The Source of Source: A Vision for ReFi
How can we amplify the voices of regeneration?
This community story, written by Lee Rael, introduces Lee’s personal journey into ReFi, his founding of a new media organization – Source Studios, and an exciting vision for growing the ecosystem in partnership with ReFi DAO.
My Journey In
My introduction to ReFi came in March 2022 when I discovered Toucan Protocol. I had already been working in the sustainability and impact space for 13 years through my creative agency Seed. I started exploring crypto in 2018 and delved into NFTs in late 2021 and early 2022. When I saw an open role at Toucan it resonated with me so deeply that I pursued it with determination, reaching out to multiple team members online until I secured the position. This marked my first real exposure to ReFi. The potential of tokenizing assets that have a positive impact on our planet captivated me. I realized that through ReFi, we could unlock funding, speed, and scale that traditional systems couldn't match.
I was also introduced to the concept of regeneration versus sustainability—highlighting that sustainability as a concept is just insufficient. We can do better. We need to rethink and recreate our systems to enable them to enrich the ecosystems they inhabit on a personal, community, and ecological level.
It is my deep desire to be part of the solution. When I found ReFi I felt like I found a home, I was not alone in this mission to enact change.
The Birth of Source
After a year at Toucan, where I learned some of the nuances of ReFi and saw its potential first-hand, it was time to move on. I will be forever grateful for my time at Toucan, the amazing people I met, the things I learnt and the perspective shift it enabled for me. When I first onboarded at Toucan I met John Ellison, who had then just founded ReFi DAO. John's vision for storytelling and a decentralized world aligned perfectly with my aspirations. Our conversations led to the birth of Source with the initial intention to help produce podcasts within the ReFi community to help give voice to the regenerative stories of the ecosystem.
During that time we produced and launched the ReFi Podcast Season 3 and two new podcasts – Planta-R in Portuguese from ReFi Lisboa and Vagabonds in Spanish from ReFi Costa Rica.
Anna Kaic
And in case you didn't catch it, The ReFi Podcast is about to enter into its 4th season with two exciting new hosts. We are watching on eagerly to see how this new chapter unfolds.
Maya Dentzel
After these collaborations and many others, I witnessed first hand the challenges of growing a podcast audience and community. Johns path was also diverging, so I then decided to take Source forward myself and pursue a vision that had emerged..
Imagine a platform that you can submit your content to that gives it instant exposure and reach to an audience looking for and interested in what you have to say?
Source Vision
At Source, our mission is to amplify voices of regeneration in the broadest sense. In the ReFi ecosystem, this means identifying and promoting the individuals, projects, and groups with powerful visions of a better world, leveraging web3 mechanisms and ReFi values. We are committed to telling their stories and ensuring they reach the widest possible audiences.
We are currently building our platform and will soon have an MVP that we can share with the world. In the meantime we are growing a waitlist and encourage anyone aligned with our mission to sign up. We are looking for people and organizations who are already developing content, this can be video, audio or written, and seek a broader reach and audience. This includes startups, non-profits, businesses, and independent content creators, anyone really. Additionally, those with a community or platform can join as distribution partners, helping us spread these crucial narratives even further.
Here is a sneak peak at some of the designs of the Source platform, this is the first public sharing of these and we are still in process 👇
The Future of Source
In its current design, Source is centralized, but we are beginning to explore what a decentralized media service might look like. This could involve creating a token of ownership to replace traditional funding and ownership mechanisms, implementing a bounty system to curate and reward expert contributions, and potentially adopting a DAO governance model. Although the complexity of DAOs is daunting, it offers a way for the Source platform's messaging and narrative to be co-created by a diverse group of stakeholders. If you feel called to explore this further and help shape what this might look like please get in touch.
We are also excited to announce that we will be piloting the Source platform in the ReFi ecosystem in partnership with ReFi DAO. This collaboration is a testament to our commitment to driving narrative change and promoting game-changing ideas to new audiences.
My long-term vision for Source is to act as an engine powering narrative change, disseminating transformative ideas far and wide. From my time at Toucan, I witnessed the stigma associated with crypto and how it hampers ReFi growth and adoption. By amplifying the stories emerging from the ReFi ecosystem and breaking out of its echo chamber, we can change perceptions and foster a broader understanding of its potential. If Source can play even a small role in altering these perceptions and bringing regenerative finance to the forefront, it would be a significant achievement.
Join The Movement
The work we are doing at Source is more than just storytelling; it's about creating a movement. A movement that aligns with the principles of regeneration, decentralization, and empowerment. We invite you to join us on this journey, to contribute your voice, and to help us build a future where the stories we tell shape the world we want to see.
Join the waitlist to keep up to speed with our progress and developments.
