Shamba Network partners with Mercy Corps Ventures, Fortune Credit, and Diva Technologies to boost climate resilience for pastoralists in Kenya
Shamba Network, in partnership with Mercy Corps Ventures, Fortune Credit and DIVA Technologies, has launched a pioneering pilot project to aid Kenyan pastoralists in the event of drought. This project aims to test the use of blockchain and smart contracts to deliver anticipatory cash transfers ahead of climate shocks to pastoralist communities in the Horn of Africa, which have long experienced recurring climate shocks, including droughts and floods — threatening the livelihoods and food security of millions. Responding quickly and effectively to these crises has always been a challenge. This pilot seeks to change that by introducing anticipatory cash transfers to vulnerable communities in two Kenyan counties: Laikipia and Kajiado.
At the heart of the pilot program lies a smart contract designed to ensure that donated funds are put to their best use. The smart contract holds donated funds in escrow and disburses them to enrolled pastoralists only if the pasture conditions are deemed distressful for pastoralists.
The way this works is the smart contract is fed data on pasture conditions in the pilot areas by an ecological data oracle. The oracle plugs into satellite data and provides an indicator called NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index). NDVI is a widely accepted metric used to measure the health and density of vegetation through remote sensing.
Why does this matter?
Traditional humanitarian aid delivery in the Horn of Africa faces numerous challenges, including recurring crises, security issues, bureaucratic obstacles, corruption, and logistical limitations, all of which hinder efficient aid distribution. This pilot program holds significant importance as it explores an innovative approach to humanitarian aid delivery. It not only promises to be faster and more cost-effective but also enhances transparency. This is achieved by leveraging the capabilities of satellite data and smart contracts to automate risk assessment and fund disbursements to pastoralists in need.
The role of ecological data oracle:
Shamba’s ecological data oracle plays a key role in assessing environmental conditions in the pilot counties of Kajiado and Laikipia. Shamba’s data oracle reports ecological state on-chain by tapping into satellite technology. In this pilot, Shamba’s oracle provides vital data on vegetation health through the computation of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Low NDVI values is a clear indicator of reduced vegetation density, signaling the onset of drought conditions. When the NDVI value falls below a certain threshold, it indicates that pastoralist communities are facing imminent challenges due to climate-induced stress.
Shamba’s ecological data oracle provides risk assessment and reporting to determine when pastoralist communities are affected by drought. It provides the smart contract with the data required to trigger anticipatory payouts to affected communities. This ensures timely financial support during challenging periods.
The funds, contributed by participants through the DIVA Donate platform are securely held within the smart contract on the Polygon blockchain. The use of blockchain technology and smart contracts brings transparency and automation to the donation process. The smart contract enables the automatic release of funds when predetermined environmental conditions, as indicated by the NDVI data, are met; eliminating the need for manual intervention both in risk assessment and payouts.
Participate now
To participate in the campaign, head over to DIVA Donate and deposit any amount of USDT to support pastoralists in Kenya in the event of drought.
Note: you will need a Metamask wallet, a small amount of MATIC to cover the transaction costs on Polygon (which are minimal), and some USDT.
Learn more about rewards here.
How does it work?
First, participants contribute funds in the form of USDT stablecoin via a user-friendly DIVA Donate. These funds are securely stored within the DIVA Protocol smart contract on the Polygon blockchain. Subsequently, these funds are released to the beneficiaries based on the average NDVI data for the Q4 2023 period, as reported by the Shamba Network data oracle. Fortune Credit handles the onboarding of pastoralists and facilitates the payout.
Learn more about this partnership from Mercy Corps Ventures here.
In December 2022, the first DIVA Donate pilot campaign was launched in a partnership between DIVA Protocol, Shamba Network, and Fortune Credit. The pilot came to an end in June 2023 and provided vital drought risk cover to approximately 150 herders in Kenya. See the results here for more details.
Conclusion
As climate shocks intensify in the Horn of Africa, the collaborative effort of the pilot partners is reshaping the humanitarian aid landscape for pastoralist communities in Kenya’s arid counties. This pilot, harnessing the power of blockchain technology, satellite data and fintech, promises a faster and more cost-effective response to ecological crises, extending a lifeline precisely when it is most needed.
About Shamba Network
Shamba Network is the developer of a data oracle that enables the collection and reporting of ecological data on-chain. Through the Shamba oracle, the Diva Donate platform gets updated on what is happening in the real world and this allows the smart contract to determine whether a risk has occurred or not.
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About Mercy Corps Ventures
Mercy Corps Ventures invests in and catalyzes venture-led solutions to increase the resilience of underserved individuals and communities. It funds back founders who are developing solutions across adaptive agriculture and food systems, frontier fintech, and climate smart systems.
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About Fortune Credit
Fortune Credit Limited is a microfinance institution in Kenya, providing credit, insurance and other non-financial services to 50,000+ customers in Kenya. Fortune Credit is responsible for onboarding pastoralists to the Diva Donate pilot.
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About DIVA Technologies
DIVA Technologies is the developer of DIVA Protocol, a web3 platform built on Polygon, that provides the smart contract underpinnings for the Diva Donate pilot. The Diva Donate pilot is launched through this protocol.
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Providing vulnerable populations with social safety nets using conditional donations I Medium, Dec. 2022
Empowering Conditional Donations on the Blockchain: Insights from the DIVA Donate Pilot I Medium, July 2023
