Interview with the Nerd: Gregory Landua — Regen Network
Three months have passed since I published “One Team, One heart: how a validator falls in love”, in which I stated that I was not able to enhance the value and the turning point that Regen Network represents for all of us. And no, I haven’t changed my mind.
Then why this interview?
Because since then I have understood something that I had not been able to realize before:
It’s not words that make the difference, but the heart and the passion that bring them to life.
And I firmly believe in this project. That’s why I want to do everything I can to #SpreadTheKnowledge and bring the message to as many people as I can. And to those who ask me “What do you think can change an ordinary interview written in a poor English?” I can only answer that
I love deeply the world in which I have the privilege to live and to discover more and more every day: for this reason I have the duty to give all of myself to ensure that even the next generations can be amazed by how wonderful the earth is.
Daniela: Hi Gregory, I’m really happy to have the opportunity to give my personal contribution to spreading the fruits of the efforts of the whole Regen Network team. I know this is a very busy time for you with the Token Sale, the presentation at TechStars Demo Day, the participation at SF Hackathon and the launch of the Congo Community Testnet coordinated by Chris Remus and Joe Bowman. As a first question, I would like to ask you what is a great curiosity of mine: what has been your course of study and work, which has allowed you to acquire such an awareness and determination towards ecological regeneration?
Gregory: My background is in Permaculture and Agroecology. I studied Environmental Science as an undergraduate and then Regenerative Business as a graduate student. I have been very entrepreneurial starting several businesses before Regen Network. When I wanted to see if it was possible to support small farmers in Latin America to save rainforest, I started a chocolate company called Nova Monda Cacao and Chocolate. When I wanted to help support Regenerative Agriculture and transform the natural products industry I started a company called Terra Genesis International. All of these experiences lead up to the founding of Regen Network.
I co-founded Regen Network in 2017 with Christian Shearer and we were joined shortly after that by Aaron Craelius our CTO.
D: So you always had a strong willingness to act. This really does you credit, especially in a world like ours where people too often stop at words without converting them into concrete actions. But I wonder what made you feel the need to get involved to the point of co-founding a movement that today is an inspiration for all of us?
G: We can no longer let zero-sum economic games undermine the basic building blocks of life and wealth. We all depend on clean air, healthy water and healthy soil to produce the environment and food we enjoy. We face a stark choice between an economy that serves life, or one that destroys it.
Really it is no choice at all.
D: Let’s talk about the motivations that lead you to become day after day a tireless Evangelist of this wind of change. What are the things that give you the strength to remain unshakable in your being a pioneer of Regenerative Agriculture?
G: 1st) It is inspiring and fun. Working with people dedicated to making the world a better place with grass roots decentralized tools and market instruments is the most fun I’ve ever had.
2nd) I have children. They deserve a beautiful and healthy world.
So do all humans.
D: So you are inspired by a feeling of love that is both familiar and universal. But what about yourself? What are your personal goals?
G:
Find a way to link financial value to ecological regeneration. Learn about the potential of programmable money, blockchain and Decentralized Finance. Meet BUILDERS. Make friends. Take care of my family.
D: Seeing so many realities brought together really makes me realize that we all have the opportunity to actively contribute to this change, and this at the same time makes me completely aware that we also share a duty. In your opinion, how long will it take to people to wake up and start fighting together for the future of our planet?
G: I think it will take us 10 years. It is already happening so fast. 10 years is also the window we have to change our economy before the impact of global warming and atmospheric carbon accumulation are irreversible and the cost is billions of climate refugees and huge economic down turn.
D: Since you’ve been working hard all your life to make people understand the need to a tangible change, I’d like to ask you more about it now: which people do you think will enthusiastically participate and who will be more reluctant to be overwhelmed by the revolution you bring?
G: Sometimes people who are already enthusiastic about regeneration and permaculture are reluctant because we are engaging with a market driven approach and they believe markets are bad. Sometimes people in the crypto world or other more market friendly communities don’t want to engage because they think we are just altruistic and silly. I believe we are deeply pragmatic, thoughtful and using the right tools for the job. Markets can unlock grassroots action unlike anything else, and preserve agency and freedom. They are also not incompatible with commons management, and we build tools for both.
D: Speaking instead of your role at Regen Network, which are the fields in which you think you can contribute in a more concrete and decisive way?
G: Storytelling, vision, asking good questions, thinking about the economics underpinning our platform and staying connected to farmers and land stewards.
D: On the assumption that we all have to get involved in order to reverse the process that is consuming our planet day after day, what are the determining factors that can bring this project to success?
G: First we need to build something that people can see working and engage with, then grow a community around that to make it better and better. The biggest determining factor is community.
Join us!
D: The final and most important question: how can each of us, according to our possibilities and attitudes, concretely contribute to making the objectives of Regen Network a reality?
G:
Participate!
Share about us!
Invest if you are able!
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I would like to conclude this interview by quoting the words of Brendan Dillon (Strategy & Business Development at Chorus One), who was able to describe in a masterful way how concreteness and ideals merge in Regen Network creating a harmony capable of overwhelming the heart of each of us:
This is a crisis. It needs urgency. It needs everyone to work together. Regen Network is building the grid that aligns all these efforts at effecting change, and channels them into effective ecological action.
