to create tokenization incentives that remedy our improper disposal of plastic waste, mainly single-use plastics. Chucho's hypothesis is that by transforming these plastics into clean energy and thus reducing the methane they emit while decomposing, the planet will heal while also producing a new source of clean energy. As our global energy needs continue to rise, Chucho believes in the power of innovation to create an energy abundant utopia for the planet. He is also the creator of PETGASNFT, a collection designed to start conversations about the different types of plastic and the UN´s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These NFTs serve a purpose to create the world we want and need as "NFTs to Save the World.”

Naomi Powell is an experienced investor with a passion for the regenerative movement. She began her journey by trading NFTs for profit and over the past 2 and a half years and has been deeply immersed in the cryptocurrency world, honing her skills in trading NFTs and alt coins, and becoming a respected expert in the space.

Her interest in the possibilities that NFTs can bring to the regeneration space led her to invest heavily in education and culture in this area over the past 2 years. In addition to her extensive knowledge and experience in the cryptocurrency and Web3 space, Naomi also has a strong background in local government and in Fintech. She brings a unique perspective to the table and understands how to navigate complex regulatory environments.

Naomi brings the alpha to the table with her diverse background and expertise. She is determined to make a positive impact on the environment and communities in Tulum by leveraging the power of NFTs and other innovative technologies.