Lil Nouns DAO

TL;DR:

We are looking for 3.4 stETH to scale production and make quality control and working improvements to the community greenhouse nursery from Prop 289 which we have been working on for the past 7 months.

RECAP:

On the 10th of March, we, two nounish builders from Lariak Farm Laikipia Kenya were funded by the DAO to establish a 120 square metre community greenhouse in the Ol ng’arua, Karandi community. We executed the project and have been consistently producing vegetable seedlings since then (about 70000). The operation has been sustainable with proceeds from the subsidised sale of the seedlings covering operational costs.

MILESTONES REACHED:

When we began, our core objective was to improve the quality of agricultural practice in the area that is reknown for its robust agricultural zone. It really is a paradox when such high producers of food products end up being very low income households. So we decided to make a step in improving the quality of farming practice in community in efforts to improve their livelihoods.

So far through the efforts, we have seen:

1. Increased farmer income
2. Increased quality of produce to fetch better prices at market
3. Created a robust network of young farmers in the locality
4. Created an onchain registry to show the name and details of each individual farmer who has procured seedings from us.

Soon enough, it became apparent that we were going to need to scale our operations if we wanted to make a sizeable impact.

CHALLENGES FACED:

Not long after starting our operations, mother nature welcomed us into the world of seed propagation with heat stroke that left our first ever batch of seedlings for wilting.

We consulted a few agronomists and made improvements to our greenhouse by installing a 70% shaded net ceiling to act as climate control and soon bounced back.

Word spread quickly of the operations and farmers made frequent visits, often learning a thing or two and acquiring some of these seedlings for themselves, and within the 4th month, the demand for the seedlings far outweighed the supply we were producing, currently, our greenhouse has a capacity of about 70-80k seedlings.

We also severely underestimated the amount of water we would be using on a daily basis and constant water supply has been quite a significant challenge. We plan on overcoming these challenges by:

1. Increasing the area under greenhouse coverage to 360 square metres from 120.
2. Installing a reliable climate control system of misters and adding vent tops to the greenhouses
3. Constructing a water reservoir of 100k Litres for the collection of water from a nearby river and runoff water from rainfall.

OBJECTIVES WITH THE COMMUNITY NURSERY:

It has been quite a satisfactory and fulfilling journey to watch and document the growth of our seedlings from just a seed in the nursery to a mature vegetables that the farmers have been both consuming and selling for additional income.

It has also been our joy to bring together young farmers who have previously been isolated in the beginning of their farming journey. We have now over 13young farmers who regularly visit the greenhouse and do offer to help with sowing, fertigation and watering. The exchange of ideas and knowledge has helped build a backbone of trust and confidence in their farming practices that have in turn led to very high quality crop production.

We also created an Onchain Registry that will be recording the names of the local farmers we give seedlings and what exactly it is they are planting. This will create a good foundation in setting quality control standards for export in the future and eliminate middlemen in the sourcing of raw material by retail value addition buyers.

We have also gained alot of experience through trial and error in the world of seed propagation, and with this information being heavily gatekept, in the spirit of CC0, we feel it is our responsibility to make the information free for all who seek it.

OUR OBJECTIVE WITH THIS PROPOSED SECOND PHASE OF OPERATIONS IS TO:

1. Raise the total seedlings output to about 200k seedlings per cycle and in turn onboard more farmers for a bigger impact
2. Write up a comprehensive manual (ebook) on seed propagation and everything in between.
3. Improve agricultural practice by training the local farmers of practises such as soil testing, health safety measures through PPEs and maximising profitability through agribusiness.
4. Construct a 100k litre water reservoir to additionally help in irrigation of crops for the surrounding farmers in the area.
5. Organize the participating young farmers into registered groups for better coordination.
6. Be a regular participant in Lil Nouns governance and acquire 8 NFTs, and spread the tentacles of the principles of decentralization to the community
7. Part of the seed revenue goes towards donations of exercise books to a neighbouring school.

8.To broaden the farmer’s market perspective by introducing new crops to the area such as herbs (basil,mint etc) and exotic fruits (cantaloupes, melons etc)

9.Provide affordable Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to help reduce health risks faced by farmers who currently lack access to proper safety gear.

Unlike earlier short-term awareness projects, this new Lil Propagation Expansion focuses on long-term sustainability—scaling from 70K to 200K seedlings, building a water reservoir, and providing farmer and school training and also governance through reinvest to the dao by purchasing nfts to be used in onboarding farmers.

TIMELINE:

Week 1-3: Land preparation and water reservoir excavation Week 3-7: Greenhouse construction and furnishing Week 8-10: First propagation cycle along with registration of youth farmer group.

BUDGET ALLOCATION:

3.4 stETH (current price of eth-4054) Amount (USD) Land preparation & 100kL reservoir,Excavation, lining, piping, pump, filtration $2000 Greenhouse expansion Steel frame, UV cover, shading net, irrigation $7800 Climate control system Misters, vents, and temperature management $900 Seeds, trays & propagation media Sterilized media, trays, fertilizers $800 Farmer training & registration group formation, mentorship, registry $600 Media & branding Farmer merchandise, photography, documentation $600 Volatility buffer To absorb ETH/USD price changes $500

Total: $13,200

TEAM:

Clement : Core contributor, Nouns DAO Africa,greenhouse manager,farmer @cn47006@cn47006

Don – Agronomist, Greenhouse Manager & Web3 Builder

PAST PROJECTS:

Oct 2022 – NounSquare Cleanup: Led a community cleanup promoting environmental awareness 2 ETH

Jan 2023 – Nounish Croc Edition: Gifted Noun-themed Crocs to children with cerebral palsy. 1 ETH

Gnaniversary Aug 2023 – Shreddable Noggles (Gnars DAO): Created Nounish skateboard art at Shangilia Skate Park. 0.7 ETH

Noggles Fabrication for Gnars 2023

Global Pizza Party 2024

2025 – Tree Nursery (VRBs DAO): Launched a tree nursery for reforestation and fruit tree distribution 0.66 ETH

Mar 2025 – Seed Propagation Center (Lil Nouns DAO): Established a center to enhance food security and train farmers.(prop 289 thread 2. $5500

ONCHAIN REGISTRY PROFILE :

https://mirror.xyz/nounfrica.eth

This shows 3 significant entries onchain that captures

-Lil nouns seed propagator:Day one to production,lil nouns farmer registry and an Onchain guide to seed propagation.

SUSTAINABILITY AND GOVERNANCE FLOW :

Seedlings (200,000 per cycle)

→ Sales revenue sustains nursery operations

→ Lil Nouns NFT purchase (DAO governance + farmer onboarding)

→ Community reinvestment ( PPE, farmer training)

→ Expanded impact across farmers and schools.