John Dalmas Owuor Onyango was Kenya’s first-ever Chief Conservator of Forests, or as I like to call him, the Original Tree Whisperer. He taught me everything I know about trees, plants, their hard names like Arborius Photosynthesicus Gigantimaximus (a tree that is huge and green) and their secret language. Did you know trees talk? No, seriously. Ever wondered why fresh-cut grass smells so good? That’s actually the grass screaming. Yep. That lovely scent isn’t just nature’s perfume; it’s an SOS—a chemical signal warning other plants that something terrible has happened. It’s the botanical version of a WhatsApp broadcast.
And what if, just maybe, plants put us on this planet as a backup food source? You know, like, "Hey, let’s grow these humans; let them believe they are in control and when they decompose, they’ll make excellent compost." Why else would they have the mycorrhizal network — aka the "Wood Wide Web - didn't know about it, most antelopes do not know when the leopard comes at them. I am sure you will now look at trees with some element of respect.
Tracking Forests: More Than Just Counting Trees
Kenya’s government has a noble mission: plant 1 billion trees. Sounds great, right? But where do these trees actually go? Who plants them? And more importantly, who keeps cutting them down right after we plant them? This is where blockchain and Web3 step in—not just to track, but to give us real-time insights into forest growth and destruction.
Imagine this: Every seedling from a nursery gets its own unique blockchain ID. From the moment it’s planted, it’s tracked. You can scan a QR code on your phone and see where the tree was grown, who planted it, and how it’s doing. It’s like a baby monitor, but for trees.
Better yet, what if we tokenize trees? Each grown tree could be turned into a digital asset. The longer it stands, the more valuable it becomes. If someone wants to cut it down, they’d have to buy the rights to do so—at a steep price. This way, trees become more than just wood; they become investments. Suddenly, cutting trees isn’t just an environmental crime—it’s bad economics and there is a fine to pay, paid back into a token.
Web3: The Guardian Angel of Forests
Blockchain isn’t just for crypto bros and NFT art. It can help us track why trees are being cut. Was it for development, illegal logging, or some politician’s idea of "progress"? We’d know in seconds. Web3 can create a transparent, immutable ledger of tree-related activities, ensuring accountability.
Picture this: Every logged tree requires a smart contract approval. Cutting without permission? Boom—automatic fines. Trees could also be registered under a community-driven DAO, meaning locals decide their fate, not some shady government deal.
And hey, if we’re serious about climate change, why not reward people for growing trees? Instead of waiting for climate summits where everyone just nods and shakes their head to, WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE. There has got to be more to how we can help climate change, heating or cooling or other, instead of scaring young people to glue themselves to roads, paintings and other non-constructive measures. let’s create a tree-backed currency. You plant a tree; you earn tokens. These tokens could pay for goods, services, or even buy back carbon footprints. Imagine logging onto an app and seeing your personal "Treefolio" grow.
BuildaDAO is Kenya’s first true DAO, dedicated to driving Web3 adoption through three key focus areas:
Training & Developer Growth – We equip Kenyan developers with the skills to build on Web3, fostering a new generation of blockchain experts.
People & Wallet Adoption – We simplify Web3 for everyday Kenyans, making wallets and digital assets more accessible.
Corporate Web3 Integration – We help financial institutions and businesses understand and implement Web3 solutions in a practical, low-risk way.
Beyond this, BuildaDAO actively organizes events, supports startup growth, and guides corporations through a structured Web3 onboarding journey. Our mission is to bridge the gap between traditional finance, blockchain technology, and real-world applications in Kenya.
The Tree project currently called Forest Connect is a project we are embarking on and are open to have like-minded Tree Huggers or others interested in getting this project to life. This is an opportunity to create new work, a new economy based on trees and help mother earth, surely, she doesn't need saving, we are the ones in her game plan.
The Aesthetic of Trees: More Than Just Oxygen Machines
How many young people can actually get jobs these days? The old-school office grind is fading fast, and Web3 is gearing up to blow the doors wide open on new work opportunities. With Africa’s youth population skyrocketing, we need to think beyond the pre-historic 9-to-5s.
Tree Influencers —paid in tokens to plant, flex, and nurture trees. Meanwhile, Tree Validators —roaming the land, confirming whether someone really has a “small forest” or just two lonely saplings.
"I have a small forest on my farm." Bro, that’s two trees. Please, wachana na kelele, sit down, this is how you plant more trees and earn tokens, now your forest can be real, and you earn from every living tree.
Beyond carbon credits and climate action, trees are just… nice. They make everything look better. A world without trees would be like Nairobi without multi-colored matatus—dull, uninspiring, and lifeless. We need them for shade, beauty, and let’s be honest, for the dramatic Instagram photos. And for some of us Kenyans, some trees like the Mugumo tree hold religious purposes. There was a time before the internet, when you met with that someone, your one and only, you found a tree and wrote your names beside a love heart, everyone could see and no one could see it, being subtle was everything, not these troubling modern TikTok trends, testing your loved one with all sorts of strange things. Cupid is watching.
So next time you see a tree, give it a nod. It might be whispering sweet nothings to its neighbors, sending chemical gossip about your suspicious stares or your awesome genes, that they must have. And if you want to do more, maybe—just maybe—it's time to put our trees on-chain and make cutting them as complicated as a bad blockchain transactions.
After all, trees have been taking care of us for centuries. Isn’t it time we return the favor?
