PROPOSAL NAME:
Ape Houses
TEAM DESCRIPTION:
- Ctballer (@ctballer_) – David: Founder of Enabling the Disabled, a non-profit in Ghana that provides aid to neurodivergent children and mothers. Boots on the ground, organizer, the man with the plan. Our organization has a full-time staff to assist with operation, accounting, medical outreach as well as dozens of local volunteers. BA in Business Administration from Ashesi University, LLB in Law from Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration.
- @nftgerry - Gerry: Co-Founder of Ape Solar, MBA 00517-03155.
@dejen - Co-Founder of Ape Solar, MBA 00517-03155. - NFTonyP ( @NFTonyP) – Chef Tony: Founder of TGID & Co-author of A Day of Ink, a By Autistic medical outreach event with the Doodles Inkubator. Background in Public Policy, Digital Marketing, and Sales. Assists with grant writing, project management, and communications. BA in Criminal Justice from Texas State University…
PROPOSAL DESCRIPTION:
ApeHouses is the flagship community-led philanthropy initiative for the ApeCoin DAO in Africa. Our work will develop and scale ApeChain’s philanthropic identity across the globe.
The ApeChain Developer Hub will be a space for builders, creators, and culture to collide for the progression of Ape chain will be physical infrastructure to allow ApeChain’s developer community Africa to build together and solidify Apechain’s Africa presence.
Our plan is to build:
5 - ApeHouses Bakeries (solar-powered), which will produce Moca Bread,
1 - ApeChain Developer Hub (solar-powered), for African builders to congregate and host hackathons
1 - Apes Come Home Mission Project (annually recurring), ApeCoin Dao’s first ever yearly social impact volunteer program in Africa. We will also host an event for local builders get to meet and get connected with Apes from all over.
Through our previous work with the BAYC, Squiggles, Doodles, Pudgy Penguin, and Mutant Cartel communities we have done smaller scale bakery builds, hosted workshops to teach mothers with neurodivergent children how to bake, and provided small business grants to get their operations up and running https://x.com/ctballer_/status/1694129119582097482. In doing so, there has arisen a high demand for baked goods in the Cape Coast area market. We want to capitalize on the emerging market we created that has shown good momentum. Due to the lack of bakery infrastructure and the high cost barrier to build them local mothers have not been able to scale this opportunity. This caused the grants we gave out to not be as impactful as we wished. Without enough places to bake, there is a limit to how many mothers can apply the skills we teach them to create economic opportunity. Having run the first Ape House bakery for over a month, we have seen the production of 200 loaves of bread sold in less than 3 hours each day.
Building more Ape Houses fills the production gap by increasing the number of bakeries the number of mothers of special needs children that can operate in Cape Coast. This will empower these mothers with everything they need to apply their baking skills and facilitate a profitable business model to directly benefit the struggling neurodivergent population in Ghana. This will be the first of its kind, as even on a governmental level, such an initiative has never been undertaken for the neurodivergent population. We are asking for funding to enable these special mothers the necessary income to take care of their families and in the future, build and run their own Ape Houses.
A portion of the revenue generated from sales of Moca Bread will used for several things. Firstly, reinvested to purchase more land and build more Ape Houses(bakeries), cementing the project’s sustainability and scalability. Also, to organize hackathons to onboard local students onto Apechain through Apechain Developer Hub which we will discuss below, organize events like free neurodivergence medical screenings and educational sessions, educational scholarships and more. Our Ape Houses Model is tried,tested, and sustainable; we are needing this capital injection to seriously get it off the ground and scale.
Apechain Developer Hub
The ApeChain Developer Hub is a proposed physical space in Africa designed to foster collaboration, education, and innovation among blockchain developers to build on apechain. It will serve as a community anchor which will host events, meetups, and workshops to empower local builders to create meaningful, real-world applications on ApeChain. More than just a coworking space, the Hub will be a launchpad for decentralized African innovation and a living extension of the ApeChain ecosystem.
Through Thrive, we hosted our first ever ApeChain Hackathon in Africa. Needless to say, the turnout and results were astounding. We hosted the Hackathon in Tamale, an often underrated and ignored part of Ghana, which is 9 hours away from the capital city of Accra. We chose Tamale because of the high concentration of developers there, and we were impressed by the output. We had over 150 people were in attendance of the event, with some builders flying in from Nigeria and Burkina Faso. 12 teams made up of 75 builders, submitted and pitched 12 projects, ranging from AI powered secure and decentralized digital document storage platforms to projects tokenizing land into NFTs on ApeChain. You can learn more about the projects here https://www.hackerboost.org/hackathons/apechain-hackathon/projects [hackerboost.org].
From just that one hackathon, we have 104 active telegram members and counting. We hope this illustrates how we can scale our impact on ApeChain development if we had a builder space where all African devs could gather and collab. Building the ApeChain Developer Hub will solidify our DAO’s presence in Africa and empower decentralized communities to build products/ solve real world problems on ApeChain.
As far as sustainability is concerned, our plan with proceeds from the bakeries is to host more and more events, hackathons, and meet ups. We hope to snowball this momentum and gradually start events in the neighboring African countries. Little by little, we will have ApeChain in the minds of all African builders and when the topic of blockchain emerges, ApeChain will legitimately be part of the infrastructure conversation. A majority of the successful blockchains are pursuing projects which further their brand identity in Africa and are actively incentivizing African builders to build on their chain to increase the diversity of thought on product teams. We see this occurring on Ethereum L1, Arbitrum, Polygon and the likes of other ETH L2’s. Building this hub will certainly put us ahead of many other chains, as it will open us up to a wider pool of talent with our physical presence- ApeChain Developer Hub.
Apes Come Home
The final piece of our vision is Apes Come Home—an immersive, community-driven philanthropy mission uniting the Apes, Mocaverse and web3 communities at large. This initiative invites volunteers from around the world to experience Africa authentically, engaging with local culture and participating hands-on in our projects.
During their stay, volunteers will be fully integrated into our operations, learning to bake and distribute Moca bread in our Ape House bakeries while connecting with local families. ApeChain Developer Hub and Ape Houses will serve as anchor facilities for these global contributors, offering spaces for skill-sharing sessions, educational outreach, and direct interactions between with the community in Cape Coast.
Through Apes Come Home, we fulfill the community’s desire for meaningful, in-person contributions. Volunteers can donate their time and expertise, working with and mentoring children, teaching valuable skills, and helping distribute essential goods. These facilities will also house and distribute physical donations such as clothing, toys, and books, making Ape Houses a centralized hub for community support and tangible impact.
When the Apes Come Home program is fully fleshed out and ready to accept applications, we will use a call to action on socials to point to a sign up form for the initiative. We will review applications and directly contact applicants via Twitter/discord to further facilitate their onboarding to the trip. We will publicly share the cohort of visitors on social media when finalized but will be doing admin work by communicating with individuals and group info sessions to ensure participants are aligned with how the program will work and make sure they are sufficiently prepared.
BENEFIT TO APECOIN ECOSYSTEM :
1. Global Expansion of ApeChain’s Identity and Reach
ApeChain will establish both an online and physical presence in Africa — a rapidly growing region for blockchain development. In 2024, Africa’s on-chain crypto transaction value reached $125 billion.
With 60% of Africa’s population under 35, the continent offers fertile ground for digital innovation and adoption.
This initiative shifts the focus from NFTs and speculation to real-world utility and sustainable social impact, enhancing the long-term credibility of ApeChain and the DAO.
2. High-Quality, Year-Round Storytelling Content
Continuous photo, video, and social media coverage of bread-making, hackathons, and volunteer missions will be shared across platforms.
Authentic stories featuring mothers with special needs children, and builders transforming their lives through Web3, will capture attention, foster virality, and attract donors.
These narratives will elevate the ApeCoin brand and showcase Web3 as a powerful force for good.
3. Deep Community Engagement & Volunteerism
The Apes Come Home initiative offers the Ape community a rare opportunity to visit Africa and engage directly in volunteer work, creating meaningful, unforgettable experiences.
Like ApeFest, this initiative builds strong emotional and social ties within the ecosystem. The human element of this proposal solidifies community solidarity and will go a long way to strengthen relationships in our ecosystem and between the DAO and the community.
Personal testimony: Before owning a Mutant, I’d never been to Hong Kong, Qatar for F1, or a Burning Man Ape meetup.
This community has changed how I view the community and my perspective on life.
Similarly, the volunteerism aspect of this proposal will also enable members of our ecosystem to visit Africa, broaden their worldview, and deepen community bonds.
4. Sustainable, Revenue-Generating Philanthropy
Moca Bread bakeries are designed as self-sustaining businesses, with profits reinvested into:
New bakery builds
Educational initiatives
Medical outreach programs
Hackathons and scholarships
This model creates a long-term funding loop , it reduces dependency on grants and supports scalable, long-term impact.
It ensures scalability and resilience.
Additional support will come from grants, partnerships, sponsorships, and cross-chain collaborations.
So far, we have 1 bakery, the data below shows the impact of one bakery, and the potential opportunity to make impact when we scale to 6 bakeries:
THE OPPORTUNITY:
| Metric | 1 Bakery | 6 Bakeries |
|---|---|---|
| Loaves/day | 200 | 1,200 |
| Daily Revenue (GHS) | 600 | 3,600 |
| Weekly Revenue (GHS) | 3,600 | 21,600 |
| Monthly Revenue (GHS) | 15,588 | 93,528 |
| Annual Revenue (GHS) | 187,056 | 1,122,336 |
| Mothers Employed | 20 | 120 |
| Estimated Lives Touched | 100+ | 600+ |
5. Onboarding Builders to ApeChain
Africa is home to millions of talented young developers . The ApeChain Developer Hub will:
Provide a physical space for builders to develop blockchain solutions on ApeChain
Host recurring hackathons and meetups, resulting in a surge in new projects being built on Apechain and and incubated at the hub.
Act as a launchpad for African Web3 innovation and a key destination for blockchain activity. It will be a blockchain/crypto stopping point for every African in the space.
Attract partnerships from other chains seeking to engage African developers
The first hackathon alone drew 150+ developers and incubated 12 projects — with many more to come if supported.
With funding to scale up to 4 hackathons in the coming year, we can achieve the following:
THE OPPORTUNITY:
| Metric | Current (1 Hackathon) | Developer Hub (Yearly Projection) |
|---|---|---|
| Hackathons Held | 1 | 4 (1 per quarter) |
| Builders Engaged | 150 | 600+ (150 × 4 hacks) |
| Projects Submitted | 12 | 48+ (12 × 4 hacks) |
| Telegram Community Members | 106 | 400–500+ (organic growth monthly) |
| Workshops / Dev Meetups | — | 12–24 per year (1–2/month) |
| Grant-Ready Projects Accelerated | — | 8–10 per year |
| Partnerships (Universities, DAOs) | — | 5–10 in Year 1 |
6. Brand Alignment with Social Good
Supporting neurodivergent children and single mothers aligns ApeCoin with deep humanitarian values deep humanitarian values - the kind of mission that people want to support - that transcend tribalism in Web3.
Past partnerships with Mutant Cartel, Doodles, Chromie Squiggles, and Pudgy Penguins show that social good unites the ecosystem through the common goal of ‘doing good’. We gained public support from huge figures across all many of the different NFT ecosystems, showing that social good overrides the ‘PVP’ nature of web3 and attracts broad support.
By welcoming volunteers from multiple communities, we foster cross-ecosystem solidarity.
Owing to the impact of this project across the special needs community, our initiative has strong viral potential, with likely coverage across major local and international media. ApeChain would be at the helm of such exposure.
It sets a blueprint for how DAOs can drive real-world impact , attracting aligned talent, builders, and media coverage, positioning ApeChain at the forefront of Web3 for social good.
Aligning with values inclusion, clean energy, and education, the DAO builds cultural capital and goodwill with governments, NGOs, and grantmakers—opening doors to future funding and partnerships.
7. Real Utility for ApeCoin
ApeCoin will be used for:
Hackathon rewards and builder grants
Volunteer registration and contributions
Donations to the initiative
This gives ApeCoin tangible utility in underserved economies where blockchain can make a significant difference.
Ape Solar Goes Global
We saw a fantastic opportunity since we will be constructing infrastructure that will need electricity to collaborate with one our of favorite MBA initiatives to date, Ape Solar. While Ape Houses’ primary focus is social good, we thought it would be amazing to make our facilities run on clean renewable energy. We are super excited to be a part of Ape Solar’s first foray across the globe to help enhance our facilities to be eco-friendly with our energy consumption.
In rural parts of Ghana neurodivergence is thought by society to be brought on by a curse. What that means in effect is that when a child is born with Autism and the father finds out, to avoid being afflicted by the curse he will abandon the child and mother to fend for themselves. The mothers in most cases become excommunicated by society, are not offered opportunities for education or employment, and in some cases are led to abandon their children due to the inability to take care of themselves and their children. This is a perfect visual from a docuseries we shot in 2022.
The reality of how deeply ingrained curses and neurodivergence are in the culture is an inextricable link and it is seriously an epidemic. It really does break your heart to put yourself in the shoes of a mother who has to make these mortifying decisions as well as the children who had no say how they were going to be born or where they were born or having to worry about whether their society will accept them and provide them with the appropriate schooling, support, education, therapy, and supervision that neurodivergent people require.
Participating and funding Ape Houses will allow the DAO to get directly involved in some seriously amazing work which will go a very long way in the future of Apechain and ape philanthropy.
We have been a force of good having already helped thousands of neurodivergent children and families in Africa and Ape Houses is a step in the right direction to eventually turn to tens of thousands of lives changed, to hundreds of thousands, and eventually millions throughout the African continent and the world one day.
Since 2018 we have made it our life’s mission to help work against institutionalized mistreatment of children with neurodivergence and their families. We have focused his efforts in around the African region where many countries perceive neurodivergence as an inescapable curse.
To illustrate the fitness and capability to execute on the Ape Houses and Apechain Developer hub mission, here are a few examples of our efforts collaborating with Web3 communities to provide lifesaving assistance to those in need, and onboard builders unto the web3 space.
Our Past Work :
Apechain Hackathons: Organized the first ever Apechain Hackathon in Africa which saw 75 builders submit 12 projects, had a capacity of 150 African builders, and birthed the Apechain Africa telegram which currently has 105 active buidlers and counting.
- Web3 Onboarding: Successfully onboarded over 200 African students into the Web3 space since 2022, opening doors to new opportunities and creating financial equality.
- Neurodiversity Screenings: Organized free medical screenings for over 150 underprivileged children, using art to bring awareness and care, in collaboration with Doodles IP.
- Safe Shelters: Built shelters for children abandoned due to their neurodivergence, offering them a safe space to thrive using ape IP and pudgy penguin plushies donated by the Pudgy Penguins team .
- Support for Single Mothers: Empowered single mothers—often left by partners unwilling to support their children—through entrepreneurship workshops. Several success stories have already emerged, all using ape IP.
- Access to Clean Water: Partnered with Novel labs (Mutant Cartel) to establish water sources in underserved communities , improving health and living conditions, using our impact as an opportunity to educate on neurodivergence.We also partnered with the Pudgy Penguins team to donate plushies to the children of the village.
- Docuseries on Autism in Africa: Produced a docuseries highlighting autism and neurodivergence in Africa, shining a light on local challenges and triumphs, all while using ape IP.
- Educational Impact: Renovated and built schools that embrace children with special needs, creating environments where they can learn and grow, using ape IP.
- Project Food For All: A program where our yearly goal is feeding 1000 underprivileged people while using ape IP in marketing efforts.
As the BAYC community as previously worked with the Jane Goodall Foundation and Education and Arts in Miami, Byautistic is a home-grown humanitarian organization that is looking to associate with the DAO to develop their philanthropic mission and enable community members be a part of it through life changing experiences.
Philanthropy: Ape Houses will provide a direct connection between saving the lives of children who are excommunicated from their families and exiled simply for being born a way they have no control over. At Enabling the Disabled, part of our mission is to raise awareness about the harsh realities faced by individuals and families when a child is born with a neurodivergent condition like autism, especially in rural Ghana and across Africa.
Through these efforts, we will be actively championing and promoting ApeChain, ApeCoin DAO, BAYC, and Moca brands — whose financial support is enabling us to radically improve the living conditions of people condemned and marginalized in ways many can scarcely imagine. In addition, the launch of the Apechain Developer Hub Africa will play a critical role in empowering local builders, offering education and tools to help African communities create unique projects on apechain. Together, we aim to help define ApeChain’s and the DAO’s brand identity to include social good, service, and global community impact as central pillars of its mission.
DEFINITIONS:
Neurodivergence : when the brain processes information differently, some conditions include Autism Spectrum Disorder, Dyslexia, and Tourette Syndrome.
Ape House : a bakery - a traditional oven factory that is used to bake Moca bread. The primary product is called Moca Bread.
ApeChain Developer Hub: ApeChain Developer Hub Africa is a physical and digital space dedicated to nurturing African blockchain developers by providing resources, training, events, and community support to build real-world solutions on ApeChain.
Apes Come Home : a community-led mission to directly contribute to Ape House operations and gain a more diverse worldview exploring the country of Ghana.
STEPS TO IMPLEMENT:
Project start date: Upon completion of the proposal
Example date: Jul 15th
- Make land purchase, contract architect to create building plans/blueprints for Apechain Developer Hub, and hire a construction team that will execute on those plans.
- Associated cost: $45k
- Time: 2 weeks
- Have construction team build 5 Ape House Bakeries and 1 Apechain Developer Hub. This is where building materials come in to play. The construction contractors will procure materials locally so our team is not burdened with transportation ourselves.
- Associated cost: $91k
- Time: 2 months
- Furnish the center, provide electricity via Ape Solar Panels, and inaugurate the new infrastructure in Cape Coast. We will make any final payments to contractors during this tranche.
- Associated cost: $87k
- Time: 1 month
- Videographer and Photography post-production edits to share content cataloging the construction project and the impact on the surrounding community. We will already have the funds to pay content team from third tranche.
- Time: 3 weeks
- Set up itinerary for Apes Come Home, put out a call to action, and schedule the first Ape Coin DAO mission trip to West Africa.
- Time: 1 month
Project end date: 5 months after start date
- ongoing attention will be put towards Apes Come Home mission trip logistics
Example end date: Dec 15th
Ghana Property Laws and Policies
- Per our land laws, lands that belong to stools remain with the stools. Stools lands are related to chieftaincy of a particular families, meaning in some areas they are owned by chiefs and in other areas they are owned by families. To purchase such land, there ought to be a meeting with a witness, drinks given as a token before the consideration, then documentation. Sometimes, documentation can start when the contract is finalized orally. Due to the nature of the areas we hope to serve, these lands will mostly be stool lands. We are in talks with multiple chiefs and family heads, as word has gotten around town about our generosity and idea in the building of the first ape house bakery. We have met with some and have had several calls, and we have over 10 areas to select from. We are selecting based on viability of the business in the area, and proximity to mothers of special needs children.
Requests for Foundation
- When it comes to the Foundation’s involvement, we could use a helping hand when it comes to the Apes Come Home portion. We will craft an application, review submissions, and host info sessions. If the Foundation/Council could provide support via social media shares of our call to action and some assistance behind the scenes to button up the cohort selection that would be helpful.
REPORTING EXPECTATIONS:
Onsite Documentation
- Videographers onsite throughout construction of Ape Houses and Apechain Developer Hub.
- Capture key milestones and progress for storytelling.
Content Distribution
- Post regular internet-native content (short videos, photos, threads) across social media platforms.
- Coordinate with CNN’s “African Voices: Changemakers” for African cable TV coverage.
- Pursue broader international CNN coverage through relationship building.
Annual Reports
- Publish detailed bread production statistics annually.
- Report on market growth correlated with Ape Houses infrastructure.
Testimonials and Storytelling
- Capture and share real-world testimonials from beneficiaries.
- Highlight individual success stories and broader community impact.
Recurring Updates
- Provide annual reports summarizing operations, growth, impact metrics, and notable achievements.
- Regular content drops (monthly/quarterly) to maintain momentum and transparency.
DAO Brand Alignment
- Ensure all communication and storytelling align with strengthening ApeCoin DAO’s brand as a driver of global social good.
Apechain Developer Hub
1. Monthly Reports
- Participation Metrics:
- Number of events hosted (hackathons, meetups, workshops).
- Attendance figures (total and new participants).
- Active community engagement (Telegram, Discord, etc.).
- Builder Activity:
- Number of projects initiated.
- Projects completed or prototyped on ApeChain.
- Dapp or tool launches (if any).
- Community Growth:
- Growth rate of developer community platforms (Telegram/Discord, mailing list, etc.).
- New partnerships or collaborations formed (universities, dev groups, local tech hubs).
2. Quarterly Reports
- Impact Analysis:
- Highlighting standout projects.
- Interviews or testimonials from participants.
- Overview of challenges faced and lessons learned.
- Regional Expansion:
- Status of outreach into neighboring countries.
- Progress updates on regional hubs/events outside Ghana.
- Sustainability Metrics:
- Revenue generated from bakery initiatives reinvested into hackathons and events.
- Sponsorships or partnerships secured to support ongoing activities.
OVERALL COST:
Total amount requested from the ApeCoin Ecosystem Fund = $223,000
Budget Estimates
- Land Purchase & Development: $25,000
- Pre-construction costs (design, legal fees, permits): $13,500
- Building Materials: $63,000
- Labor: $33,500
- Furnishings & Equipment: $57,000
- Solar: $20,000
- Marketing/ Content Creation: $6,000
- Contingency (2%): $5,000
Our main objective with this proposal is to deliver maximum impact within the DAO’s modest $250k budget cap for proposals. While building 20 bakeries would multiply our impact fourfold, we believe that starting with 5 bakeries will generate enough revenue to support future growth and fund multiple events hub without needing to request $1 million from the DAO.
Funding Tranches
- Tranche 1: $45k (land + dev): Upon successful AIP passing
- Tranche 1: $91k (building): 2 weeks later
- Tranche 3: $87k (furnishing) 2 months later
