As the Ethiopian government puts the final signature to paper, crystalizing a brighter decentralised future for the country, the rest of the world looks on. With an array of social problems potentially overcome, it’s assumed, if not known, that the majority of the continent will follow suit. Yet as one continent transitions from third world to potential digital superpower, others still require attention. Cardano’s mission objective is simple, to solve the issues afflicting the most underprivileged in global society. With this cemented firmly in our collective consciousness, we should not and cannot stop at Africa.
The Southern Hemisphere Beckons for Assistance
From the plains of Africa, downwards and across to the tropics of the Southern hemisphere, could Latin America be the next continental node in Cardano’s ecosystem? That could largely depend on the success of Matias Falcone and his team. The Australian based Argentinian aims to establish a fully functioning DAO catering specifically for Spanish speakers. This would allow them to communicate and express themselves effectively, in order to solve local problems. ALDEA, (América Latina Descentralizada y Autónoma) will manage a treasury based on IOHK’s paper “A Treasury System for Cryptocurrencies: Enabling Better Collaborative Intelligence”. Their overall mission will be achieved by the utilization of its own Governance Token, in the same way IOHK does with ADA. It’s worth pointing out that ‘Aldea’ translates as ‘village’ in Spanish. This further emphasises the teams commitment to a sense of community and social wellbeing, a notion which is now synonymous with Cardano.
As you’d expect, stakepools will play a pivotal role as ALDEA strives to achieve its goal. What’s more interesting, delegators will receive governance tokens, on top of the ADA they accumulate each epoch. This will encourage the development of the project, allowing it and the community to flourish. As if not ambitious enough, ALDEA will also promote the development of dAPPS. This will grant the community access to stablecoins, DeFi Protocols, Tools, NFT’s and everything else the cryptosphere has to offer. Ultimately, ALDEA will provide a much needed space for all Latin American community hubs. A place where they can get together and collaborate on Catalyst proposals, enhancing both social and financial regeneration.
Becoming a Community
A self described “Diverse team of SPOs (FALCO, TOPO, APOLO, RYU, CPOOL), Senior IT Geeks, Entrepreneurs, WyoHackathon Winners & Long-Term Cardano Advocates.” They boast 70+ years of combined IT experience in software development and digital transformation, across a variety of industries. The team of six includes Technical Leads, Business Analysts, Product Wizards, UX Designers, Entrepreneurs, Business Owners, and Foreign Trade and Banking Analysts. It’s expected that this bouquet of creativity, problem solving, resilience and experience of working remotely, among a variety of different languages and cultures is more than up to the task.
The Trail to Success
Detailed Phase one
Phase ZERO brought ALDEA to life in its primitive form. Key regional players are already involved and working closely with the community. Now it’s time to take it to the next level. In order for it to reach its full potential ALDEA needs to go through an intensive and thorough research phase. It will be critical to understand the state-of-the-art technologies available, and the best way to combine and tailor them to Latin America’s needs. This will all come together in a peer-reviewed Whitepaper setting ALDEA up for success. Welcome to Phase one.
Major research topics will include the different DAO Platforms & Models, the Treasury System, Tokenomics, Minting Policies & Distribution, Token Use Cases, Governance, Security and Transparency, among others.
We will consider Phase one successful once the Whitepaper is written and published, after in-depth and quality research of all the above topics. The Whitepaper will be peer-reviewed by a diverse and qualified group of individuals, and ultimately embraced by the whole participating community signing an act on the blockchain itself, thus writing the first chapter in the ALDEA recorded history.
Phase 2: The One With The DAO & The Treasury
- DAO & Treasury Smart Contracts Development
- Governance Token Minting Policy
- ALDEA Community Portal Development
- Code Audit
Phase 3: The One With The Stakepools
- ALDEA Community Portal Ready for Stakepools to start operating
- Treasury starts receiving funds for the following phases, and Governance Tokens are given back in return
Phase 4: The One With The Community
- Extend ALDEA Community Portal for Stakepool Delegators to Join
- Pursue Adoption across the Community
- Promote smaller Stakepools through ALDEA Portal
- Setup ALDEA Catalyst
Phase 5: The One With The Aldea
- Kick-off ALDEA Catalyst with a ‘Local Community Centers Development Challenge’
- Learn and iterate, the sky’s the limit!
Putting a Price on a Vision
In order to bring their vision into reality ALDEA is seeking a budget of $23,040. This will oversee phase one of their proposal, which will be divided as follows.
- Six team members
- USD 20 hourly rate
- 12hs avg per week per person
- Estimated Total of 16 weeks
$20 x 12 hs/week x 6 people x 16 weeks of total work.
They would like to emphasise that the above does not mean all 12 members will be working 12 hours a week, for the entire 16 weeks. It’s merely an estimate of the overall linear team effort required. Tasks will be prioritized and distributed according to skills, as needed. The budget and deliverables for each task will be estimated and agreed upon by the team. This is in line with the same principles ALDEA aspires to uphold. They will also be hosting periodical AMA Live Sessions with the Community, in order to share progress and insights, gather feedback and eventually hold ad-hoc specific discussions on the many aspects ALDEA has to offer.
Re-igniting that Latin American Spirit
The fourth largest continent by landmass has an estimated population of approximately 433.5 million, many without access to blockchain technology and the accompanying benefits. As Cardano’s ever increasing pursuit of global equality accelerates, it makes sense to establish a legitimate and professionally run DAO in the area. The problems that have marred Africa, such as inflation, devaluation and overall lack of transparency are being addressed and will hopefully soon be eradicated. Should the divine light of Cardano shine upon Latin America, its destiny could follow the same path. ALDEA already has the support of several stakepool operators in the region. If successful in their proposal we could witness the birth of something truly beautiful. The second continent to adopt the Cardano ecosystem, as humanity evolves towards a united, digital Pangea. If you’d like to know more information or have questions/comments regarding ALDEA’s proposal, check out the link. Log in – Project Catalyst (Ideascale.com)
