
How Irthu Suresh is Tackling Water Shortages with Revolutionary Blockchain Technology
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<p>In many parts of the world, access to water is often taken for granted, while other regions face critical shortages that can mean the difference between life and death.</p>
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<p>Addressing the imbalance in water distribution is the mission of <u>Atlantis</u>, a project dedicated to resolving issues related to climate change, primarily through improving water access. By leveraging blockchain technology, Atlantis aims to bridge the gap between areas of water surplus and those of dire need.<b></b><i><b> Irthu Suresh</b></i><i><b> will discuss this initiative at the upcoming Consensus festival in Austin, Texas, from May 29-31.</b></i></p>
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<p>Atlantis is more than just a theoretical concept. It has been successfully implemented in 50 villages in the Chikmagalur region of India, where a Web3 solution encourages effective water transfer from regions of abundance to those experiencing scarcity. Through an innovative bounty system, local residents are motivated to participate in tasks that facilitate this new distribution model. The results have been promising. "We’ve exchanged more than 21,000 kiloliters of water," says Irthu Suresh, CEO of Atlantis.</p>
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<p>Giving a preview of his session at Consensus, Suresh details why Atlantis chose to adopt blockchain, the hurdles faced during onboarding, and his broader mission to demonstrate that Web3 technology extends beyond trading to tackle water scarcity and poverty.</p>
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<p><i>Interview has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.</i></p>
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<p><b>Atlantis initially didn’t utilize blockchain. What inspired the change?</b></p>
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<p><b>Irthu Suresh:</b> We began as a Web2 company focused on climate change solutions centered around water, but as a private entity, we faced significant challenges, including regulatory hurdles and resistance from local power structures in India. It only takes a group of lawyers to bring down a private initiative.</p>
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<p>We then pondered how my co-founder and I could eventually become insignificant as our system scaled. This led us to consider decentralized and distributed systems, realizing that a successfully decentralized system would be robust against such opposition.</p>
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<p>We discovered individuals willing to harvest and supply additional water to the network, creating surplus resource pools. This insight inspired us to envision a system fully supported by blockchain technology.</p>
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<p><b>What does that implementation look like?</b></p>
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<p>Globally, resources like water are often tightly managed through centralized grids, which struggle to keep pace with expanding urban areas. India's long-standing tradition of decentralized communities provided an effective model for addressing resource allocation issues on a local scale.</p>
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<p>In our pilot program, we partnered with Mercy Corps Ventures in a region of India where one side of a hill experienced abundant water while the other faced drought. Our goal was to enhance the infrastructure locally to facilitate water exchange. Thus, we started our pilot in Chikmagalur, connecting several villages with varying levels of water stress.</p>
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<p><b>What specific actions did your system initiate?</b></p>
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<p>We initially enlisted local volunteers to raise awareness and then recruited individuals to become water harvesters. After capturing rainwater, there was an opportunity to exchange it within the network.</p>
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<p><b>How does blockchain integrate into Atlantis' solution?</b></p>
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<p>We developed a mobile-native app where users could create profiles, register, and identify their skills. Based on these skills, users were assigned tasks which contributed to building a peer-to-peer water network. These tasks, ranging from surveying to water testing and awareness spreading, were gamified and incentivized through a bounty system. Blockchain's secure, tamper-proof ledger was crucial for this model.</p>
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<p><b>Can you quantify the impact of your efforts?</b></p>
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<p>We've successfully exchanged over 21,000 kiloliters of water, involving more than 3,000 people across 50 villages. Among them, nearly 150 serve as water harvesters, supported by various surveyors and validators in the network.</p>
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<p><b>What role do validators play?</b></p>
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<p>If someone joins the network as a harvester, a bounty is issued for a local validator to confirm their infrastructure capability. Essentially, this system creates local green jobs, with all tasks gamified through the bounty system.</p>
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<p><b>What challenges have you encountered?</b></p>
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<p>One significant challenge was off-ramping, particularly in India, where regulatory environments are still evolving. Additionally, our initial MVP faced user onboarding difficulties when introducing blockchain concepts, as many users were unfamiliar with wallets and skeptical about crypto.</p>
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<p>We had to invest substantial effort in educating people and carefully consider when to introduce blockchain elements to avoid the stigma associated with crypto scams.</p>
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<p><b>What tokens drive the system’s mechanics?</b></p>
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<p>We have an internal token used actively during the pilot. However, we believe launching it publicly should await a strong product-market fit. Our platform supports various tokens, ensuring interoperability so that contributors can fund water projects regardless of their chosen blockchain, because climate change impacts are universal.</p>
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<p><b>What are you most excited about for Consensus?</b></p>
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<p>Bitcoin has been crucial to our project, and Consensus presents an opportunity to meet innovators behind the technologies we use. We aim to showcase how blockchain can address significant global issues like water scarcity and poverty, demonstrating the powerful potential of distributed ledgers beyond financial trading.</p>
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<p><b>Thank you for sharing your insights. See you in Austin!</b></p>
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