PROJECT: REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE

         In Fall 2022, due to my activism for renewable energy at my university, I was invited to a week-long summit called Camp 2030. The camp gathers youth leaders from around the world to create innovative solutions to the world's greatest problems, as defined by the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. Change-makers from every part of the planet are invited to Camp 2030, where they form teams to tackle specific tracks from the Sustainable Development Goals, such as no hunger or poverty. For one week, the teams investigate their problem, drill down on a specific focus, and develop a proposal for an innovative solution. The teams build their proposals while staying at an upstate New York campground. At the end of the week, the change-makers pitch their solution to panels of entrepreneurial judges in the heart of New York City. I attended Camp 2030, specializing in the climate action track.

Camp 2030 Change-makers

         Working with teammates from Brazil, Australia, Lebanon, and the United States , we developed a proposal for an international investment firm specializing in regenerative agriculture. Regenerative agriculture is a type of farming which uses a variety of non-traditional practices like crop cover, no tilling, and biodiverse partitioning. Regenerative agriculture revolutionizes the health of soil used for agriculture, renewing the soil microbiome and creating a carbon-negative farm ecosystem.

        After communication with stakeholders of rural agriculture in Southern Brazil, our team proposed Crop Connections, an investment firm providing capital and training to small-scale farmers to transition to regenerative agriculture. Crop Connections provides the resources and safety net for farmers to transition to regenerative agriculture and in return collects credits for the active sequestration of carbon. The farmers benefit from more resilient and healthy farms while Crop Connections creates a global network of profitable carbon sequestration.

        Our proposal, Crop Connections, won first place in the climate action track. While the team decided not to pursue the idea in the immediate term, Camp 2030 provided immense learning and facilitated the creation of unforgettable relationships.