Introduction
At WeBird, we believe that birding as a branch of ecotourism can be an incredibly powerful tool for the sustainable development of local communities when it empowers local guides.
However: there is a mismatch between local birding guides and the broader birding-focused market. Guides rarely have direct access to the tourists and day-trippers who are looking for guides.
That's where WeBird comes in. We want to create easy access, as well as a safe booking platform for both local guides and the tourists who want their services.
What We Need & What You Get
We've been able to invest in building up the app designs already. However, developing an online app (both on the web and on iOS/Android) is not cheap, nor is the build-up of a guide database. Certificates need to be checked, payments need to be organized. That is why we are aiming to raise 90,000 USD.
This amount will allow us to do the following:
- Finish developing the app as we envision it (20,000);
- Pay for the legal fees, trademarks, developing T&C's (you know: the boring but important stuff: 10,000);
- Build our guide database and ensure certificate checks (20,000);
- Advertising to end-users: WeBird succeeds only through a sufficiently large, active and loyal client base (15,000);
- 'Various expenses', all those tiny things that really add up, such as hosting fees, accounting, data security, etc. (15,000);
- An 'emergency'-fund: our margin of error, for all those things that will be thrown at us that we didn't see coming (10,000).
Our bare minimum is of course the 20,000, because without that, we are unable to develop the app. However, if we don't raise the full 90,000, but raise enough to build the app, we will hopefully be able to continue our project – although then of course, adjustments would need to be made. That being said, we believe that the 90,000 goal is necessary to give WeBird the flying start we think it deserves.
Impact
At WeBird we believe that by empowering local guides, birding tourism can contribute to the ownership of conservation efforts, the dissemination of local and Indigenous knowledge, and the economic and ecological well-being of whole communities.
However, there exists a mismatch between local ‘suppliers’ of knowledge, i.e. local birding guides, and the broader birding-focused market. For local guides, it can be a daunting challenge to try and ‘break into’ the market, which relies largely on word-of-mouth on the one hand, and medium to large birding tourism agents on the other. Getting work through agents is generally limited to a lucky few guides, while word-of-mouth only gets you so far. This unintentional gatekeeping is what WeBird will address through the development of its guide platform.
By offering guides direct access to tourists – and of course vice versa – we believe that we can deliver commercial opportunities to a wider and more diverse group of guides. Similarly, by making guides more easily available to clients, we believe we can expand the group of people engaging in birding activities. The WeBird platform lowers the threshold to join in birding activities – both long holidays and day trips – for both guides and clients.
In the long term, the entire world of birding will profit from this expansion. Agents and operators – but also others professionally engaged with birding such as scientists, publishers, optics companies, … – stand to gain access to a much larger pool of potential guides, including those that may otherwise never have come to their attention. And most importantly perhaps: an increase in access to birding can only lead to an increased awareness of the magnificence of avian life, as well as its vulnerability and need for protection.
What's with the logo?
The Peregrine Falcon is one of only a very few bird species that can be found on every major landmass in the world, with the exception of Antarctica. As such, it embodies WeBird’s ambition to be a truly global project, expanding the world of birding as widely as we can. It is also the world’s fastest animal, symbolizing strength, speed, grace, and determination.
Risks & Challenges
Any business comes with its own risks and challenges. The biggest ones are of course the ones we don't see coming. That's why we always value feedback from the community, whether or not you are able to donate. If you have comments or questions, please do get in touch with us and we'd love to take them on board.
Other Ways You Can Help
If you are unable to contribute, that's ok, we completely understand! But maybe next time you're thinking of going on a birding trip, or maybe even spend just a few hours birding around the neighbourhood, think of us! Come and browse through our database of guides and support their local community.
If you're a guide and you want to be on the platform, please get in touch on info@we-bird.com, so we can help you.
