Harness the Power of Technology to Make a Difference

We are always amazed by the way our users harness the power of technology for the greater good. The Indigenous Stewardship and Tech to Reduce Wildfires team did just that in the Amazon Sustainability Data Initiative Global Hackathon. Their project landed them a runner-up winner prize, which the team chose to donate entirely to the ShagowAskee Foundation.

This project showcases how technology can support more effective wildfire reduction activities with indigenous knowledge to reduce emissions, produce biomass for renewables, create new jobs, and protect biodiversity and wildfire. If you’re interested in learning more about how this was built, check out the project here.

We had the opportunity to chat with Marcus Norrgren about the team’s inspiration behind their project and their decision to donate the prize earnings.

What inspired your team to build this project?

“We have been speaking to the Shagowaskee team for some time, and feel they have a convincing story, idea, and most importantly, a strong ambition to do something very positive for our planet and all of its inhabitants. Seeing the chance of this hackathon, and having it coincide with a time where we had some time on our hands plus experience from recent projects made the timing perfect!”

What drove you and your team to donate your prize earnings?

“The Shagowaskee team is and has been, trying to find ways to fund their work which consists of several things. One part is about protecting the indigenous way of life, biodiversity, habitats, and plant species that are heavily affected by aggressive harvesting. It is about protecting a unique herd of buffalo, but it is also about finding ways to work together across our cultures and silos to try to make it work without having to cause a negative impact on nature. On top of this, there is a very strong case that has been developed, connecting to renewables such as biochar, pellets, as well as offsets, that can be climate positive and quite a large, healthy business. At the heart of all this, what it is about is to protect the indigenous way of life, nature, and biodiversity, which all tie together. This to us felt as important, and something that was a given, since they have given us knowledge, shared their story and allowed us to work with them in this hackathon. We could never have done it without them - which shows it is possible to work across cultures and silos (here reaching from Northern Alberta in Canada to Paris, France, to basically northern and southern Sweden and all the way to India - and it worked excellently).”

What advice would you give to aspiring hackathon winners?

“Try to find something that is meaningful to you, so you feel engaged, but also to your community and the business/domain it is for. Of course, it differs depending on hackathons and what the purpose with them are, but in general, try to find relevant problems in the domain with value, e.g. something causing time, damage, or similar. If you can solve those, then you know you will be creating value.”

Congratulations to Deepak Singh, Marcus Norrgren, Jonatan Nystr?m, Edward Hiscoke, and Chiharu Kazama on creating a great project that supports an incredible cause from all of us at Devpost.?