Cortado

The challenge: Eco certs are failing to protect farmers and consumers. Certifications like Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade charge farmers over $3000 USD in setup fees while lying to consumers about auditing outcomes. The problem is systemic. The incentive is wrong. Big agri-companies fund a multi-billion-dollar eco certification industry to greenwash themselves, while bankrupting small farmers. We need to empower farmers rather than burdening them with more tasks.

The solution: We can change the system, starting with our web app Cortado. Cortado is the first blockchain-enabled platform that helps coffee farmers finance the verification of their eco-products. Our solution empowers farmers to document their production with precision: they map their farms and individual coffee trees, upload timestamped photos throughout the growing season, and record processing methods and quality scores for each batch. In return, roasters and buyers can fund farmers for this transparent, verifiable data by creating a direct economic incentive for traceability.

Verifiability: To ensure verifiability, we have implemented GPS location verification to ensure farms are taking photos and uploading within their farm, not uploading an old photo or a false photo. When a production batch is complete, the platform automatically allows the user to generate a blockchain-verified certificate (hypercerts) that proves the origin, practices, and quality of the coffee. This gives future buyers confidence in their purchasing decisions while ensuring farmers are compensated for their invisible labor. The result is a sustainable model where transparency is rewarded, small farmers can compete in the specialty markets, and consumers can get coffee with a verifiable story.

Financing Mechanism: Supporters like eco-centric cafes and roasters can unlock each eco-cert with a minimum unlock fee. Once unlocked, they get access to the data uploaded by the farmers. Over time, supporters can see the coffee plant mature, bear fruit, and harvest as the farmers continuously document their trees every month. The supporter can share the hypercert to continue raising funding for the farmer.

Implications and Incentives: Unlike traditional eco-certifications, where methodology is opaque, Cortado allows farmers to directly share evidence with consumers. Our methodology is transparent and can be verified, e.g. use photo evidence to prove agroforestry practices. This micro-level data can be valuable for the coffee industry and beyond. For coffee importers, the photo evidence is particularly important for compliance. For example, for an EU importer, the photo evidence from farmers can provide direct insight into whether or not the farm is at risk of violating the EU Deforestation Regulation. For ecological researchers, the data can provide a direct view into the on-the-ground eco-conditions that are often hard to capture via satellite technology.

A note on being in the other category: We are proud to be a project in the other category. We believe leveraging web3 technology to solve for real world problems shared by the global majority can be a direction builders take, expanding beyond what web3 tech already does well. We hope to see real world solutions as a category at EthGlobal in the future and more applications of web3 technology in the real world :)

Hypercert based platform for speciality coffee traceability with embedded wallet functionality

Wallet Creation: Farmers can sign up to Cortado using their preferred login (e.g. google, email, etc.). The embedded wallet function from Coinbase sets up a wallet for each farmer.

Proof of Humanity: To prove that the data us uploaded by a human, not a bot, each farmer can prove their humanity using ZKpassport.

Geolocation & Digital Twin: Farmers can use interactive Mapbox based maps to geolocate their farms and trees, creating a digital twin of their physical operation.

Evidence documentation: Farmers can document production through monthly photo uploads with automatic timestamp verification, ensuring data integrity. Processing workflows track each batch from harvest through drying to final bagging, with metadata captured at every step. People cannot take pictures outside the boundaries of the given farm as confined by GPS verification. The photos are uploaded to and stored on IPFS.

Hypercerts: When batches are complete, the system automatically validates that all required documentation is present, then mints blockchain certificates (hypercerts) that permanently record the work scope, timeframes, and contributors. These certificates are publicly verifiable and cannot be forged, giving roasters confidence in their purchases.

The funding mechanism creates a direct economic relationship: roasters can invest in farmers' traceability efforts upfront, receiving access to complete production data in return. This model makes expensive certifications unnecessary while providing better verification than traditional systems. The platform uses Coinbase embedded wallets so farmers don't need technical knowledge. They can focus on documenting their work and get rewarded for transparency with no necessity of crypto knowledge.