I'm Wasabi, a founder from the Dominican Republic with a passion for building solutions to our most pressing needs. With a background in IT and e-commerce, I founded my first VoIP company back in 2005 and have been an early adopter of emerging technologies ever since.
As a Public Goods maximalist and regenerative advocate at heart, I'm working to build, scale, and globally expand Kokonut Network. This project represents more than just another business venture—it's a systematic response to solving a critical problem that affects millions of people globally: the lack of funding for real-world projects within underserved communities that don't meet the standard criteria of legacy organizations.
My work is about challenging the status quo and sending a message of change through each entity within the Kokonut Ecosystem.
My journey into Web3 was a natural progression as someone who embraces emerging technologies. I've been dealing with "magic internet money" since the early days, so the transition felt organic.
The Kokonut Network concept began with a simple domain purchase for a coconut-based marketplace. When someone suggested actually planting a coconut farm, my research into coconuts revealed their incredible versatility and potential. This discovery led me to build Kokonut Network around coconuts' diverse use cases.
What makes coconuts particularly compelling is their market-agnostic nature. By producing, distributing, or manufacturing coconut products, you can tap into multiple markets simultaneously. Long-term, coconuts serve as a hedge against market volatility while aligning stakeholder interests through the stability provided by coconut trees' extended lifespan.
In my experience, the most significant challenges in securing funding for blockchain and Web3 projects include:
Operational Sustainability: Making operations work with grant funding remains difficult. The biggest weakness of any Web3 project is often human resources and the outcomes those resources can deliver.
Data Quality: Many grantees struggle to produce high-fidelity data that unlocks additional funding over time, creating a cycle where promising projects can't demonstrate their impact effectively.
Treasury Management: Most DAOs lack outcomes-based treasury management. Many Web3 organizations have stagnant treasuries because they're not designed to be outcomes-focused and keep resources flowing effectively. Every DAO needs at least a basic treasury management approach that aligns with its goals.
We've been utilizing the Karma GAP platform since November 2023, and it has transformed how we approach project management and funding accountability.
The platform offers several standout features that have enhanced our operations:
Updates Tab: This feature aggregates all project data into a beautiful, comprehensive feed that provides clear visibility into progress and milestones.
Dynamic Data Integration: The ability to display dynamic data by ingesting wallets, contracts, or GitHub Repositories adds tremendous value to project tracking and transparency.
When applying to Public Nouns DAO for funding, I followed a research-first approach. I thoroughly studied their mission, vision, and broader goals, then crafted our proposal to align with the Public Nouns Manifesto. This strategy of understanding grantor needs and aligning proposals accordingly has proven effective across different funding sources.
The difference between DAO treasury funding and Gitcoin Grants is significant:
DAO Funding: More predictable and milestone-based with fewer variables. It provides structured support with clear expectations and deliverables.
Gitcoin Grants: Functions more like a curation market where you can gain wider community support and access various forms of capital beyond traditional grants.
Karma GAP has significantly enhanced our project's development and funding capabilities through improved accountability. Putting goals, milestones, and funding onchain creates powerful motivation to deliver results. Grants aren't free money—your reputation is at stake, and Karma GAP helps build and grow that onchain reputation effectively.
While we haven't extensively implemented AI tools yet, we're researching how to best leverage them for our work. Currently, we're developing several scalable AI integration ideas that we're not ready to disclose.
What I can share is our plan to fully integrate the GAP Schema, Common Approach, and Ecological Benefits Framework into our API-ready Data Hub. We'll deploy an MCP Server to enable interaction with our Data Hub from any Large Language Model, laying the foundation for key AI integrations.
Our utilization strategy for Karma GAP directly addresses the funding challenges we identified earlier. By fully embracing the platform and leveraging its features for fund usage tracking, outcome measurement, and roadmap milestone monitoring, we've created significant value. Our reputation is now tracked via an open-source platform, providing transparency and accountability that funders value.
Karma GAP's capabilities can specifically address DAO treasury management challenges by defining, tracking, and measuring treasury-wide goals. Packaging outcomes and milestones into an easy-to-manage grants program helps funding rounds run more efficiently and effectively. By enabling comprehensive tracking through Karma Communities, all projects are searchable in one place through Karma AI.
If I could add one feature to Karma GAP, it would be expanded customization options. More fields for milestones, roadmaps, and activity reports would significantly improve functionality. Adding status labels or custom options would greatly enhance readability and project management capabilities.
Kokonut Network represents more than a Web3 project—it's a model for how blockchain technology can address real-world challenges in underserved communities. Through transparent project management, outcomes-based funding, and innovative treasury management, we're demonstrating that sustainable, impactful solutions are possible.
The combination of coconuts' natural market stability, Web3's transparency and efficiency, and platforms like Karma GAP's accountability mechanisms creates a powerful framework for sustainable development that can be replicated globally.
This case study demonstrates how innovative Web3 projects can leverage modern platforms and funding mechanisms to create real-world impact while maintaining transparency and accountability. The Kokonut Network's approach offers valuable insights for other projects seeking to build sustainable solutions for underserved communities.
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