Hello! We are Pandala and we want to turn our little town into a HIVE through persuasion and enthusiasm about what HIVE stands for to us. We believe that including HIVE as a transactional platform in our local economy will be fruitful for everyone involved, retaining more value within the city and rural areas, creating more wealth in the long term.
But first things first.
We’re a small bakery preparing sourdough and other bread types in a beautiful little town in the Andes called Cotacachi. For 11 years we’ve been supplying our clients with healthy alternatives to the local bread, based on long fermentations in both sourdough as well as other pre-fermentation variants. Additionally, we’re producing a variety of spreads and dips, always focused on buying our ingredients as local as possible and using techniques that allow us to refrain completely from preservatives and other artificial chemicals.
Over the years, we have established a distribution network to other cities in Ecuador as well, bringing our products to the coastal regions, Quito (the capital) and the far south of Ecuador. In all that we stay faithful to our values, of which one is fairness. We work hard to balance out the economics of our products to create the most benefit possible for all stakeholders, meaning, fair pay for everyone who works directly in the bakery or with us as a supplier, fair commissions for those who work with consignment, and most importantly a great product for a good price for our customers.
Coherent with our convictions, we helped building a wonderful community in Cotacachi. The first part was the Farmer’s Market, created by our best-friend-company, which we joined a couple of weeks after start. This now has grown into a hot spot for the community and cultural interchange, as well as become a big factor in our local economy. The second part is regular support (both public and “secret”) in social activities, fundraising and donations towards causes that we believe strengthen our ties with and roots within the community.
If you want to know more about other things we’ve done, here’s an beautiful video created by a friend of ours to our 10 year anniversary:
Why HIVE?
To keep it short, here’s a list of bullet points on which we will elaborate in a different post, even from us directly or from our founder, @beelzael .
- As an unknown platform in our town, HBD can function as a local currency, benefiting the economy within Cotacachi and the surroundings.
- The transactions are free of fees and quick, helping to combat value extraction by big companies.
- With @meno we have a direct contact and supporter that can help us make the process even easier, e.g. through customized QR codes for payments and an account creation faucet.
- The social platform aspects of HIVE give it a convincing use case beyond the transactions.
We think that we’re able to create a convincing situation with only winners here. We will work as an exchange in the beginning, using our experience to convert FIAT into HBD and hence bring more buying pressure into the HIVE ecosystem. Our clients can benefit from cash-back initiatives like @distriator, and will hopefully start creating valuable content on the several platforms running on HIVE. Our local economy will benefit as the digital currency can not (yet) be spent outside of Cotacachi, hence the value will remain within the city.
At least, that’s the plan. If you have any doubts or suggestions – please, please, please comment! The more perspectives we know, the better we can manage this endeavor and hence make it more valuable to everyone.
We publish in c/Shark Tank not because we need funding, but hope to inspire - maybe someone will come up with an idea to make transactions with HBD even easier? We hope it fits the "Project Pitch" criteria, if not, please let us know!
All funds necessary for this project will be covered by us, but we appreciate every follower and up-vote to make it easier! 🙃
Thank you for reading!
Presentación en Español
(Traducido con Gemini, ya estaba cansado para escribir todo el texto nuevamente... 😅)
¡Hola!
Somos Pandala y queremos convertir nuestro pequeño pueblo en un HIVE a través de la persuasión y el entusiasmo sobre lo que HIVE significa para nosotros. Creemos que incluir a HIVE como una plataforma transaccional en nuestra economía local será benéfico para todos los involucrados, ya que retendrá más valor dentro de la ciudad y las zonas rurales, creando más riqueza a largo plazo.
Pero primero lo primero.
Somos una pequeña panadería que prepara pan de masa madre y otros tipos de pan en un hermoso pueblito en los Andes llamado Cotacachi. Durante 11 años hemos estado suministrando a nuestros clientes alternativas saludables al pan local, basadas en largas fermentaciones, tanto en masa madre como en otras variantes de pre-fermentación. Además, producimos una variedad de untables y dips, siempre enfocados en comprar nuestros ingredientes lo más localmente posible y utilizando técnicas que nos permiten abstenernos completamente de conservantes y otros químicos artificiales.
A lo largo de los años, también hemos establecido una red de distribución a otras ciudades de Ecuador, llevando nuestros productos a las regiones costeras, a Quito (la capital) y al lejano sur de Ecuador. En todo ello nos mantenemos fieles a nuestros valores, uno de los cuales es la equidad. Trabajamos duro para equilibrar la economía de nuestros productos y crear el mayor beneficio posible para todos los involucrados, lo que significa un salario justo para todos los que trabajan directamente en la panadería o con nosotros como proveedores, comisiones justas para quienes trabajan a consignación y, lo más importante, un excelente producto a un buen precio para nuestros clientes.
De acuerdo con nuestras convicciones, ayudamos a construir una maravillosa comunidad en Cotacachi. La primera parte fue el Mercado de Productores, creado por nuestra empresa-mejor-amiga, al que nos unimos un par de semanas después de su inicio. Esto ha crecido hasta convertirse en un punto de encuentro para la comunidad y el intercambio cultural, además de ser un factor importante en nuestra economía local. La segunda parte es el apoyo regular (tanto público como "secreto") en actividades sociales, recaudación de fondos y donaciones para causas que creemos que fortalecen nuestros lazos y raíces dentro de la comunidad.
Si quieres saber más sobre otras cosas que hemos hecho, aquí tienes un hermoso video creado por un amigo para nuestro décimo aniversario:
¿Por qué HIVE?
Para hacerlo corto, aquí hay una lista de puntos que desarrollaremos en otra publicación, ya sea directamente de nosotros o de nuestro fundador, @beelzael.
Como plataforma desconocida en nuestro pueblo, HBD puede funcionar como una moneda local, beneficiando la economía de Cotacachi y sus alrededores.
Las transacciones son gratuitas y rápidas, lo que ayuda a combatir la extracción de valor por parte de las grandes empresas.
Con @meno tenemos un contacto y apoyo directo que puede ayudarnos a hacer el proceso aún más fácil, por ejemplo, a través de códigos QR personalizados para pagos y un faucet (grifo) para la creación de cuentas.
Los aspectos de plataforma social de HIVE le dan un caso de uso convincente más allá de las transacciones.
Creemos que somos capaces de crear una situación convincente donde solo hay ganadores. Al principio, trabajaremos como un servicio de cambio, usando nuestra experiencia para convertir FIAT en HBD y así generar más presión de compra en el ecosistema HIVE. Nuestros clientes pueden beneficiarse de iniciativas de devolución de dinero como @distriator y, con suerte, comenzarán a crear contenido valioso en las diversas plataformas que funcionan con HIVE. Nuestra economía local se beneficiará ya que la moneda digital no puede (aún) gastarse fuera de Cotacachi, por lo que el valor se mantendrá dentro de la ciudad.
Al menos, ese es el plan. Si tienes alguna duda o sugerencia, ¡por favor, por favor, por favor, comenta! Cuantas más perspectivas conozcamos, mejor podremos gestionar esta empresa y, por lo tanto, hacerla más valiosa para todos.
Publicamos en c/Shark Tank no por necesitar fondos, sino para inspirar - tal vez alguien tenga una idea cómo hacer transacciones en base de HBD aún más fácil?!
Los fondos para intercambio etc. vamos a cubrir nosotros, pero agradecemos cada seguidor y cada upvote para hacerlo más fácil 🙃
Graicas por leernos!
First, good ideas in general.
Second, don’t make it scammy or pushy like distriator people. Do it in your own way.
Third, why old pictures and videos? You have a phone, make new ones. It doesn’t have to be good but have to be shot today or yesterday. Not 1 year back. Blogs get ruined for that.
Will see how it goes. But 100% for the thought.
Don’t screw it up.
Will give my best! I don't have new pictures of the team, and it's difficult to get us all together in one room. We usually don't do much publicity with ourselves, or any publicity at all, so a lot of our pics are a little older. But I'll see if I can take some new ones for the next posts.
As to second - yes, that's my main concern. There's a lot of prejudice regarding blockchains and crypto in general, so I have to present it the right way to the right people at the right time - that will take some practice. There are a lot of pyramid scams around here, and I absolutely don't want to fall even into the suspicion of doing something like that...
As always, thanks for the support and more than anything for the feedback! Better to improve right from the start than half way through 😅
I want to eat your bread. One day.
Get a room.
We have one, on Discord. Jealous? 😜
We'll be waiting for you!
Dude, the little app I ended up making might end up being sooo important for the Ecuadorian brain! hahahah
Btw, my wife is making an amazing logo for it. I would be jelly if it wasn't for the fact, she's muh waff and thus, we are a team!
I'll show you a little later.
It's the way that people are used to do things here, and we have to pick the up where they are. it'll be hard enough to make then realize that blockchains and tokens aren't a total scam...
You should also consider @v4vapp which is currently operational and works very well to pay Lightning invoices, soon @zypto which is very close to incorporating HIVE into the app to pay at anywhere that accepts visa through Google Pay or Apple Pay and @vsc.network which is bringing further blockchain interoperability to HIVE.
Good luck!
Wow, that sounds pretty awesome, thank you! I might do two different approaches, one for international clients who get their cash out of ATMs, and one for locals who usually have local bank accounts and hence a different paying behavior. I'll check out those hints tomorrow!
I can't wait for @zypto dude. I wrote to them a couple of days ago. They gave me the "soon" dev response! hahahaha
but seriously. We got no onramps offramps in the US right now. My brother wants to onboard some friends, but it has to be easy for them to buy in.
Do you have some extra info bro?
I know they're good team to work with and the integration is coming soon™, lol. I've used the app a lot and it's solid. It'll be working before the end of 2025.
Have you tried Bitrefill as an offramp? Also Osmo Lightning Wallet ( will need KYC).
I did not know about those... I'll make sure my brother knows about them. Where I live these days, we only have P2P trading. Not great, but it works fine... localbitcoins style trading.
I love sourdough bread and here in Vienna it is available, too, fortunately.
I wish you many success!
It was the main thing that I missed when I moved down here... and that's how the whole bakery thing started in 2014. The pure need for "real" bread :-D Parts of the story are in my own introduction post as beelzael, from a few months ago, if you're interested.
And thank you very much for the big upvote!
The bread looks awesome! And great idea to offer bread for HBD.
I suggest to start small. If you want to offer your bread for HBD, do that. Don't overthink it. Instead, start it, see what works and what doesn't and iterate to make it better. Talk a out your progress. I'm sure a lot of people here will support you with ideas.
And if I ever make it to Ecuador, I'll come for a visit 😉
Thank you for that comment! Yes, I was overthinking that and already got a good scolding for that 😅 I talked to a couple of friends this weekend, and will get together with them to show them how everything works in person. They're content creators, so I'll let them know a little about that, maybe make a guide to which communities do what, and answer whatever questions they have (and write them down...). And then another two friends, and so on, and a few ideas how to use web2 are also cooked out. Looking forward to it!
I'm far away from you bakery (in Europe), but if I can be of any help, let me know.
Thank you very much!
Buena vibra
Esa es la intención!
Congratulations @pandalacotacachi! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain And have been rewarded with New badge(s)
Your next target is to reach 50 upvotes.
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOP
Check out our last posts:
This is a wonderful idea! With Meno, Starkerz, & Buttcoins backing you up with advice and experience, Pandala can make a great run of this! The best of luck on this project! 😊
Thank you! I hope we don't need luck, but honestly, I think we do 😅
As Azir said, make sure it doesn't look scammy, because that just attracts criticism, even if it isn't a scam.
Hopefully when people start producing content, they bring in their talents with them. It isn't always about writing, there are musicians and singers, artists and all kinds of tradespeople that could show off their skills and as your community grows, they get known locally also.
Thank you for weighing in! We do have a lot of talent here in Cotacachi, and I hope that I'll be able to softly present those options to them. I made an account for the creator of the video above, since he's a friend and knows a little about tech, though not much, so he can see if he can get through my tutorial.
I will be posting a few ideas on strategy, not sure yet if from this account or from beelzael since the latter has more traction and connections to savvy people like you and azircon. Though I can always ask for feedback on Discord too, that might be easier.
These are some big plans for sure! I am wishing you good luck and keeping my fingers crossed to hear most of these, if not all, come to reality sooner than planned!
Thank you very much! We'll do some updates on how it's working, if it's working. It'll take a lot of time and patience...
Sounds like a cool plan! Welcome to our amazing community, Pandala! :)
@tipu curate 10
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 0/63) Liquid rewards.
Thank you!
I love your bread, it looks yummier to me 😍
It is very yummy! We'll be posting other pictures, as Azircon suggested, during the process of our project :-)
Your sourdough bread looks super yummy. Good luck! And be sure to ask and talk about any challenges you are facing.
We will be doing that of course! Luckily, Hive is quite the helpful and creative community, so we'll probably get through challenges quickly.
Hi @pandalacotacachi welcome to Hive. I'm @palomap3 from Lovesniper OCD team.
Wow, your bread looks so good, I need to try it one day! You have a great idea, I hope you can revitalise and boost a new economy in your area. With @meno you have an excellent guide, I'm sure you'll do great.
Tips and information as a Hive newbie here: newbie guide.
Communities you might like that are part of the OCD Communities Incubation Program. Important: read their rules and post in the one that fits your content.
Have a good day!
Thank you very much for the information! I will review both! We have our tutorial already done, made to fit our clientele, but it's always good to see if any extra detail might help :-)
Wonderful initiative, remain in your vision to achieve your mission.
!ALIVE
Thank you, that's the plan!
Great 👍🏻
Such an inspiring vision turning a beloved bakery into a center for local economic transformation through HIVE is truly something special! You’ve already built so much goodwill over 11 years in Cotacachi, and your focus on fairness, community, and quality is crystal clear. I love that you’re not just talking transactions, but culture and connection too. The idea of HBD as a local currency that keeps value circulating right where it matters is clever and heartening.
Thank you very much for your support! I hope we can make a good thing out of it, and bring much benefit to everyone involved, including the HIVE.
Welcome to hive @pandalacotacachi, what a lovely team💗.
Your bread looks so nice and I would love to try some, although I am a Nigerian.
Thank you very much! If you ever make it to Ecuador, maybe you'll be able to try it!
Well, this bread looks delicious and different from what I'm used to.
And that is just one of many...
This is one of the important Vision's to be emulated by other Hive Communities, Well of course' I love sourdough bread even though we don't have such here. If you can make HBD a locally used currency that will be great and more beneficiary to all the Hive member's there,! Thank's for sharing, I love you all.👍🏽👌❤❤
We hope that it'll work out great! Spend a lot of time thinking, so now it's time to act. Exciting!
Me he quedado maravillada con lo que hacen,Cotacachi puede ser convertido en un paraíso de HIve, pero no sé, me parece que a los gobiernos no le es muy factible la libertad económica que está plataforma proporciona.
No, no les gusta mucho para nada - pero ahí veremos. En sí, es cómo un pago con efectivo, igual así lo vamos a manejar en la contabilidad. Así que esperemos no tener problema con eso :-)
The Shark Tank how I set it up is ment for pitches of Hive projects that want some kind of support from the community.
But I like the initiative!
Will keep that in mind, thank you! Just wasn't sure where a good place would be :-)