Introduction

Thanks to our friend Omar Hurtado, who inspired us to co-found CofiBlocks in 2022, and to the amazing community that has joined us on this fun, delicious, regenerative and inspiring journey, we are already preparing to expand CofiBlocks in Costa Rica and other countries.

In this post, we want to take this opportunity to thank the people and institutions that have been supporting us and also to tell you about our new allies in the area of blockchain technology.

Partnerships and Collaborations

In this expansion process, we are partnering with Starknet, which has one of the best Web3 blockchain technologies at the moment. Thanks to its smart wallets, even novice blockchain users can interact with minimal friction. In addition, it is possible to recover your passwords if you forget them or lose them. Among other benefits, there are low transaction costs compared to Ethereum, for example.

We are working with VagabondsLabs and its team to implement both the CofiBlocks marketplace and other features. We are grateful for the support of amazing Web3 developers (Pierre, Alfredo, and José JD). Their support has been invaluable for the implementation of smart contracts on Starknet. We also thank the future developers who will join us on this journey! (Soon we will be on OnlyDust) We appreciate the support of Starknet Costa Rica, which has been helping us with events and other future activities!

We would also like to thank ZK Costa Rica (Zero Knowledge Costa Rica) for their support in helping us identify ways to incorporate more privacy for CofiBlocks users through ZK protocols.

We would also like to thank the Nimiq team for their support in allowing people to buy coffee using their wallet. We look forward to continuing our collaboration! We also thank Asoblockchain Costa Rica for facilitating blockchain meetups (Cripto Cantinas) at Jardín de Lolita and Sendero (Barrio Escalante, San José). Likewise, we extend our thanks to Sendero for always welcoming us with enthusiasm and attention!

ReFi Spring (ReFi DAO) sponsored the first CofiBlocks event in September 2022.

CofiBlocks was one of the web3 projects incubated by ReFi Costa Rica’s Collaborative Business Incubator Program in 2023, which led to us presenting at the ReFi Demo Day at the Blockchain Jungle Event

Testing and Results

CofiBlocks conducted a micro-pilot from December 2022 to August 2023 to test some business hypotheses. One of these was how accessible the platform used to onboard coffee farmers was. At the time, we used the Cambiatus platform (which probably will also adopt Starknet technology in the future). We observed that the farmer who decided to join Cofiblocks had a good experience using the platform. This also applies to the other users who bought coffee and interacted with CofiBlocks. Without a doubt, there are things to improve, and we are working on that.

In the current phase, the same farmer, our dear Don Herbert, from Beneficio Las Peñas, also approved the interface with Starknet. And so far, the other members of CofiBlocks who participated in the test have also approved it. Soon, you will try it too!

Another hypothesis was that it is possible to have a collaborative business, that is, a business in which the coffee producer, the customers, and other members have a voice in the decision-making process and also receive a share of the profits. In the micro-pilot, we were pleased to find that this is possible and we are confident that it will also be possible in the expansion process.

Fairer Profit Sharing

With CofiBlocks, the farmer received an income that is well deserved and much higher than the value estimated by researchers, who claimed that for each cup of coffee sold for $3, the farmer received an average of $0.03 (source: Cedeño, A. et al. 2020). In the CofiBlocks micro-pilot, we found that the farmer's earnings were much higher, from the total profit of the micro-pilot 30% went directly to the farmer, apart from the coffee production costs. We are working to ensure that farmers, consumers, investors, and other members of CofiBlocks receive fair and decent values for their participation.

No other company in the coffee industry shares profits with coffee producers and consumers. We all know that without customers there is no business, so why shouldn't they receive a share of the profits? At CofiBlocks, customers, coffee producers, and other members receive a share of the profits proportional to their contribution and dedication to the business. In this way, we are preventing a serious problem that is discouraging farmers from continuing to produce coffee. The problem is that the intermediaries take the lion's share of the profits and the farmers take the minority.

Modernizing Coffee Agriculture

In the expansion phase of CofiBlocks, we will make an effort to help farmers' relatives learn more about Web3 technologies such as blockchain and AI. In this way, we will contribute to the modernization of coffee agriculture in Costa Rica, even if it is on a small scale, initially.

Recognition and Future Plans

CofiBlocks is already attracting attention from people in Costa Rica and other countries. It was the #1 startup on the list presented by Techround (10 Startups to Watch in Costa Rica).

Visionary investors are already showing interest in supporting us. If they don't, the Web3 community will surely support us, either through Gitcoin or other means.

Researchers are already analyzing the evolution of CofiBlocks, due to its innovative way of doing business. This is the case of the research entitled “Stakeholder Management in Web 3.0 Projects Implemented Through a Decentralized Autonomous Organization: CofiBlocks Project”. This research is being conducted by researcher Marcilio Correia as part of an MBA program in Project Management at the University of São Paulo (USP-Brazil). According to Marcílio, the research will be published in 2024. We are looking forward to the publication!

We have much more to tell. Stay tuned for future publications, videos, etc. Coming soon, a new and modern CofiBlocks website!

Coffee lovers from Costa Rica and the world, wait for CofiBlocks to surprise you with memorable experiences! We are working and soon we will show you more news!

Photo: katya-ross-unsplash

References:
Cedeño, A. et al. 2020. Estudio exploratorio sobre innovaciones tecnológicas aplicadas al sector café y cacao. Hivos.