Project HEARD
  • HEARD
    • RESEARCH & GUIDES
    • TOOLS & TECHNOLOGY
  • Contact
BTC Rapid Response Fund (BRReF)

Project HEARD is creating a rapid response fund via BTC donations to finance community-led protection strategies in the face of extractive industry violence.
​
  • The BTC Rapid Response Fund (BRReF) will be activated as soon as it reaches 10BTC. 
  • 100% of these funds will go towards Project HEARD or the Zero Tolerance Initiative (ZTI), a global coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) working to end violence in global supply chains, which Project HEARD is a member of. 
  • Outgoing funds will be sent in BTC or fiat to local and recognized CSOs determined by the the communities in question. 
  • Requirement for outgoing funds: 1) the CSO or its partners should be capable of receiving/converting BTC, or fiat; 2) evidence of current or expected violence, displacement or emergency; 3) written confirmation of receipt from both the CSO and community members.

​For more information, please see below.
Picture




​
​

ProjectHEARD BTC address ​​
bc1q7tmhup34dnv0qj7gegwzahag2gmaakj5u5c52r
​

Incoming/outgoing funds: Bitquery
Project HEARD google tracker: BRReF Tracker
​Questions: info@projectheard.org 

Supply chain violence, collective protection and bitcoin.

PictureBHRRC: Increased legal protection needed as attacks against business & HRDs mount in 2020
Distributed ledger technology (DLT) has been recognized as a logistical solution to facilitate international development and trade across numerous industries. Notably, international development use-cases often focus on improving supply chain management, land rights transparency and land titles. 

​In the last decade, Bitcoin (BTC) has specifically emerged as one of the most prevalent DLT use-cases due to its unique features (fungible, portable, decentralized, scarce, non-consumable, divisible, to name a few). However, BTC remains a technocentric solution which, on its own and like most technology, does not always reach the right hands due to a lack of access, availability or affordability. As DLT becomes increasingly institutionalized and adopted in global economic systems,  communities directly impacted by global trade and extractive industries may experience disproportionate marginalization. 


While global supply chains have been key in adopting DLT, they have also been incredibly violent spaces especially in the context of natural resource extraction,  processing and trade.  As extraction pushes deeper into remote and/or Indigenous territories, communities face increasing marginalization not only via direct violence but also economic or legal alienation by states or industry. In 2019, extractive industry supply chains caused 476 attacks against land and human rights defenders (HRDs). These attacks were spread across mining, agribusiness, construction, logging, fossil fuels and renewable energy sectors. 

As a response, community resistance is also on the rise. Project HEARD mobilizes resources that reinforce community-led protection strategies against extractive industry pressures and violence. These resources range widely, from digital monitoring applications to step-by-step guides for filing legal complaints. The strategies used by these resources focus on: 
​
  • Prevention: providing practical steps for ensuring long-term security by creating a landscape that prevents the potential for violence (e.g. anticipatory land mapping and titling, prior and informed consultation protocols)
  • Organizing: facilitating methodical campaigning or organizing towards a broader political goal (e.g. campaigning methods and community-level advocacy).
  • Monitoring: via technology, tools and risk assessments against perpetrators of violence (e.g. radio, community vigilance and patrol protocols or tools)
  • Minimizing: via resettlement or direct negotiation to minimize existing physical or collective harm (e.g. 
  • Challenging: building capacity for communities challenge a decision or action  (legal mechanism how-to's, accountability and evidence-building, or direct action physical resistance methods). 
Picture
ZTI / Project HEARD: community-led protection strategy type
Picture
ZTI / Project HEARD: community-led protection resource form

Collective protection resources and tools take various shapes and forms, but are not always easy to implement due to lack of staff/community capacity, know-how, language barriers or internet access. The BRReF will facilitate access to funds for remote communities facing direct violence. In conditions where time is of the essence, this should allow better implementation of protection strategies and resources in the face of emergency situations such as judicial harassment, physical intimidation or displacement.  Once activated, the BRReF will also focus on preventative protection mechanisms that focus on systemic change. These strategies contribute to the long-term realization of land rights, Indigenous peoples recognition, community well-being and collective autonomy.
​
​

Picture
© 2021 Project HEARD
  • HEARD
    • RESEARCH & GUIDES
    • TOOLS & TECHNOLOGY
  • Contact