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In episode 157, we’re excited to welcome Daniel Villota, Founder of Unchained Elephants, a community leveraging Web3 technology to promote elephant welfare in Thailand, and to rescue elephants enduring cruel treatment. We discuss some of the challenges facing elephants in the tourism industry in Thailand, how they’re leveraging NFTs to create a community dedicated to elephant welfare, how they raised almost $50,000 to support elephant welfare, and much more.

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Three Key Takeaways

• In Thailand, there is a large industry built around elephant tourism. Unfortunately, many of the providers engage in unethical and inhumane treatment of their animals. As such, it’s important to work together with NGOs and local authorities to educate tourists and community members, and to build a system centered around sanctuaries and ethical tourism.
• NFTs can be a valuable tool for connecting community members to causes they care about. In addition to giving donors a cool memento for their donation, NFTs can also give community members certain benefits like access to a token-gated community and regular updates on the impact of their donation, helping them feel more connected to the cause.
• Whether it’s humanitarian aid, or donating to causes on the other side of the world, crypto can help make philanthropy much more efficient by cutting out unnecessary intermediaries and the fees that come with them, ensuring more money goes directly to the cause.

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Follow Daniel and Unchained Elephants

Daniel - Twitter

Unchained Elephants - Twitter

Website

Telegram

YouTube

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Episode Time Stamps:

02:15 - What was your “Ah hah” moment that first got you excited about cryptocurrency and web3?

03:45 - To kick things off, can you please give listeners an intro to the mission of Unchained Elephants?

04:35 - Tell me more about the struggles that elephants face in Thailand, and why this cause is important to you.

06:15 - I’d love to learn more about the Ethical Elephant Sanctuaries platform. What is it, and what value does it provide for travellers?

09:35 - I understand that you also run an educational program for kids, tell me more about this.

12:05 - Tell me more about the NFTs and the art behind them.

17:50 - Tell me about the attributes of the NFTs and the benefits for holders.

20:25 - Tell me more about the community built around unchained elephants

22:40 - What role can Web3 play in coordinating communities around important causes?

24:35 - Tell me about the roadmap ahead for Unchained Elephants

26:50 - What’s the best way for listeners to follow and learn more about Unchained Elephants?

28:35 - To wrap things up, if you could name one thing that excites you most about the social impact potential of web3, what would it be and why?

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