Cardano SPO Column: Stop Monkey SHOCKs [SHOCK]

This week’s guest on the Cardano SPO Column is a stake pool that donates at least 20% of pool operators’ profit to support organizations that help prevent monkey electrocutions: Stop Monkey SHOCKs [SHOCK].

Last week’s guest was a stake pool operated by 3 vegans from Venezuela striving to sustainably decentralize the Cardano ecosystem.

This initiative is a point of reference for everything Cardano and every week or two we will invite a Stake Pool Operator (SPO) to answer some questions and give us an update directly from within the Cardano community.

Considering that many of our readers are new to the crypto space, we will have a mix of simple and technical questions.

Cardano SPO, interview with Stop Monkey SHOCKs [SHOCK]

Hello, glad to have you here. Tell us something about your team, where are you based and what are your backgrounds?

Arjuna – lives in Costa Rica and has a diverse background in many areas of work and life. World traveler, worked in hospitality, mushroom cultivator/hunter, humanitarian, community builder, meditating yogi, pursuer of true freedom (the minds constant dialogue). 

Alex – lives in Estonia and has a rich and comprehensive background in computing with a degree in computer engineering and a new passion for artificial intelligence. Holds a MSc degree in cyber security and works as a researcher in the application of AI to cyber threats.

We both share an enthusiasm for Cardano and love for animals and thought to bring our different skill sets together to make a difference. Who doesn’t want to save a monkey?

Why have you chosen the Cardano blockchain, how does it compare to the competition?

There are so many amazing qualities about Cardano, but primarily the community driven outlook and how to make a difference in the world, thus attracting so many brilliant people having great intelligent conversations. 

Here are a handful of other highlights:

• Project Catalyst – $1.5 billion dollars in community funding
• Multi-functionality of the blockchain 
• Research, research, research … integrity
• Real world availability and use
• Relationships and Partnerships (now and to come) – African countries, American companies – Dish, New Balance
• Human equal rights and privileges – Digital Identification

Cardano is in a league of its own and doesn’t compare to other blockchains.

What does a day as a Stake Pool Operator look like?

Eat, sleep, be Cardano. It definitely feels like this in bursts… not all the time as it’s not sustainable.

Arjuna currently spends a good amount of time in the Twitter, Discord spaces staying informed and up-to-date with the ever-changing fast paced Cardano ecosystem as a whole. Making connections with people that are interested in supporting the monkey mission and Cardano at large. Speaking and getting authorization with the charities involved, as well spreading the good word of Cardano and crypto to the people. Having assisted close to 100 people here in Costa to get fiat currency into crypto (primarily Cardano), open wallets, transfer funds along with answering a plethora of questions about the cryptoverse.

Alex is the technical arm, he deals with IT and more technical stuff. This covers from managing the pool servers for functionality, security and optimization to updating the website.

You’re a mission-driven stake pool, what does it mean? And what is your mission?

Yes, being a mission-driven stake pool gives purpose and possibilities to real life situations. That’s exciting! The mission at SHOCK is to bring awareness and funding to a growing problem in Costa Rica, one of the most ecologically diverse areas in the world. 

In brief, with human development and building houses in the jungle, the canopies that the monkeys travel on, are being cut down and subsequently replaced with power lines. The monkeys here rarely walk on the ground and now have to use these power lines to migrate to different food sources and unfortunately can easily get electrocuted.

There are 3 charities working in tandem to address this issue, some of which have been in operation for close to 20 years. 

1. IAR Costa Rica used to be known as the Nosara Wildlife Rescue and recently became the official Costa Rica branch of the International Animal Rescue. The volunteers here handle the emergency calls and take in and rehabilitate any baby orphan monkeys that survive the shock and fall while attached to their mothers. 
2. Stop the Shocks has developed a way to insulate the hot spots of the electrical poles. The CR government has recently contributed work crews for one week on a quarterly basis for installations. Over 350 poles have been insulated in the last 10 years.
3. Sibu Wildlife Sanctuary handles the monkeys when they become teenagers prior to their release back into the wild, which can be an additional 2 years.

So, there are systems and people in place to make a significant impact, but lack funding. 

Thank you kindly for your time. Anything to add? Where can people find you?

We are working with a 3D artist to offer tokens to delegators that will have some utility in the Cardano ecosystem.

One other approach is to raise funds for the insulative packages that go on the electrical poles and to sell the packages as NFTs. Each NFT holder doesn’t get ownership of the pole, but in exchange for providing the funds to insulate the pole receives;

• a gps location of the pole
• picture of the pole
• a close up picture of one of the monkeys that went through the refuge
• a pfp of a cartoon monkey (they seem to be popular) 
• a tax donation receipt 
• AND I’ve spoken to metaverse developers that could implement this NFT as a utility for electricity

We can be found on our website, Telegram and Twitter.

Disclaimer: The opinions and views of the SPOs are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Cardano Foundation or IOHK.

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