Indigenous Foliar Bio-Stimulant for Food Sovereignty

Our tribal communities, once self-sufficient, autonomous, and in equilibrium with the land; have been remade through forced assimilation and systemic deprivation of innovation opportunities. We have had our lands taken and mismanaged, we have had our food systems degraded, and in their place we have been given the poor man's food desert. We are obese, we suffer every pre-existing condition that Covid-19 preys upon, and we are the demographic in the United States who INVENTED permaculture food systems. We need to see innovation from one of own serving our communities and the profits of that innovation reinvested in our communities and on our lands. That is what I am addressing. I have been addressing this since my first application to MIT Solve in 2022. The blurb below was submitted then and it is unchanged, because our problems HAVE NOT CHANGED; because our people are not invested in, because we are "wards of the state". 

It is nothing for an NGO or univeristy to fund a single year project, through some money for a photo-op; but ask someone to support an indigenous innovator, entrepreneur, business leader, or an indigenous-led fund... REAL empowerment?... That seems to be out of the question. Since my 2022 application, my patent has moved through the USPTO and I have built my non-profit to do the work of land rematriation and re-building of our native food systems WITHOUT the benefit of having developed this system disrupting technology. I innovated around the barriers to our sovereign future. If I am not funded this time by MIT Solve, I will hold no ill-will, I will keep applying here and everywhere else until we have our land and our self-determination and no longer need to request funds from endowments made from OUR stolen wealth. My innovation is scientifically sound, it is worthy of a place in the endowment of an ivy-league institution and my people should receive all the credit, not I as the "compiler" of our collective knowledge. Some day.

Climatic events [e.g., storms, fires, etc.] of increasing unpredictability and strength, as well as climate change induced impactson seasons [e.g., wider temperature swings, shorter growing seasons, etc.], place a heavy burden on the already vulnerable food supply of native peoples across the United States and beyond. A recent study by Berkeley University suggests that "92% of Native American households may suffer from food insecurity." Compounding these effects, the disruptions in the global supply change due to the COVID 19 have also negatively affected the native American population’s access to basic food staples further putting communities at risk. A nationwide study
conducted during the pandemic period [March 2022 to April 2021]
suggests that over forty-eight percent of native Americans’ household
suffered from food shortages, much more so than during non-pandemic
years. Building resilience of the food systems for native American
communities is there at the heart of this proposal.

Problem

Eutrophication of our rivers, loss of soil microbial diversity, erosion and sediment from agriculture, and release of agricultural product CO2 are all a product of industrial agriculture. 

I have created a family of patents for a bio-stimulant foliar spray based on providing nitrogen through the organically sourced amino acid citrulline, so as to replace petroleum based urea and ammonium nitrate agricultural nitrogen sources. Coupling this with dermatologist tested surfactants  to bypass the leaf cuticle layer of many agricultural crops; I have invented a way to feed plants completely or nearly completely through their leaves.

Industrial Farming Re-imagined

Imagine micro-greens, leafy greens, tomatoes, strawberries, grapes, and numerous other food and fiber crops being fertilized by drone and electric crop sprayers, directly on the leaves to the plant where macro and micro-nutrients are absorbed. No longer would ammonia injected soils kill earthworm and beneficial mycorrhizae. No longer would excess fertilizer run off into our streams, killing fish, causing eutrophication of our waters, and increasing the cost of production of our basic food crops. As these lands are allowed to recover, being washed clean of their fertilizer salts, this innovation can lead to a reverse of desertification.

Hydroponics Simplified

Vertical urban hydroponics can be transformed by this innovation through the use of drones and timed sprayers. Hydroponic tubes will not need to be cleared of algae as often because only clean water will flow through them instead of a nutrient solution. Organic food - grown where it is consumed

Riverponics

I have coined this term as the potential to use raft deep well hydroponics on rivers in agriculturally over-nutrient-rich areas so as to grow non-food crops. Growing flowers, fiber, and other cash crops in rivers in or near large cities also drastically cuts the costs of transportation and the use of fossil fuels to transport these goods. Less congested roads means more efficient movement as well.

My non-profit, NDPonics, www.ndponics.org, has worked to buy back lands within my peoples' homelands and to bring people back to these lands to find food, grow food, and work within and through natural symbiosis with our lands to feed ourselves. I see this innovation as working in tandem with my non-profit to ensure that a lions' share of the profit gets donated to the non-profit and our BIPOC-led organizational partners and that food systems on tribal lands are the FIRST to benefit from this innovation.

I am an enrolled member of the Federally Recognized Monacan Indian
Nation in Virginia. I have worked in Indian Country all of my life and
this innovation would not only benefit the seven tribes of Virginia, but
also, and maybe more-so, the tribes of the South West. I have worked
directly with the San Carlos Apache tribe's natural resources department
as well as with the community at large. I have spent years living in
Hawaiian Homelands, farming with the community in denuded soils,
building them with organic amendments and with indigenous-invented
foliar applicants which is now in its final stages of patent approval.
Any indigenous community with limited arable land, and increased
vulnerability to climate change and to disruptions in supply chains
would benefit from this IP [i.e., indigenous-invented organic foliar
applicant.

I live on the same lands my family has lived upon for at least 9 generations. I have committed my life to our lands and to assisting our people to feed themselves, cloth themselves, and respect themselves as an extension of these lands.

The innovation itself was devised from indigenous science practices, cultural intellectual property and it is this culture I seek to benefit from any successes achieved with it.

I am a member of the Native American community, myself, the inventor of
this IP. For the past seven years, we have Stern, Kessler, Goldstein, and
Fox working pro-bono to see the completion of the patent defense and
with the family of patents in-hand, could license this technology with
proceeds supporting its use and application in Indian Country as well as
in investment in native owned businesses. In my capacity as a BIA
contractor working for a Native-Owned and operated company, I have made
contacts across Indian Country and am well positioned to address the
needs of these communities in their food sovereignty and employment
struggles.

The innovation has been tested, it is patent pending, and we need assistance to bring it to market. We have served our community through NDPonics, though this specific innovation has stagnated due to our inability to find angel investors.

We hope to overcome entry barriers that always seem to stop indigenous
entrepreneurs from getting their IP patented and finding market partners
and investors. We need a university partner to assist us in third party
research of our foliar formula, we need access to market partners who
can help us overcome the question of manufacturing, marketing,
distribution, and licensing. It is always a cultural hurdle for
indigenous entry into IP. Specifically, in my personal experience, I
have found that being honest and direct, doesn't lead to finding willing
partners. There is an "old boys club" in which, we just don't have
membership. I was a first generation high school graduate and as I
navigated my undergrad in Hawaii and eventually graduate school at Yale,
I realized that no matter my traditional indigenous upbringing or
chemistry knowledge, or proximity to those with connections, the actual
connections needed to make meaningful change don't manifest to a
significant degree. This designed system makes change from within our
communities extremely difficult and, ultimately, makes us dependent upon
outsiders who have their own visions and self-motivations. If we are to
have true self-determination, we need to have opportunities for our
entrepreneurs, innovators, and inventors. This is what my team and I are
trying to accomplish in applying to MIT Solve.

Through NDPonics and through connection through work with numerous tribal governments and indigenous-led funds. Luke has assisted the Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe to reclaim lands along their namesake river for the first time since colonization. Luke is a former tribal council member of the Monacan Indian Nation and a member of Indigenous East (connecting communities across the east coast).

This is innovative, system disrupting technology. We intend to re-invest profits from licensing into our communities through NDPonics and we intend to make our tribal communities the launching points for agribusiness based on this intellectual property. The market landscape becomes more indigenous-influenced, creating real self-reliance and autonomy. This property has the potential to be a catalyst for real societal change in how we eat, how we SEE ourselves as participants in the destiny of this country, and how we see our current existence as WORTH living. Let our life expediencies on reservations surpass 45 years old. Let us have elders again and let us be healthier and happier.

Indigenous-science-based innovation which is universally accepted and which disrupts the agricultural system is a massive morale booster to our people. Well-stocked tribal farmer's markets provide healthier alternatives for young people interested in healthy bodies and minds. Seeing our innovation create a product leads to encouraging our young indigenous entrepreneurs leading to companion technologies and stand alone technology which assists in the agricultural supply chain. Agricultural business skills transfers to business acumen and increased financial security. Financial security pays taxes to tribal governments so that health and safety is improved. This whole cycle leads to happier people, people with self respect and autonomy. This is what sovereignty looks like. It starts with wealth of land and production of food on lands utilizing indigenous technologies.

No Poverty - Economic opportunities in Indian Country are exceedingly limited. We can measure these goals through FTE positions created and GDP of individual tribal communities.

Zero Hunger - Our native communities are located in food deserts. We can measure the distance between food production and food consumption to measure results.

Good Health and Wellbeing - There is ample data at Indian Health Services describing the dire health crisis in Indian Country. We can measure success through life-span, preventable disease, and suicide prevention.

Clean Water and Sanitation - Water quality measurement baselines have been taken in our community wells, springs, and municipal water sources.

Reduced Inequalities - Our access to food and our self-respect is the inequality and while it is not easily measured, it is intensely felt.

Sustainable Cities and Communities - Measuring distance between food sources and food consumers

Peace, justice, and strong institutions - Our institutions are eroded by a sense of dependency. Utilizing the resources from this innovation, we can reinvest in our communities.

Life below water - Turbidity, Ph, and nutrient load of water can be measured to determine the beneficial effects of reduced agricultural chemical runoff.

A nutritionally complete bio-stimulant foliar spray comprised of an organic amino acid nitrogen source delivered by dermatologist approved surfactants to bypass the leaf cuticle layer. Indigenous science is at the core of this innovation.

We have conducted experimentation showing success and the results have been submitted to the USPTO. We can provide this patent documentation. This technology has been tested in hydroponics, sand, and in creeks.

Virginia

We hope to reach the entirety of the turtle continent.

1 Full Time Staff

1 Part Time Staff

1 Contractor

All of my life and this patent is nearly a decade in the making.

My team is indigenous and we do not need to strive to make this so. Our team is majority female because they are the ones who are most innovative and interested in the creation of long lasting solutions.

Our key resources are the intellectual property and the potential to partner with large agricultural companies. Our key activities are in agricultural innovation and in the production of crops. We need assistance in developing a valuation for our company so that we are not trapped in a system which has historically disenfranchised us.

We are in the early stages but we have made our non-profit branch self-sustaining and we know how to manage finances coming from our personal poverty experience.