The Challenge:
Create a Transformational Solution for Climate, Community & Capital
High-quality climate projects in emerging markets must incorporate sustainable economic transformation for local communities.
Only holistic long-term change in livelihoods creates an enabling environment for the permanence and scale of nature-based solutions.
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Reforestation ARR credits are preferred offsets but carbon prices alone have been insufficient to attract mainstream capital in emerging markets.
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Integrity of carbon accounting practices needs additional transparency to engender market support.
The iRise solution delivers lasting & transparent ultra-high quality carbon offsets, holistic community upliftment, and diverse income streams
Integrated Climate and Community Transformation Program
The Forest, The House, The Food, & The Cookstove
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts
The Forest
iRise climate action centers around mass-scale reforestation.
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Reforestation has manifold benefits including carbon sequestration and corresponding ARR carbon offset generation. It also increases soil nutrients, improves water quality, provides shade, prevents erosion and protects biodiversity.
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Afforestation and forest protection for the Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) are secondary components of iRise climate mitigation. REDD+ programs, when properly implemented, prevent the immediate release of emissions that reforestation could only reabsorb over a 20+ year period. Afforestation provides longer-term community income streams untethered from the carbon markets.
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Reforestation delivers delayed cash-flows as trees need time to grow and absorb carbon. The program is supported in the short-term by the other solution components.
iRise drives community development through a proprietary affordable housing solution. Patented around the globe, iRise houses includes features such as:
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39 m2 house made from renewable materials
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Solar panel, water filter, waterless toilet, and Internet access device
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Modular rooms can be seamlessly added at will enabling family growth
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Moveable, elevated foundations eliminate concrete and deter pests and flooding
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Moveable interior walls allow living and bedroom areas to change size as needed
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Delivering shelter, clean water, sanitation, power, and market access the iRise housing solution targets a wide range of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The House
The Food
Food Security is a critical component of the iRise model. iRise provides smallholder farmer support and grows crops on a commercial basis.
Yield per hectare increases dramatically with the following implications:
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Reduction in slash & burn agriculture, Africa's leading cause of deforestation
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Enables crop diversification enhancing soil health, community well-being and nutrition
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Generates substantial short-term income steams de-risking ARR investments
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Frees up land for large-scale reforestation
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Provides immediate community benefits, garnering program support
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The UN FAO states “Apart from contributing to climate change, ‘Slash and burn’ and uncontrolled fires have been identified by various reports as the main contributors to land and environmental degradation, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, soil erosion and landslide susceptibility and degradation of ground water reserve and water supplies
iRise manufactures and distributes thermally-efficient cookstoves
Thermally-efficient cookstoves are critical for climate and community
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Rural communities burning wood for cooking cause an estimated 2% of global emissions
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Burning wood for cooking is a leading cause of deforestation
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Smoke causes illness and kills 4 million people annually, particularly women & children
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Drudgery time collecting fuelwood reduces productivity, particularly women & children
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School absences from drudgery stifle education, particularly among girl
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iRise has designed its cookstoves in consultation with community members to ensure the solution fits user needs, fostering usage. iRise manufactures locally creating employment.
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Cookstoves reduce deforestation, reduce emissions, and generate short-term abatement carbon credits with corresponding cash flows to fund longer-term ARR investments.
The Cookstove
The Integrity
iRise has designed and operates a comprehensive carbon integrity and quality platform called iVerify. The program gives full confidence to iRise customers, investors, and other stakeholders on the integrity of credits generated through the iRise program.
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Features of the platform include:
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Transparent creation, distribution, maintenance, and monitoring of all carbon generating assets including cookstoves and reforestation areas
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Reports on climate mitigation impact, carbon credit accruals & credit issuance
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Reports on community benefits and corresponding social upliftment
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For example, for every cookstove, all manufacturing materials are captured, cookstove transportation geolocation data is captured, carbon documents such as FPIC are captured, all monitoring events are captured and include real-time live usage data, photographic evidence, and reports on maintenance, breakage, and replacements.