What is the name of your solution?
Marine Permaculture (MP) Seaforestation
Provide a one-line summary of your solution.
MP supplies deep nutrients for seaweed growth; providing food, feed, fertilizer and CO2 negative products for coastal communities and ecosystems.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Cebu, PhilippinesIn what country is your solution team headquartered?
What type of organization is your solution team?
Hybrid of for-profit and nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
Ocean warming curtails natural upwelling of deep nutrients for primary production in subtropical oceans, limiting seaweed growth for millions of seaweed cultivators. Seaweed communities are collapsing due to production losses and climate disruptions including stronger hurricanes. Marine Permaculture (MP) enables coastal seaweed communities to not only survive, but to thrive with new value chains for seaweed and restored production through the supply of deep nutrients and offshore substrates.
The Climate Foundation MP approach addresses all three key areas of interest within the MIT Solve 2024 Global Climate Challenge:
1. Adapting cities and communities to more extreme weather: The Philippines, home to 120 million people, is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, including increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. The country experiences 20 named hurricanes per year, which threaten livelihoods and coastal community safety. These disasters damage critical infrastructure, disrupting people's livelihoods, and displacing vulnerable populations. Nearly half the world's population are highly susceptible to climate impacts such as extreme heat, flooding, and droughts.
2. Enabling a low-carbon and nutritious global food system: Traditional aquaculture and agriculture sectors are being severely disrupted by climate change, impacting food security and livelihoods of billions worldwide. Philippine warming ocean temperatures and declining nutrient levels impair primary productivity and degrade coastal ecosystems. These environmental changes decimate fish populations needed by many coastal communities for sustenance and livelihoods. Rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, and extreme weather undermine agricultural productivity globally. Climate-smart approaches are needed for food production to maintain yields in the face of these challenges.
3. Strengthening coastal and marine ecosystems: Coastal and marine ecosystems are on the frontlines of the climate crisis, with warming oceans, acidification, and deoxygenation causing widespread degradation of habitats from coral reefs to kelp forests. These ecosystems support biodiversity, regulate the climate, and provide livelihoods for millions. However, traditional monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) methods for tracking the health of these ecosystems are limited, hampering efforts to protect and restore ecosystems. Novel approaches are needed to better quantify the carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services provided by coastal and marine environments.
Collectively, these interrelated problems threaten food security, livelihoods, and overall well-being of billions of people worldwide, particularly in vulnerable coastal regions like the Philippines. Declining marine productivity, extreme weather events, and the degradation of critical ecosystems impact communities that rely on the ocean for their sustenance and economic opportunities. Without interventions to address these challenges, the situation is likely to worsen as climate change intensifies.
The factors contributing to these problems are complex and multifaceted, involving a combination of environmental, economic, and social dynamics. Overexploitation of marine resources, pollution, and unsustainable development practices have all played a role in degrading coastal ecosystems. At the same time, the lack of robust MRV capabilities has limited the ability to quantify the value of these natural assets and drive investment in their restoration and protection.
What is your solution?
Our innovative Marine Permaculture (MP) solution is the centerpiece of the Climate Foundation's efforts to regenerate coastal ecosystems and support sustainable livelihoods in the Philippines and beyond.
The MP system is a specialized mariculture platform that combines floating solar-powered platforms with a sinking seaweed cultivation platform. This unique design allows the system to harness the nutrients of the deep ocean to fuel the rapid growth of seaweeds.
Here's how it works: Our seaweed platform is capable of descending 200 meters deep, where it accesses nutrient-rich deep waters. By cycling this platform between the surface and the deep ocean daily, the MP system provides ideal conditions for seaweed cultivation without external fertilizers.
During the day, the seaweed platform rises to the surface, receiving abundant sunlight, allowing the seaweeds to fix carbon dioxide through photosynthesis, doubling biomass every two weeks. At night, the platform sinks, enabling seaweeds to absorb deep nutrients that fuel their prolific growth.
Importantly, around a quarter of the seaweed biomass produced sinks down 1,000 meters per day, representing a true blue carbon sink, the sequestered carbon being removed from the atmosphere for centuries.
The surface solar platform, provides renewable energy needed to power the MP. This solar-powered design ensures that the MP operates entirely self-sufficiently, without fossil fuels or grid electricity.
MP has also been engineered to withstand powerful hurricanes and typhoons. In 2021, our deployment site survived a Category 5 hurricane. By submerging 5 meters below the surface, our platform retained most of its seaweed. Growth continued immediately after the typhoon passed. Seaweed cultivators across the region lost their entire harvest and seedling supply. We provided relief by contributing a portion of our harvest to local seaweed communities.
As seaweeds cultivated on the MP mature, they provide food, animal feed, and other bioproducts for nearby coastal communities. The benefits of the MP extend far beyond just economic opportunities. By stabilizing the base of the marine food chain, seaweed proliferation helps to regenerate local fish populations and other key species, bolstering the overall health and resilience of the surrounding ecosystem.
To fully leverage MP, Climate Foundation is integrating advanced remote sensing, machine learning, and ocean biogeochemical modeling, allowing us to accurately quantify carbon removal, nutrient cycling, and other ecosystem services provided by our MP systems - crucial data for attracting investment and scaling this innovative approach.
With its unique design, regenerative capabilities, and robust monitoring framework, our MP transforms marine sustainability, food security, and climate change mitigation. By harnessing the power of the deep ocean, this innovative Marine Permaculture can deliver cascading benefits for both people and the planet.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
The Climate Foundation's innovative Marine Permaculture (MP) solution is primarily designed to serve the coastal communities of the Philippines, as well as other vulnerable island nations facing the compounding threats of climate change, ecosystem degradation, and food insecurity.
Seaweed permaculture is a potent solution for creating climate-resilient, circular economies, sustainable economic development, and even providing localized cooling effects. By utilizing deep ocean cycling, the limitations that have traditionally plagued seaweed aquaculture can be overcome. Nutrient deficiencies, temperature fluctuations, and limited growing space are no longer barriers with the Climate Foundation's innovative MP platform.
The Philippines is home to over 120 million people, many of whom live in coastal regions and rely primarily on the ocean for their livelihoods and sustenance. These communities are on the frontlines of the climate crisis, experiencing the devastating impacts of rising sea levels, more frequent and intense hurricanes, and the collapse of critical marine ecosystems. Warming ocean temperatures and declining nutrient levels are decimating fish populations, undermining a vital source of protein and income for coastal Filipinos. Degraded coral reefs and mangrove forests are losing their ability to buffer against storm surges, leaving homes and infrastructure increasingly exposed to damage.
The Climate Foundation's MP solution is specifically designed to address the needs of these underserved coastal communities. By deploying our self-sustaining mariculture platforms, we can rapidly cultivate nutrient-rich seaweeds that provide a renewable source of food, animal feed, and other valuable bioproducts. This not only enhances local food security, but also creates new economic opportunities for community members. Importantly, the seaweed biomass produced by our MP systems also contributes to regeneration of surrounding marine ecosystems, spurring the recovery of fish populations and other key species.
Beyond the economic and ecological benefits, the MP solution also enhances the physical resilience of coastal communities to the impacts of climate change. Our mariculture platforms are engineered to withstand powerful hurricanes, ensuring that the seaweed cultivation can continue even in the face of extreme weather events. This safeguards the flow of food and income to communities during crises.
By helping coastal communities across the Philippines and beyond grow seaweed through our innovative MP technology, we can empower millions of people to retain their livelihoods, contribute to a green economy, and support the regeneration of their local ecosystems. Seaweed permaculture is a truly circular solution, with the harvested biomass being transformed into a wide range of valuable products, from fertilizer and animal feed to biofuels and biochemicals.
Ultimately, the Climate Foundation's MP solution has the potential to be a game-changer for vulnerable island nations, creating climate-resilient, sustainable economies while also restoring the health and productivity of critical marine ecosystems. By serving as the foundation for a thriving blue economy, our innovative approach can help these communities not just survive, but thrive in the face of mounting environmental challenges.
How are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?
The Climate Foundation is exceptionally well-positioned to deliver our innovative Marine Permaculture (MP) solution to the coastal communities of the Philippines and beyond. Our team has been on location in the Philippines conducting field deployments and iterating on our MP technology for the better part of a decade. We have steadily grown the scale of our MP, starting with 10m2 and now operating a full 1,000m2 (1/4-acre) platform in the Visayas region of the Philippines. This quarter-acre system is just one step away from the economically sustainable hectare-scale that we are presently developing. Throughout this journey, we have gained invaluable hands-on experience in real-world deployment and optimization of our MP technology.
Crucially, our team has pioneered the development and production of biostimulants derived from the seaweeds cultivated in our MP systems. These biostimulants are a powerful tool for enhancing the climate resilience and productivity of land-based agriculture - a key complement to our marine-based solutions. Our decades of collective experience in both MP and biostimulant development have positioned us as community leaders in this space.
At the heart of our operations in the Philippines is our in-country director, Mr. Perfecto Tubal, who brings deep expertise in tropical seaweed cultivation and extensive knowledge of the local communities we serve. Perfecto and our on-the-ground team have cultivated trusted relationships with coastal residents in Bohol, Cebu, and Mindanao, engaging them as true partners in the design and implementation of our MP systems.
The insights we've gained from these communities have been instrumental in enhancing the resilience and appropriateness of our solution. For example, we learned that local fishermen often sink their boats before hurricanes, removing the motors and then reattaching them after the storms pass to resume their livelihoods. Inspired by this practice, we designed our MP platforms to be able to sink to safe depths during extreme weather events, protecting the seaweed cultivation from damage.
This community-centric approach is a cornerstone of our work. We make it a priority to deeply understand the specific needs, challenges, and traditional ecological knowledge of the coastal Filipino communities we serve. By integrating their insights and ideas into the design and implementation of our MP systems, we ensure that our solution is truly tailored to their contexts and agendas.
Moreover, the Climate Foundation operates as a nonprofit startup studio, spinning out sustainable enterprises that are focused on local implementation and global scalability. This model allows us to attract investment capital to scale up the deployment of our MP systems, while concurrently using the nonprofit arm to continue developing the technology and disseminating it to underserved populations.
Ultimately, our team's extensive field experience, deep relationships with local communities, and innovative nonprofit-startup-studio hybrid structure make us exceptionally well-positioned to deliver the transformative impact of our MP solution across the Philippines and beyond. By working hand-in-hand with coastal residents, we can unlock the full potential of seaweed permaculture to build climate resilience, regenerate marine ecosystems, and create sustainable livelihoods for millions.
Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?
Strengthen coastal and marine ecosystems and communities through the broader blue economy, including fisheries, clean energy, and monitoring, reporting, and verification.Which of the UN Sustainable Development Goals does your solution address?
What is your solution’s stage of development?
PilotWhy are you applying to Solve?
The Climate Foundation is applying to MIT Solve because we are seeking to leverage the program's extensive partner network and resources to help us overcome the final barriers to scaling our transformative Marine Permaculture (MP) solution.
Firstly, we are approximately 90% of the way towards raising the last $1 million needed to construct our first economically sustainable hectare-scale MP platform. The funding and support provided through the Solve program would help us cross this critical final milestone and bring our technology to full commercialization. With the hectare-scale system operational, we would be able to establish a robust proof-of-concept that can attract further investment and drive broader adoption of our MP solution.
Beyond the capital required for the next phase of infrastructure deployment, we also see significant value in the connections and partnerships that the Solve community can provide. In particular, we are eager to collaborate with Solve partners to help us build the market for our seaweed-based biostimulant product. Our initial trials have shown that this innovative agricultural input can increase rice yields by up to 30% while reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. However, realizing the full potential of this intervention will require us to establish relationships with major rice producers and distributors across the Philippines. The expertise and networks of the Solve community could be invaluable in helping us navigate this market-building process.
Another key challenge that we hope Solve can support us in addressing is the need to establish a streamlined regulatory and permitting framework for our offshore MP platforms. As these systems operate in the open ocean, we face a complex web of maritime laws and vessel registration requirements that can vary significantly between different national and regional jurisdictions. Securing the appropriate legal designations and permits for our MP vessels is crucial to scaling this technology globally. By leveraging Solve's policy expertise and connections with government stakeholders, we believe we can make substantial progress in standardizing and simplifying these regulatory hurdles.
Ultimately, the Climate Foundation's vision is to catalyze a blue-green revolution that harnesses the power of the ocean to address the interconnected challenges of food security, climate change, and marine ecosystem degradation. But to achieve this ambitious goal, we need partners who can help us overcome the final technical, financial, and regulatory barriers. We are confident that the Solve program, with its unparalleled ecosystem of resources and relationships, is uniquely positioned to provide the support we need to take our MP solution to the next level and deliver transformative impact at scale.
In which of the following areas do you most need partners or support?
Who is the Team Lead for your solution?
Sergey Ingram
What makes your solution innovative?
The Climate Foundation's Marine Permaculture (MP) solution is truly innovative in the way it approaches the critical challenges facing the global seaweed industry and the broader ocean economy.
At the heart of our innovation is the unique deep-cycling mechanism that lies at the core of our MP platform. By utilizing a submersible ring structure that can be lowered up to 200 meters below the surface, we are able to expose the cultivated seaweeds to nutrient-rich deep ocean waters on a daily cycle. This solves a major limitation of traditional shallow-water seaweed farming, where warming surface waters and declining upwelling have severely hampered productivity.
Our field tests have shown that this diurnal cycling can drive seaweed growth rates that are three times faster than conventional methods, without the need for any external inputs like fertilizers. Remarkably, we have also found that around a quarter of the seaweed biomass produced naturally sinks down to the ocean floor, providing a genuine carbon sequestration pathway through the long-term storage of this "blue carbon" in deep-sea sediments.
But the innovation of our MP solution goes beyond just the technical design. Another critical differentiator is the platform's exceptional resilience to extreme weather events like the powerful typhoons that regularly batter the Philippines. By engineering the ability to safely sink the entire seaweed cultivation ring below the surface during storms, we have effectively future-proofed our systems against the mounting impacts of climate change.
This storm-proof functionality represents a gamechanger for coastal communities that have historically suffered devastating losses to their seaweed operations due to these extreme weather phenomena. By providing a level of climate resilience that was previously unattainable, our MP solution can help catalyze a revitalization of the entire seaweed industry, unlocking its tremendous potential as a nature-based solution to food security, ecosystem restoration, and carbon sequestration.
If we are able to scale up our MP deployments rapidly over the next decade - tripling the area under deep-water irrigation each year - we estimate that we could achieve over 1 gigaton of atmospheric carbon removal per year by 2035. At the same time, we would be able to dramatically increase global seaweed production, feeding millions while also regenerating the health and vitality of marine ecosystems worldwide.
Ultimately, the Climate Foundation's MP solution represents a transformative innovation that could fundamentally reshape the ocean economy and our approach to addressing the interconnected crises of food, climate, and biodiversity. By harnessing the power of the deep sea, we are poised to catalyze a new era of sustainable, resilient, and regenerative ocean stewardship.
Describe in simple terms how and why you expect your solution to have an impact on the problem.
The Climate Foundation's theory of change for our innovative Marine Permaculture (MP) solution is grounded in a comprehensive understanding of the challenges facing coastal communities in the Philippines and the interconnected pathways through which our technology can drive meaningful and lasting impact.
At the heart of our approach is the recognition that the seaweed industry, which supports the livelihoods of an estimated 200,000 Filipino families, is in a state of crisis due to the compounding effects of climate change. Rising ocean temperatures, declining nutrient upwelling, and the increasing frequency and intensity of typhoons have devastated traditional shallow-water seaweed farming operations, decimating yields and incomes for these vulnerable coastal communities.
Our MP solution directly addresses these environmental threats by utilizing a deep-cycling mechanism that exposes the cultivated seaweeds to the nutrient-rich waters of the deep ocean. As demonstrated through our pilot-scale deployments, this novel approach can drive seaweed growth rates that are three times faster than conventional methods, while also providing resilience against extreme weather events.
By scaling up the deployment of our MP platforms, we can dramatically increase overall seaweed production, creating a sustainable supply of this highly versatile marine crop. This, in turn, will generate new economic opportunities for coastal communities, boosting incomes and food security. Moreover, we are actively working to integrate our MP systems with local value chains, developing seaweed-based biostimulants that can enhance the productivity of land-based agriculture, and exploring other bioproducts that can be derived from the cultivated biomass.
But the impacts of our MP solution extend beyond just economic benefits. By stabilizing the base of the marine food chain, the proliferation of seaweeds cultivated through our platforms will help to regenerate local fish populations and restore the overall health and biodiversity of coastal ecosystems. This ecosystem restoration, combined with the carbon sequestration achieved through the natural sinking of seaweed biomass to the seafloor, positions our MP solution as a powerful nature-based climate change mitigation strategy.
The evidence supporting the strength of these causal linkages between our activities, outputs, and outcomes is multifaceted. Our pilot deployments have provided empirical data on the technical and operational capabilities of the MP system, while our community engagement efforts have yielded insights into the socioeconomic and environmental challenges facing our target beneficiaries. Furthermore, we have drawn upon a robust body of scientific research, ranging from studies on seaweed cultivation methods to assessments of the blue carbon potential of marine ecosystems.
Ultimately, the Climate Foundation's theory of change for our MP solution is centered on the fundamental premise that by harnessing the power of the deep ocean, we can catalyze a regenerative, climate-resilient, and equitable ocean economy that delivers cascading benefits for coastal communities, ecosystems, and the planet as a whole.
What are your impact goals for your solution and how are you measuring your progress towards them?
The Climate Foundation's primary impact goal for our Marine Permaculture (MP) solution is to enhance global food security by dramatically increasing the production and availability of nutrient-rich seaweed. While carbon sequestration is an important co-benefit of our approach, our overarching mission is to provide a sustainable, climate-resilient source of food and other bioproducts that can feed both people and the broader ocean ecosystem.
To achieve this transformative impact, we have set a target of empowering thousands of coastal communities across the Philippines and beyond to deploy our hectare-scale MP platforms. By providing these communities with the technology, training, and support they need to cultivate seaweeds at economically viable scales, we aim to rapidly scale up global seaweed production and distribution.
As these MP systems become widespread, we expect to see a dramatic increase in the availability of seaweed-derived food, feed, and other products. This, in turn, will enhance food security for billions of people, particularly in regions that are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change on traditional agriculture and fisheries.
But the benefits of our MP solution extend far beyond just human sustenance. By stabilizing the base of the marine food chain, the proliferation of seaweeds will also help to regenerate biodiversity and ecosystem health across millions of hectares of coastal waters. This regeneration of life beneath the waves is crucial for supporting the livelihoods and food sources of countless other species that are dependent on healthy oceans.
To measure our progress towards these ambitious food security and ecosystem restoration goals, we have developed a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation framework. Key performance indicators include:
- Number of coastal communities actively operating MP platforms
- Total hectares of seaweed cultivation enabled by our MP systems
- Volume of seaweed-derived food, feed, and other products produced
- Recovery of keystone marine species populations in MP-enabled areas
- Expansion of critical coastal habitats like coral reefs and mangroves
- Tonnes of carbon fixed through the cultivation and measurement of seaweed biomass that falls and sinks
In parallel, we are also working with a multi-institutional research team to rigorously quantify the carbon sequestration impacts of our MP solution. By measuring the amount of carbon being captured and stored in deep-sea sediments, we can further amplify the transformative potential of our food security and ecosystem restoration work.
Ultimately, the Climate Foundation's MP solution represents a watershed moment in the quest to build a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable global food system. By harnessing the power of the ocean, we have the opportunity to not only feed billions of people, but also revitalize the health and productivity of marine ecosystems worldwide, safeguarding the future of our blue planet.
Describe the core technology that powers your solution.
The core technology powering the Climate Foundation's innovative Marine Permaculture (MP) solution is a unique deep-cycling mechanism that harnesses the power of the ocean to drive rapid and sustainable seaweed cultivation.
At the heart of the MP platform is a large, flexible ring structure that is seeded with a diverse array of seaweed species. This ring is connected to floating platforms equipped with solar panels to provide the renewable energy needed to control the system's operations.
During the day, the ring is positioned near the surface, where the seaweeds can soak up abundant sunlight and atmospheric carbon dioxide to fuel their growth through photosynthesis. However, at night, the ring is slowly lowered down to depths of up to 200 meters below the surface, where it is exposed to the nutrient-rich deep ocean waters. This diurnal cycling allows the seaweeds to access the ideal conditions for rapid biomass accumulation without the need for any external inputs like feed or fertilizers.
The modular buoy design of the floating platform enables each individual component to withstand the powerful typhoons and hurricanes that frequently batter coastal regions. During extreme weather events, the seaweed ring can be safely submerged below the water's surface, with the buoyant platform riding out the storm above. This storm-resilient functionality is a critical feature, allowing the cultivation to continue uninterrupted even in the face of increasingly intense climate impacts.
Beyond the deep-cycling mechanism, the Climate Foundation has also developed advanced seaweed cultivation techniques and biostimulant products that further enhance the productivity and resilience of our MP systems. By selectively breeding high-performing seaweed strains and formulating nutrient-rich biostimulants derived from the cultivated biomass, we are able to optimize growth rates and overall yields.
The modular buoy platform is also equipped with WiFi hotspots and cellular connectivity, enabling our team to remotely monitor and adjust the system's operations. In the future, we envision integrating satellite-based internet capabilities to allow for the management of global fleets of MP platforms from onshore locations.
The combination of these innovative technological components - the deep-cycling mechanism, the storm-resilient modular buoy design, optimized cultivation techniques, and remote monitoring and control capabilities - position the Climate Foundation's MP solution as a powerful, scalable, and climate-resilient platform for addressing the interconnected challenges of food security, ecosystem restoration, and climate change mitigation.
By harnessing the vast, untapped potential of the deep ocean, our MP technology represents a true breakthrough in our ability to grow and harvest nutrient-dense seaweeds at unprecedented scales. This, in turn, unlocks new pathways for supporting sustainable livelihoods, regenerating marine ecosystems, and sequestering atmospheric carbon through the natural sinking of seaweed biomass to the seafloor.
Which of the following categories best describes your solution?
A new application of an existing technology
Please select the technologies currently used in your solution:
If your solution has a website or an app, provide the links here:
https://www.climatefoundation.org/
In which countries do you currently operate?
Which, if any, additional countries will you be operating in within the next year?
How many people work on your solution team?
24 full time staff.
12 part time, contractors and other workers.
How long have you been working on your solution?
6-16 years. Since 2019, our primary deployment site has been on the island of Cebu, Central Visayas, in the Philippines.
Tell us about how you ensure that your team is diverse, minimizes barriers to opportunity for staff, and provides a welcoming and inclusive environment for all team members.
At the Climate Foundation, we have always cultivated a diverse, equitable, and inclusive team that reflects the communities we serve and enables all of our staff to thrive. As a mission-driven organization working to address the interconnected challenges of food security, climate change, and ecosystem restoration, we believe that diversity of backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences is essential to driving meaningful and sustainable impact.
Our leadership team is diverse, with representation from various nationalities, genders, and areas of technical expertise. In fact, we are proud to be a women-led organization, with our Chair, Chief Technology Officer, and site manager in the Philippines all being accomplished women leaders. This strong female representation at the highest levels of our organization sets a powerful example and helps to inspire the next generation of women in STEM and sustainability.
Beyond our leadership team, we are working to increase the representation of women and minority groups at all levels of the organization, from entry-level positions to our executive ranks. To achieve this, we have implemented inclusive hiring and promotion practices, such as requiring diverse candidate slates, providing bias training for our hiring managers, and offering mentorship and professional development opportunities tailored to the unique needs of underrepresented groups.
We have also made a concerted effort to strengthen our partnerships with local organizations and community groups in the Philippines, where the majority of our on-the-ground operations are based. By engaging directly with these stakeholders, we have been able to recruit a highly diverse workforce that is deeply rooted in the coastal communities we serve. In fact, the majority of our field staff and technicians are Filipino, and we are particularly proud to have a growing number of women seaweed farmers and marine biologists participating in the implementation of our MP solution.
Beyond just hiring and retention, we have also placed a strong emphasis on fostering a welcoming and inclusive work environment for all of our team members. This includes DEI training, the establishment of employee resource groups, and the creation of spaces for open dialogue and the sharing of diverse perspectives. We firmly believe that by championing a culture of belonging, we can unlock the full innovative potential of our team and better serve the needs of the communities we work with.
Ultimately, the Climate Foundation's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is not just a moral imperative, but a strategic one as well. By building a team that is truly representative of the global challenges we aim to solve, we can ensure that our solutions are grounded in the realities and priorities of the people and ecosystems that need them most. This, in turn, positions us to drive more equitable, impactful, and lasting change in the fight against food insecurity, climate change, and environmental degradation.
What is your business model?
The Climate Foundation's business model is designed to create a virtuous cycle of value generation and impact delivery, enabling us to scale our transformative Marine Permaculture (MP) solution while ensuring equitable benefits for the coastal communities we serve.
At the core of our model are the local seaweed farmers and coastal residents who are the primary beneficiaries of our MP technology. By providing these community members with the opportunity to deploy and operate hectare-scale offshore seaweed cultivation platforms, we are empowering them to build climate-resilient livelihoods and unlock new revenue streams.
The key products and services we offer this target population include:
1. Lease-to-own MP platform infrastructure: We provide the capital-intensive deep-cycling platforms, cultivation expertise, and technical support needed to establish larger-scale seaweed farms, using a lease-to-own model that gradually transfers asset ownership to the community. This provides a positive feedback loop ensuring community engagement and delivery of a product optimized for ease of sustainable maintenance and long term gains.
2. Seaweed cultivation training and optimization: Our team of marine biologists, engineers, and agronomists work closely with local farmers to optimize the productivity and resilience of their MP systems through hands-on training, seed stock improvements, and the development of tailored biostimulant products.
3. Access to expanded markets and value chains: Beyond just cultivating the seaweed, we also help community members tap into new revenue opportunities by connecting them with emerging markets for seaweed-derived food, feed, and other bioproducts.
In exchange for these products and services, the communities pay a combination of upfront leasing fees, revenue shares from seaweed sales, and potentially carbon credits generated through the sequestration of biomass. This revenue model allows us to cover the capital and operating costs of the MP platforms while ensuring that the majority of profits remain within the local economies.
Importantly, our organization is structured as a nonprofit startup studio, which enables us to attract investment capital to scale up the deployment of our MP systems, while simultaneously using the nonprofit arm to continue developing the core technology and disseminating it to underserved populations. This hybrid approach allows us to maintain a focus on sustainable impact rather than prioritizing pure financial returns.
As we scale our MP deployments, we also plan to generate additional revenue streams through the sale of seaweed-based biostimulant products to rice and other agricultural farmers. By utilizing the nutrient-rich byproducts of our seaweed cultivation, we can empower land-based producers to enhance their yields and resilience in the face of climate change, creating a truly circular economic model.
Ultimately, the Climate Foundation's business model is centered on catalyzing a blue-green revolution that delivers cascading benefits for coastal communities, marine ecosystems, and the planet as a whole. By harnessing the power of the ocean to grow sustainable seaweed, we can create dignified livelihoods, regenerate biodiversity, and sequester carbon – all while positioning ourselves for long-term financial sustainability.
Do you primarily provide products or services directly to individuals, to other organizations, or to the government?
Organizations (B2B)What is your plan for becoming financially sustainable, and what evidence can you provide that this plan has been successful so far?
The Climate Foundation's plan for achieving long-term financial sustainability is centered on a diversified revenue model that leverages multiple income streams to fund the scaling of our transformative Marine Permaculture (MP) solution.
At the core of our approach is the lease-to-own model we offer to the coastal communities that host our MP platforms. By providing the initial capital-intensive infrastructure while gradually transferring asset ownership to the local seaweed farmers, we are able to generate reliable revenue streams through leasing fees and revenue-sharing agreements. This allows us to recoup our upfront investments while ensuring that the majority of profits remain within the local economies.
To date, we have successfully deployed our first 1,000 square meter MP prototype in the waters off Cebu, and are now preparing to scale up to a 10,000 square meter system in the coming year. Based on the performance data and economic modeling from our pilot deployments, we estimate that these hectare-scale MP platforms can achieve profitability within 5 years, with payback periods shortening to under 3 years as we continue to refine our technologies and operational processes.
In parallel, we have also developed a seaweed-based biostimulant product that we are selling directly to rice and other agricultural farmers across the Philippines. By utilizing the nutrient-rich byproducts from our MP cultivation, we are able to offer a high-performing, sustainable, and climate friendly alternative to chemical fertilizers.The eco-conscious fertilizer market is rapidly growing as farmers seek to enhance their resilience to climate change impacts. To date, we have produced over 10,000 liters of this biostimulant and have seen strong demand from local farmers.
Beyond these two core revenue streams, we are also exploring opportunities to generate income through the sale of carbon credits, leveraging the significant amounts of atmospheric carbon that are sequestered as the seaweed biomass from our platforms sinks to the seafloor. While still an emerging market, we are actively partnering with research institutions to accurately quantify these carbon impacts, positioning ourselves to capitalize on this lucrative revenue source in the near future.
Importantly, our financial sustainability strategy has already demonstrated its resilience in the face of extreme weather events. In December 2021, our MP platform successfully weathered the Category 5 Super Typhoon Rai, emerging unscathed and continuing to operate without interruption. This storm-proofing capability not only protects our investments, but also ensures the reliability of our seaweed supply chains – a critical factor for generating consistent revenue.
Looking ahead, we are confident that our diversified revenue model, coupled with the inherent scalability and climate resilience of our MP technology, will propel us towards long-term financial sustainability. By continuously optimizing our operations, expanding our product and service offerings, and attracting additional investment capital, we are positioning the Climate Foundation to drive transformative impact at scale while maintaining a robust and self-sustaining business.
Solution Team
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SI
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Dr Brian von Herzen PhD Executive director, Climate Foundation
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