Bits Of Good

Enthusiast | Twitter: @rarlop

The last two years have been one heck of a ride. What started as a campaign to help New Story Charity build one home for a family in need quickly grew into a community wide effort to champion the XRP Tip Bot as a powerhouse of micro-donations.

Since the One More Home project started, the landscape in which the initiative played out changed significantly, from the XRP Tip Bot changing the way it works, to New Story Charity deciding to embrace crypto donations and accept XRP directly. Due to these developments, it is with a feeling of gratefulness and a sense of mission accomplished that I announce it officially: The XRP fundraiser that the One More Home project conducted for the last two years comes to an end.

We are proud to announce that the final amount we have helped New Story raise so far is 59,688.367625 XRP which have been sent to New Story's XRPL address accordingly.

You can follow all the transaction flows here.

What's Next?

Our support and admiration towards New Story does not stop here. One More Home, while not raising funds directly, will continue to support New Story in the fight against global homelessness.

An instrumental part of this continued support will be the 42,662.207821 FLR tokens that the One More Home project will obtain through the Flare Networks airdrop, all thanks to the community's generous donations. 100% of these funds will go of course to New Story, we are just waiting to learn more about Flare Networks to find out about the best way to proceed.

There are some other ideas in the pipeline involving other digital assets but these will be announced in due time 😉.

I would like to express once again my gratitude to everyone in the XRP Community. Your support has been absolutely amazing. You can certainly be very proud for the positive impact you have made in the lives of families in need.

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What the folks over XRPL Labs have unleashed by getting the community involved in translating the XUMM app to as many languages as possible is beyond awesome. The recently deployed Translation Portal doesn't only give the opportunity to many of us who may not have the technical background to build our own projects on the XRP Ledger the chance to contribute in a meaningful way to the ecosystem. It also showcases the versatility of XUMM itself as a powerful tool to expand the reach of XRP in the Gig Economy.

Subject to KYC verification processes, XRPL Labs is rewarding XUMM users who contribute with translations to their native languages with XRP micropayments as follows:

The whole process is pretty straight-forward as XUMM users who decide to contribute, do so by signing in via their XUMM app, meaning their XRP address is automagically tied to the work their perform on the portal.

Maximizing the reach of the XUMM app to as many languages as possible prior to its upcoming V1 release is very important, but what's not to be missed is that through this effort, XRPL Labs is also highlighting the potential of both the XUMM app and platform as a means to reward users for tasks performed online in a fast and efficient way.

What are the possibilities?

The approach applied to the Translation Portal can be applied to a myriad of online tasks and allow users to sign in with XUMM and get paid in XRP for performing tasks like:

💡 Completing surveys

💡 Data entry/validation

💡 Watching ads

💡 Playing/testing online games

💡 Proof-reading

💡 Moderating content

💡 Transcribing audio

💡 Categorizing social media posts

The Strength is in the Numbers

The secret sauce for XUMM to be a great fit for this use case does not only lie on the platform itself and its versatility, but on the vibrant and global community that you can find in its app user base.

To have a better idea about the level of participation in the XUMM Translation Portal, I asked Wietse Wind, founder of XRPL Labs about the level of participation that XUMM users have had so far in the translation of the app and what he shared with me is really mind blowing.

181 translators have entered 34,000 suggested translations and 248,931 votes to successfully translate XUMM into 44 languages of which 21 are 100% completed.

What this shows is that if you rely on the XUMM app and its user base on any similar project, you would be counting on a truly global community that can give that extra muscle you need to bring it home. All of this by leveraging top notch technology that allows for an easy, cost-convenient (low fees) and fast way to reward them no matter where in the World they are, as the XRP Ledger. The ingredients to become a powerhouse of the Gig Economy are all there.

Any more ideas on this use case? Let's hear it on Twitter!

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

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Remember the header picture I decided to go with for the monthly update back in July? The reason for choosing that picture during some of the hardest phases of the One More Home project was to send a message that, no matter what, giving up was not an option.

Today, I am happy to announce that thanks to the recent crypto rally, the One More Home project is in its highest funding status since its start back in January 2019: The current goal of raising funds to build three homes in the next three years is currently overfunded actually! This also means that everyone's donation to the project has a bigger impact now than at the time of donation, since the price of XRP is now significantly higher than any point throughout the fundraising campaign with the XRP Tip Bot.

The Spark Airdrop

Everyone is talking about the upcoming Spark Airdrop! And in an effort to maximize the impact of each of your generous donations, it is confirmed that the One More Home project will prepare its XRPL address to receive the Spark tokens, rather than moving the funds temporarily to an exchange.

One More Home in Figures

As every month, here are some interesting facts and figures around the progress of the One More Home project so far:

Micro-donations:

XRP via micro-donations and direct deposits:

XRP raised via ILP (Coil payments and boost):

Current XRP Balance Tip Bot: 0 XRP

Current XRP Balance XRPL Address: 42,353.030709

XRP converted to USD and sent to New Story in 2019:

Payments to New Story: Directly in XRP

New Story, the nonprofit this project supports, is a forward-thinking organization pioneering on technological advancements to help those who need it the most, and crypto is no exception. Earlier this year, their amazing team set up an XRPL wallet (among with 16 other cryptocurrency wallets).

This has made the transfer of the funds raised by One More Home a lot easier, more transparent and also more secure, as we leverage on the escrow functionality of the XRP Ledger to make payments every month.

In 2019, we also had a fiat fundraising campaign which is also included in the funding for the 2020 home.

USD via 2019 campaign page:

XRP already transferred:

Transferred so far worth:

In escrow: 0 XRP as escrows have been paused until after the Spark Airdrop snapshot.

Totals and Funding Status

Total XRP Raised to Date:

Total Fiat Raised to Date:

Total Worth:

Which means, the current goal of the project (US$30,000) is currently over 100% funded!!! 🎉. If the crypto market conditions and more specifically XRP continue in this trend, we will need to move the goal posts and start thinking of additional ways to support New Story beyond our participation in the Architects Program.

**XRP/USD rates at time of writing on December 3rd 2020

Header Photo by [Faris Mohammed](https://unsplash.com/@pkmfaris) on Unsplash

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We are in the homestretch for 2020 and as the end of the year comes closer, so does the funding of the project's first home thanks to the generosity of all of our friends who have supported us throughout the years either.

Like at the start of every month, an escrow of 3000 XRP will finish and be released to New Story Charity on November 1st. This will be the last one prior to donating the remaining amount needed to reach the $10,000 goal for this year. Here is a link to the escrow creation transaction:

https://xrpscan.com/tx/7BAAFC9D3D1717BD84E7A92F15162384D0F4E31235B2E53D5E82AB32D19B5BEA

A Special Thanks to the XRP TapThis month, our dear friend the XRP Tap stopped dripping the drops of good it had been pouring so generously to the XRP charities and the XRP Community.

https://twitter.com/XRP_Tap/status/1316010881906470913?s=20

The One More Home project would like to give a huge shoutout to the XRP Tap for its generosity over the years. Hopefully we can team up once again soon!

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One More Home in Figures

Here are some interesting facts and figures around the progress of the One More Home project so far:

Micro-donations: 23438 XRP Tips

XRP raised via micro-donations and direct deposits: 38174,906406

XRP raised via ILP deposits (Coil streams and boosts): 21553.462315

Current XRP Balance Tip Bot: 201.1 XRP

Current XRP Balance XRPL Address: 42,151.931721 (+3000 on escrow)

XRP converted to USD and sent to New Story on previous setup: 710

Payments to New Story. directly in XRP

New Story, the nonprofit this project supports, is a forward-thinking organization pioneering on technological advancements to help those who need it the most, and crypto is no exception. In 2020, their amazing team set up an XRPL wallet (among with 16 other cryptocurrency wallets). This has made the transfer of the funds raised by One More Home a lot easier, more transparent and also more secure, as we leverage on the escrow functionality of the XRP Ledger to make payments every month.

In 2019, we also had a fiat fundraising campaign which is also included in the funding for the 2020 home.

USD via 2019 campaign page: US$3525.00

XRP already transferred: 14000 XRP (US$3327.73)

Transferred so far worth: US$6852.73

In escrow: 3000 XRP to be released to New Story on November 1st. The final payment to reach the $10,000 commitment will be made 1st of December.

Totals and Funding Status

Total XRP Raised to Date*: 59728,368721 (US$14197,13)

Total Fiat Raised to Date: US$3525

Total Worth:

Which means, the goal of the project (US$30000) is currently 59% funded. In other words, as per XRP prices at the time of writing, we have the 2020 home fully funded and we are closing in on the home for 2021! 🎉

*Not including 710 XRP exchanged for USD and sent to New Story in 2019.

Header Photo by New Story Charity

Q3 2020 is in the books now. Which means we've got 3 months left to have the home we have committed to help build this year fully funded. But there is nothing to worry about as the funding of this year's home is secured and we are now in the process of sending XRP to New Story Charity via monthly escrows (With the next one being finished and released tomorrow) to make the dream of having the XRP Community fund a home via micro-donations come true.

As we come closer to this awesome milestone, I want to thank each and everyone of you who have supported this initiative by spreading the word, donating and always providing words of encouragement.

**One More Home in Figures
**As every month, here are some interesting facts and figures around the progress of the One More Home project so far:

Micro-donations: 23432 XRP Tips

XRP raised via micro-donations and direct deposits: 37619,80643

XRP raised via ILP deposits (Coil streams and boosts): 21553.462315

Current XRP Balance Tip Bot: 100.7 XRP

Current XRP Balance XRPL Address: 42,151.931733 (+6000 on escrow)

XRP converted to USD and sent to New Story on previous setup: 710

Transfers made to New Story

As we have committed to already fund one home for a family in need in 2020, the process of transferring the funds to New Story is now well underway. Because New Story also has an XRPL wallet, we have decided to leverage on the escrow feature of the XRPL to secure the funds and have them sent only to New Story at the start of each month.

In 2019, we also had a fiat fundraising campaign which is also included in the funding for the 2020 home.

USD via 2019 campaign page:

XRP already transferred:

Transferred so far worth:US$5887.20

In escrow: 6000 XRP to be released to New Story in 2 payments of 3000 XRP each over the next two months. The final payment to reach the $10,000 commitment will be made 1st of December.

Totals and Funding Status

Total XRP Raised to Date*:

Total Fiat Raised to Date:

Total Worth: *US$17703.45*

Which means, the goal of the project (US$30000) *is currently 59% funded*. In other words, as per XRP prices at the time of writing, we have the 2020 home fully funded and we are closing in on the home for 2021! 🎉

*Not including 710 XRP exchanged for USD and sent to New Story in 2019.

Header Photo by New Story Charity

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It's 4 a.m. on a quiet but warmer than usual December morning. Time for Manuel to wake up and pick up where he left off the night before, picking this year's coffee harvest in his small farm in western El Salvador.

Manuel, is a man of habit. Right after heating up the stove to fix a cup of coffee for himself and waking up his oldest daughter Gracia, he goes to a small table right by his bed to get that worn out L.A. Dodgers hat his brother Jorge sent him many years ago, just one week after he made it to the States after a long trip with both their parents, fleeing from a civil war nightmare more than pursuing the American Dream.

Not having to worry about skipping school (As the school calendar has been “conveniently” set up for years in the country so that vacations match harvest season), Gracia will join Manuel in hand-picking the coffee beans that will be brought later that day to the coffee mills. A tragedy, knowing Manuel has never tried the fruit of his own hard work and most likely will never know what a cup of coffee out of his farm tastes like, as his beans will get mixed up with the ones from other farms very early in the process.

The harvest will be smaller than the year before, which was in turn smaller than the year prior. For Manuel the trend is confirmed and he is already thinking about diversifying to other crops that are more apt to warmer temperatures. If the trend continues like this, in two years, coffee will not bring enough income for him to repay his loans and save his farm.

3324 Km away, at the heart of New York City, John, a hot-shot trader who's now on a quest to quit caffeine and sugar, is getting ready to hit the markets. Actually, he may have traded Manuel's whole year's work in the past at some point in a jiffy and he may even do it again at some point. John won't know or care since these are just numbers for him. And how could he? He trades oil, gold, silver and whatever else he can profit from to be able to pay for that voracious lifestyle that made him its prisoner four years ago. A tragedy, knowing that John probably made a killing thanks to Manuel's work, unlike Manuel who was forced to sell at whatever price the market dictated months ago, pressured to repay his loans and not worry about losing his farm this year at least. It's done deal.

Meanwhile, 6183 Km away from New York, in a small bar in Barcelona, some of Manuel's coffee from last year's harvest was used to prepare a café con leche. Being such a big fan of Spanish football, knowing some of his coffee made it to the land of his favorite team would have made Manuel very happy.

The Problems Beneath

Millions of us love a good cup of coffee. Heck, some of us aren't even functional human beings before our first cup in the morning. But are we taking it for granted? What's our level of awareness of the people and the process involved in helping us kick-start our days every day?

My story above, although it is fictional, it is closer to reality than I would like. The many problems highlighted in these few paragraphs are as serious as they impact 100 million coffee farmers worldwide, many of them growing their coffee in more adverse conditions season after season.

Climate Change

Climate change is a severe threat to coffee plantations worldwide as it affects both quantity and quality of their production. Rising temperatures around the globe decrease the extension of land that is apt for the production of coffee, in addition to the higher risk of fungal disease as a result of warmer temperatures.

In an article published by the TIME Magazine (1), Howard Schultz, former CEO and Chairman of Starbucks warns how climate change ranks high among the biggest threats against the aromatic beverage.

“Make no mistake. Climate change is going to play a bigger role in affecting the quality and integrity of coffee. — Howard Schultz

An Unbalanced Value Chain

Coffee, as one of the most widely consumed beverages around the globe, is also one of the most important traded commodities.

Historically, however, the coffee value chain has been unbalanced, as less than 10% of the $200 billion industry value remains in producing countries.

The long and opaque value chain proves quite profitable for middlemen who may not even care about the work behind growing high quality coffee, unlike 100 million coffee farmers worldwide who do most of the work and get the smallest slice of the pie of a multi-billion dollar industry.

Child Labor

As a result of an unbalanced value chain, small coffee farmers, who usually earn only about 7-10% of the supermarket price of their coffee (2), find themselves often in the need to pull their children from school to help them work in the coffee plantations.

There is not a lot of room to judge here, as we are talking about families that are in survival mode. Education for them is a luxury they cannot afford, even if it is for free in the public school systems. Change needs to come from us the consumers, by supporting businesses that engage in direct trade with producers or by supporting initiatives like FairTrade, easily by looking for this certification mark:

Source

As in most pressing global issues, our individual actions, as they scale can have significant positive impact in making things better for those suffering the consequences of a broken system. Know that with something as simple as paying attention to which coffee you pick from the shelf in the supermarket, you can help a kid stay in school or a hard-working farmer get a fair compensation for their hard work.

Header Photo by Rodrigo Flores on Unsplash

Sources

(1) https://time.com/5318245/coffee-industry-climate-change/

(2) https://www.fairtrade.net/library/fairtrade-and-coffee-2012

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Lately, my blog has been running on fumes. Aside from the One More Home updates, for which my motivation is still intact, you may have noticed how my space here in Coil has been reduced over the last weeks to a few memes post here, and a few posts about DeFi here and there. Not really something I am happy about.

To find out why I've lost my momentum, I decided to re-evaluate my writing and I've come to the conclusion I'm not as passionate about the things I've been writing about as I used to (Yes looking at you, XRP and crypto). I've reached crossroads and I've decided to take a new path that will inevitably lead to a few drafts that will never see the light of day and some unfinished blog series, and I am absolutely OK with that.

Crypto it's not me, it's you

If you go back to my older posts, you will see a fervent enthusiasm about all things XRP and more recently slight chance of focus to DeFi. Let's just say that, for reasons I prefer to not go into, the enthusiasm isn't there anymore. If I don't feel as stoked as before, then I guess there is no point in writing about these topics, at least not from the same optic.

Writing about things that matter

So I guess I'm back to square one. Aside from the One More Home updates that will of course continue, my blog is now a blank canvas. And from now on I only plan to fill it with topics and stories I really find meaningful and worthwhile writing about.

Will I still slide some posts crypto? Sure, but in an entirely different context: Only if it's something I believe can put a dent in the universe, and not from an investment perspective.

It may take a while before I find my way, but I am thrilled to take on this new journey and discover my new place here in Coil.

Header Photo by Angelina Litvin on Unsplash

Source

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Welcome to Vol. 5 of my Memes series, or how I would like to call it: The Rekt Edition.

Crypto markets are having a hard time lately, and I wanted to share this new round of memes (all in good fun) as a reminder not to take things too seriously, and that better days will come.

https://media.giphy.com/media/l3vRkCVRynaJyC6n6/giphy.gif

p.s. If you saw an opportunity in that 20% dip across the board, filled your bags and the next minute the market dumped 20% more, please know you're not alone :')

And off to the memes (Although it may not seem like it, these take me a lot of time to create 😅, feel free to use these or share them around. I'd be absolutely honored)...

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https://cinnamon.video/watch?v=410054882779727111

I know today is wordless Wednesday but my blog, my rules...so my dear Coil member fam gets to read on! 😬

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