Although TreeCoin seems like a project that’s been around for a while, this young innovation is only one year old. But it has long prehistory! TreeCoins story started long ago with several small coincidences, many long discussions, and dozens of innovative ideas that became one big mission, turning complete strangers into a team that founded the Global TREE Project AG. Later, this creation became what it is today, TreeCoin. But to get there, let’s start from the very beginning, the time before.
In the beginning, there was a property
It was 2008 when Alf Schröter decided to buy some property in Paraguay and without knowing it, set the foundation for TreeCoin. Decisive for this was an appointment with Andreas Jelinek, who lives in Paraguay. Andreas wanted to do something sustainable for the future and because Alf also shared this view, one thing led to another.
Owning property in Paraguay would be one step of many, but it would be the most significant one. Paraguay has perfect conditions, generous water-stock, rich soil, and a mild climate. Exactly fitting for what they had planned: reforestation. For the next step, they partnered up with La Riviera, a company experienced in the reforestation in Paraguay. So far so good. But still, not even close to what TreeCoin is today.
The creation of Global TREE Project AG, which later on created TreeCoin, began with Alf’s wish for more. To him, there had to be something bigger than the sheer reforestation they were doing at the time. Back then, Alf and Jörg Schäfer had already been acquaintances due to their mutual friend Andreas. Jörg too shared their vision of a future that is green and sustainable. But more on that later. First, there are other characters that will join the project.
Bring them together
After Alf bought the land, office buddies Jens Nocke and Marcel Moye joined his group. Alf had known Jens from previous business projects and had told him in August 2017 about his reforestation plans. He was all aboard. But Marcel needed some convincing. So, Jens hopped onto a plane and flew to Paraguay to see what this project was all about, in the hopes of telling Marcel about his first-hand experience there.
You could say that this trip was an important milestone in the history of TreeCoin. Jens was overwhelmed by Paraguay’s beauty and the land’s potential for reforestation. He also met with Dr. Juan Buca, the head of La Riviera, and got introduced to Jörg Schäfer for the first time.
Building a common vision
It was an evening in Paraguay’s fresh air that gave birth to the idea of including crypto into the project. To be frank, it wasn’t easy for Jens to convince Alf and Andreas of cryptocurrency.
Back in Germany, Jens sat down with Marcel, who was now convinced of the project’s potential, and wondered a lot about how the project can be made sustainable. Many ideas and designs were thrown aside, one of which was a mining farm. But Alf had something else in mind, he wanted a coin covered in wood. This was a stepping stone and the two business partners began developing a business case that would later evolve into TreeCoin.
Needing a professional eye for the business, Jens and Marcel brought in Markus Oeser, a businessman who would use their office sometimes. Markus is a crypto professional who opened many doors to the project. Having told him about the wood-covered coin, Marcel didn’t think twice about joining the team.
The birth of TreeCoin
In February 2018, after months of development, the three presented TreeCoin to Alf. This was it — this was what Alf had in mind all along. It was the moment Global TREE Project AG gained an important factor, making it grow faster than anyone had expected. The road was clear, the goal was set, and the mission was ahead.
But there was one man left to join the team: Jörg Schäfer, also known as Señor Green or the face of TreeCoin. Jörg and Andreas had been business partners for a while until the latter decided to move to Paraguay. Jörg had to grin about it, but after visiting the country, he understood the move, supporting his longtime partner. Over the years, his support for Andreas’ work in Paraguay earned him the title of Señor Green.
The almost complete group thought Señor Green would be an important factor in the project. Being the nature-loving person that he is, he became the last member of the team, now known as the TreeCoin team. And the rest is history…
Originally published at https://tree-coin.io on May 13, 2019.
