WHITEPAPER · DISCUSSION DRAFT 0.3 · SEPTEMBER 17, 2026

Support the people.
Keep nature living.

A practical model for connecting conservation commitments with the people who want to fund them.

1. The idea

Living Places proposes a simple connection: people and businesses support the care of a specific place, and the people responsible for that place receive payments under a funded conservation agreement. Supporters see the commitment, the budget and updates from the land.

The initial focus is stewardship sponsorship: clear agreements, funded care and transparent payments. NFTrees and digital representations of streams and other natural places are a planned next phase, introduced once these foundations are working. Carbon development remains a separate pathway.

2. What a supporter receives

A connection to a named project, recognition of their contribution, a description of the funded activities and period, and updates documenting progress and payments. A contribution does not purchase land, a tree, public access, an investment return or a carbon offset. No tax-deductibility is promised.

3. From a place to a payment

1. Review the place: establish the participant’s authority, boundaries, existing obligations, relevant community rights and proposed activities.
2. Agree on care: define the covered area, term, permitted uses, budget, monitoring, payment conditions and what happens if circumstances change.
3. Secure funding: seek supporters for the agreed commitment. Applying does not guarantee selection or funding.
4. Pay for care: disburse under the signed agreement’s schedule and required verification, with a payment record.
5. Share evidence: publish appropriate progress and financial summaries while protecting personal information and sensitive locations.

4. Where the money goes

Every funded project must disclose landowner payments, care activities, monitoring, the Living Places service fee, payment processing and any other costs before accepting support. No fee percentage or landowner income is fixed in this draft. The pilot’s budget and payment arrangements must be agreed before launch.

Funding must come from actual supporters or committed partners. A website, marketplace listing or NFT does not itself create funding. Living Places proposes to introduce projects to individuals, businesses and aligned organizations, then administer clearly funded commitments.

5. Participation and land use

Agreements should cover only the area, activities and period that the parties can responsibly commit to. Possible activities include protecting existing vegetation and water sources, maintaining agreed paths, documenting the site, restoration where suitable, and agreed compatible land uses. Clearing, extraction, grazing or construction restrictions must be specific to the site and applicable law.

Terms, early termination, loss events, transfer of the land and remedies require project-specific review. A generic 5-, 10- or 20-year promise is not an automatic legal or carbon eligibility determination. Read the sample agreements or modelos de acuerdos en español.

6. Transparency with privacy

Project pages should distinguish owner-provided information, team checks and independent verification. Reports should show the funded commitment, its status, activities and payment evidence. Public coordinates may be approximate; sensitive tree locations, personal records and confidential boundaries should remain protected.

The planned transparency layer will use blockchain as a durable, tamper-evident record of on-chain transactions and references to approved reports. Supporters should be able to follow a plain-language trail from their contribution to project costs, the Living Places fee and documented payments for care, with links to transaction records where available. Bank and cash payments must be supported by receipts and reconciliation; a blockchain entry alone does not prove that a landowner received an off-chain payment. Personal information and sensitive coordinates will stay off public ledgers. Blockchain cannot establish land rights, prove ecological outcomes or replace field evidence.

7. Carbon as a separate pathway

Initial screening may identify whether a project merits specialist assessment. The proposed sequence is rights review, feasibility and methodology assessment, a separate development agreement, project documentation and validation, monitoring, independent verification, issuance if approved, then sale and distribution of proceeds.

Eligibility, timeframes, costs, credit quantities, buyers and income are not guaranteed. Existing trees are not automatically creditable. Stewardship sponsorship must not be advertised as an offset or counted as an issued carbon credit.

8. NFTrees: a planned expression of gratitude

Living Places will introduce NFTrees after the core agreements, funding, payments and reporting foundations are in place. The feature is planned; receiving or using an NFT will remain optional for each supporter. NFTrees will be digital expressions of gratitude for contributions toward conservation, rather than products promoted for financial appreciation.

An NFTree will represent a documented tree; related digital keepsakes will represent streams, springs and other natural places. Each will connect to an accessible project page showing photographs or a clearly labeled artistic representation, an approved public location, who cares for the place, what the contribution supports and dated updates. Supporters will be able to share that page as a conversation piece: a personal connection to a living place and the people caring for it.

The experience will emphasize belonging, learning and participation: following a tree through the seasons, receiving field updates, sharing its story and supporting further care. It will not confer ownership of the tree or land, public access rights, carbon rights, exclusive sponsorship or authority over the caretaker. Its intended value is personal and participatory; appreciation, resale proceeds and investment returns are not promised.

Benefit profiles may include estimated shade, fruit production, water-related functions, habitat value and carbon storage where suitable data and methods exist. Estimates must identify their sources, date, assumptions and uncertainty, and remain separate from measured or independently verified findings. AI assistance will not turn an estimate into a verified result. These profiles are not carbon credits or an offset claim.

The digital keepsake will link to the same readable funding and care record used by the project, with blockchain transaction links where applicable. Ordinary participation will not require a crypto wallet or technical knowledge. Before release, Living Places will establish contributor terms, consent for public information, a durable record-hosting plan and clear treatment of shared support so the same contribution or conservation result is not counted twice.

9. Organization and first pilot

Living Places was started by Raven, an herbalist and biochemist, and Nuri, a biologist. Amala Terravida, founded by Raven and his wife Claudia, is the proposed Colombian operator; its legal identity and authority still require confirmation.

Jaguar Preserve is a separate founding pilot near Santa Marta, Colombia, covering four hectares according to the founders. The team is in talks with neighboring landowners about expanding conservation into their properties. Those neighboring areas are not yet enrolled or included in the four-hectare figure; participation will depend on their agreement and the relevant rights and boundary checks. The pilot’s details do not define the size, location or obligations of other projects.

Unity Labs is listed as a partner. Swann Creek Conservation Trust and Plenty International are potential future partners only; those relationships are not confirmed.

10. The private operations platform

A planned private portal will connect landowner records, agreements, care plans, journals, photographs, operating procedures, funding and payment evidence. Landowners, field staff and funders will have separate access appropriate to their roles. Field staff should be able to document visits on behalf of participants with limited connectivity, with authorship clearly recorded.

AI assistance may prepare transcriptions, translations, reminders and report drafts from authorized records. Human review remains necessary before agreement approval, publication of conservation claims or release of funds. These features are proposed and are not yet live.

11. What must be ready before launch

• A confirmed responsible entity, contact and data-handling arrangements.
• Project rights, boundaries and applicable legal requirements reviewed locally.
• Final project agreements and budgets, funding commitments and payment arrangements.
• A workable monitoring and complaints process.
• Clear contributor terms, including unsuccessful funding and refund handling.

Success should be measured through funded commitments, documented care and payments actually made—not invented acreage totals or unissued credits.