Six people and 10 million trees

creating a fresh start for our rainforests

You know the story about TreeCoin. The one where a visionary team of six people banded together to come up with a solution to stem the tide of global deforestation. The one that gave birth to one of the most ambitious reforestation projects ever undertaken in the heart of Paraguay.

You may remember the origins of TreeCoin. From the purchase of land in Paraguay more than 10 years ago and Jörg Schäfer’s vision for a greener future. From its partnership with La Rivera and the formation of the Global TREE Project AG. To a payment token supporting local economies, a security token that unites consumerism with nature preservation.

You may even know about the stories driving the TreeCoin mission. Then you know about the fast-growing Eucalyptus tree species TreeCoin has chosen to plant. How they are beneficial for the environment. How half of the planted trees will be ready for harvest in four short years with the rest of the trees getting more space and time to grow bigger for the next four to seven years. And how the political will and environmental policies in Paraguay will support the project. Or how Paraguayan workers lovingly nurture the future of TreeCoin in Eucalyptus plantations. But how well do you know the personal stories of these six people? And so, we bring you closer to the superhero founders of TreeCoin.

Jörg Schäfer, Founder, CEO

A voice for the environment and a public speaker for over two decades, Jörg Schäfer is the face of TreeCoin advocacy. A long-time supporter of Andreas Jelinek and Alf Schröter’s work in Paraguay, Jörg’s focus is on sustainability, both of the operational concepts and TreeCoin as a blockchain project. Because of his heartfelt support, he is affectionately known as Señor Green. Jörg Schäfer promotes TreeCoin’s mission and vision to a growing audience of people sharing the same passion for the environment.

When asked about what makes Treecoin so unique, Jörg was quick to showcase the project’s innovative qualities. “Currently, it is one of the most visionary projects on this planet. We sell our own lumber in the wood industry to stop the over-exploitation of jungles, rain forests and natural forests. We receive encouragement and support for our work from all over the world. It feels very good and encourages us to do our best every day.”

As if Treecoin wasn’t close enough to his heart, his favorite Trecoin story is also one of family. “My 4 children carry the vision of TreeCoin into their schools. Teachers and even parents have asked us to give lectures at the school on this topic.”

Andreas Jelinek, Founder, reforestation specialist

The director of La Rivera, Andreas Jelinek is also a resident of Paraguay and represents the local expertise and experience of TreeCoin in reforestation. La Riviera’s unmatched pioneering work in the sector is well recognized, as are their principles in fair wage and employee emphasis. Andreas Jelinek’s oversight in the field ensures that the work is carried out in the best possible way and in the most appropriate and ethical manner.

Speaking about the work on the ground, he says: “First and foremost, we train our employees at the academy how to properly plant, fertilize, stack, and prepare the fields. They learn how to run this whole process cleanly and correctly, which is just basic knowledge. We also care for employee protection and environmental awareness.”

Because of the constant need to improve, they also experiment with other eucalyptus types that they may use in the future. They study new types of wood and local wood species, hoping to emulate the work of others who genetically produce hybrid trees to meet particular needs. He explains: “There are in fact some wooden items that are hard to replace. Piano keys made of ebony, for example, is a highly requested wood. For others, it’s easier to find alternatives. They can be replaced with hybrids or genetically-produced trees which would prevent or at least reduce illegal deforestation. Of course, the research is very intensive.”

Alf Schröter, Founder, COO

Alf Schröter is one of the earliest TreeCoiners. Soon after being introduced to Paraguay by Andreas, Alf bought a plot of land there with Jörg and Andreas as a business investment in 2009. Alf, a real estate investor since 1995, purchased his first private investment in Paraguay in 2016.

Don Alfonso, as they call him in Paraguay, sees TreeCoin being a role model for other organizations and individuals. He believes that the project is proof, showing them that it does not have to be about personal enrichment and that we can make the world better together. The project’s location in Switzerland reflects their desire to create a completely regulated product with transparency. But Alf Schröter admitted that the challenges have been huge, despite imagining it would have been easier, both in terms of time and effort. Nevertheless, he says: “But as we have a specific goal in mind and each team member believes in the project, we are on the home stretch. This shows how much you can achieve something if you really believe in it.”

It goes beyond tree-planting and reforestation: “I am also looking forward to the various social projects that can be realized with the help of TreeCoin. TreeCoin is a showcase project that’s based on blockchain. It shows how you can use new technologies to improve the world.”

Markus Oeser, Founder

Just like the six people who founded TreeCoin, Markus Oeser once put the sum of TreeCoin’s vision in just six words: “We want to reforest the world”. A businessman and a crypto entrepreneur, he is no less aware of the urgency of reforestation efforts. His expertise in digitizing and “blockchaining” ideas was key in transforming the technical tokenomics behind TreeCoin into the tangible, feasible application it is today.

Markus understands that for most people, blockchain and crypto technology is technically too complex. He believes that only through practical and understandable applications, can we make this technology available to the masses. Thus is TreeCoin one of those applications:

“Put simply, anyone can very well imagine the stability and growth of trees and their future uses. In conjunction with blockchain, we create a sustainable investment opportunity with transparency and stability. In doing so, we developed the first completely state-approved security token (TREE) in Switzerland.”

His favorite story comes from the time TreeCoin was in its infancy when he met Alf Schröter and first discussed the possibilities of blockchain technology. He recalls: “I was thrilled by the opportunities in Paraguay, especially the cheap electricity prices. Subsequently, we found that it would be useful to combine both ideas. And Jens and Marcel began immediately with the theoretical implementation. Sometimes the right people and ideas need to come together for great things to happen.”

Speaking about the international potential of TreeCoin, Markus adds: “The worldwide blockchain events in 2018 and 2019 allowed us to present our project and ideas to a broad international audience. The enormous importance of this combination of the analog world (using trees) and the digital future (using blockchain) was confirmed by everyone we met. I see the creation of a worldwide brand as an exciting challenge in the coming years.”

Marcel Moye, Founder

Marcel Moye, along with Markus Oeser and Jens Nocke, form the blockchain expertise that helped develop a strong business case for TreeCoin. He roped in Markus Oeser to facilitate the blockchain aspects of the current project. As a natural project manager, he assisted with bringing together the technical and sustainability aspects in one system.

Marcel worked with blockchain technology for several years. Even until early 2018, he felt there was no one who seriously represented a real asset on the basis of sustainability. This made TreeCoin’s vision of launching the first coin deposited with renewable and thus sustainably produced raw materials unique.

“The global situation shows us that we have taken the right path. The blockchain technology allows us to extend this concept to the whole world. Every single one of us can do their part to preserve the natural forests with a small investment — first in Paraguay, later worldwide.” Marcel has seen 20 years in the business. But now he has fallen in love with the story of how this project constantly receives much enthusiasm. “That we’ve been able to reforest much more than we’ve dreamed of and the thought that we will build a stable foundation to generate something positive fills me with confidence and pride. Launching the first coin deposited with renewable and thus sustainably produced raw materials has driven us and all the partners involved in the project to get this concept working. We will set an example!”

Asked if he would choose Bitcoin or TreeCoin, Marcel has no hesitation in embracing both. He compares Bitcoin to the internet in 1995, calling it “the mother of blockchain technology”. “But TreeCoin will set new standards. The combination of security and payment tokens is unique. My tip to anyone who wants to invest: Never sell your TREE.”

Jens Nocke, Founder

Jens Nocke brought Marcel Moye on board after hopping on a plane to Paraguay to see the project for himself. Along with Markus Oeser and Marcel Moye, Jens Nocke’s business acumen has helped shape the robust structure of TreeCoin’s token economics. Of the six people founding TreeCoin, he recalls how he first met Alf Schröter in Chemnitz in early 2018, where they talked about future cooperation:

“We suggested operating a mining farm with cheap electricity in Paraguay, which Alf rejected on the grounds that this would contradict his ethical principles. But if we could develop a coin that is valued on the basis of reforestation, he’d join our business. That was the birth of TreeCoin. Marcel and I have created concepts for weeks, day and night. We’ve discarded ideas and deliberately started from scratch again. We then presented the basic concept to Markus first before later introducing it to Alf.”

Jens believes TreeCoin’s tokens are a symbiosis of existing possibilities: “First of all, there is an ever-present demand for wood. And secondly, TreeCoin is globally tradable through sophisticated technology, the blockchain technology. An investment is possible for almost anyone in the world. These are two components that make TreeCoin attractive, bringing the analog with the digital world together.”

And there you have it: Six people and 10 million trees. Creating a fresh start for our rainforests.

Originally published at https://tree-coin.io on October 11, 2019.