The 40acres Monthly Newsletter #05

40ACRES DAO

Published in

40acres DAO Monthly

7 min readJan 31, 2023

Expanding our Reach, Leaning into Community & Uplifting the Culture

Special Thanks & TL;DR

This edition of the 40acres Monthly would not have been possible without the contributions of Quinn, he is an all-star copywriter and beloved member of the 40acres DAO. For all your professional copywriting, grant writing and songwriting needs please visit this link and get in touch with the best writer on the blockchain!

During January, 40acres DAO participated in a panel discussion at the 3rd 40acre Conference and attended a TRiBL pool party in Third Ward to educate the public on blockchain technology and to connect with the local creative community in order to promote equity and inclusion. For Black History Month. 40acres DAO is hosting a variety of events, including activities at ETHDenver and partner events with other diverse communities. This month’s member highlight focused on founding member, Catalyst, who is working to build for Melanated communities and strengthen the DAO’s impact initiatives across the diaspora. We end by inviting passionate individuals to join our Discord server and complete tasks for bounties, such as content marketing, blog submissions, and arts curation, to earn task points and token rewards such as NFTs and exclusive access to AI tools.

Monthly Community Updates

The 40acre Conference

During MLK Weekend, members of the DAO were invited to participate in a panel discussion on how to leverage the metaverse to gain financial freedom at the 3rd annual 40acre Conference. During this time we were able to connect with Houstonians of all ages and backgrounds to educate them on the power of Blockchain technology. With various events over the span of four days, this conference was dedicated to exposing historically excluded communities to the opportunities oftentimes shielded from them by the powers that be. . Some notable pioneers in various industries, (including a Black Billionaire), were in attendance for our discussion as we relayed our mission and vision for a more equitable blockchain and the true potential of democratizing access to overlooked communities.

Pool Parties in Houston

The weekend following the 40acre Conference, guild leaders returned to Houston to promote the launch of a new TRiBL Pool that invests in local real estate, business, and nonprofit opportunities in the Houston area. At this event, Key Contributors were able to connect with other diverse leaders in the Third Ward area and build on relationships developed the previous weekend. TRiBL is one of our community’s longest standing partners as we’ve used their money-pooling platform for nearly a year to coordinate and participate in cooperative economics. The Founder and Houston native, Ikechi Nwabuisi is building the app to spur economic opportunity for marginalized groups and uses the in-person pool parties to connect with local communities.

WROSIV standing in front of his painting.

In addition to the Pool Party we also made an intentional effort to connect with the local Houston creative community by attending events sponsored by the Harris County Artists Collective & Blkpplchurch, held at the black woman-owned @wonderlikewander multi-space in the 3rd ward museum district. At these events we were able to connect deeper with artists across various mediums and establish connections to leading venues, collectives & initiatives that are in alignment. The weekend would not be what it was without a warm reception from our friends at Sky’s World & Co. who ushered us to and from cultural hotspots to historical landmarks. SW&Co guided 40acres DAO into Houston’s premier creative network, by aiding the integration of valuable connections & relationships for the collective. Directly immersing the team in 3rd wards legendary black cultural art, food, and community. Specifically a private invite only exhibit curated by WROSIV, to bring awareness to the importance of mental health for the Diaspora. SW&Co. also introduced us to local vegan restaurants like Sunshine’s Health Food Store and Vegetarian Deli & Green Seed Vegan while also putting us on to exhibits at the Museum of Fine Arts and the Menil Collection.

To Ikechi, SW&Co. and the entire Houston community, thank you for shining a bright light on the culture and welcoming us with open arms! To our newfound family, stay tuned for future updates and activations!

Looking Ahead

Black History Month

Looking ahead to next month, there has been a shadow cast over the shortest month of the year in the Web3 community for obvious reasons. As the industry lacks diversity, equity, and inclusion, and many criticize the disparities faced, our community has planted its flag as a “welcome home” symbol for marginalized communities. 40acres DAO seeks to leverage our platform to uplift diverse communities. For this Black History Month, we are coordinating a variety of themed events that will be open to the public with a focus on educating and engaging in thoughtful discourse and like always, connecting with our community.

ETHDenver

It’s only right that we run this back with a few friends… This year we are coming to ETHDenver, DAODenver & Schelling Point to build on the relationships we developed last year, tap into the local community, and put on for the culture! We hope you’ve sent in your application to attend and stick around for events hosted by communities like Camp Social, W3BBIE, Coinvise, and Schelling Point. Stay tuned for IRL Bounties, scavenger hunts, and the reliable 40acres bat call.

SXSW

Hosted in our own backyard, SXSW 2023 is back bigger and better this year. The education, film, and music festival looks to shut down Austin, TX, and bring a global audience to the forefront of culture. This year for SXSW we have two activations planned and a slew of opportunities for you to get involved.For more info, please check out this link and we’ll reply to you as soon as possible. For some slight alpha, if you participated in our SXSW activation last year… we’re turning it up times ten!

The Monthly Member Come Up

Member Highlight on Catalyst

Every team and organization has its all-star players and Catalyst is one out of a handful at 40acres DAO. Catalyst is originally from Dallas, TX with ancestral roots in North Louisiana and South Texas (Stolen Caddo & Karankawa land). As a founding member of 40acres DAO, he has taken on the responsibility to get the job done by any means necessary. Catalyst does not allow challenges to stop him from completing required tasks. In his words, “We gotta be 40 strong.”

He participates in the weekly meal prep, town hall, study hall, and book club meetings (which happen to be on the weekend). All while working a full-time job. Catalyst’s tunnel vision is admirable because his mindset is focused on creating and building for Melanated communities from all walks of life. He does not believe in exclusion, yet he understands the importance of strengthening his community first.

Catalyst is also one of the driving forces for the DAO’s impact guilds in the discord channel (Uhuru Force, Renaissance on Chain, and Scribe Gang). When asked about the impact of 40acres DAO in 2023, he said, “40acres is launching a scholarship program for marginalized groups, developing microeconomies using decentralized finance, and raising literacy rates across the south in historically resource-deprived communities.”

He plans to coordinate more crowdfunding campaigns for the DAO to help their community goals become a reality. Catalyst said, “My hopes & manifestations of the DAO are to [produce] a desire for knowledge in communities that have information hidden, to develop a collective consciousness that [exceeds] borders, and most importantly to establish a new regenerative culture that prioritizes healing & community as opposed to violence and a survival mindset.

To learn more about their involvement in Web3, follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

Monthly Bounty Board

Pushing the DAO forward takes work and with many hands makes light work! We are recruiting contributors on a rolling basis, so if you feel passionate about our cause and are in search of a community to build with, we invite you to complete this brief form and join our Discord server to have a conversation with some of our Key Contributors about the next steps.

Wonderverse Bounty Board