We first heard about Bitcoin Cash from our friend Vishnu at the beginning of 2018. We ended up staying at his house for a few months to fully soak in everything that he was telling us. He explained to us about the way the economy works and told us how the central banks manipulate the money supply. It’s funny how these things can be hidden right in plain sight, but once you’ve seen it you can never go back.
He helped us create a BCH wallet and soon after we made our first transaction. We have never looked back since. We accept BCH as a payment mode for all our businesses - the hostel, Pudducakes, brunches as well as BeAnimal Gourmet. Our goal is to empower small businesses and give power back to the people. Power to look after their wellbeing and that of their families. The current system has taken so much from everyone and has given nothing back.
We believe that a growing BCH ecosystem In India would help the common people greatly. The sense of being scammed by the government is very real and almost every aspect of public life is rife with corruption. The disparity between the rich and poor is enormous.
Just for reference - The average salary in the city where we stay is 18,000 rupees (247USD) with many unskilled workers earning much less that this. The cost of a 2-bedroom flat in a middle-class neighbourhood in Bangalore could easily range between 15000 and 25000 rupees per month. This means that the opportunities for growth are highly limited and the chance of improving one’s standing in society remains pitifully low.
Some of the other issues that people face are -
Censorship - There is news that the government is threatening to ban Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram from 26th May onwards if they don't comply with their new regulations. This is mostly about managing dissent on social media as well as targeting people who oppose the ruling party.
Privacy issues - India has been pushing to make the country cashless. Cashless payments are quite common in the city that we live in and the pandemic has accelerated this shift. This has led to large corporations having access to all this payment data.
Freedom of press – India ranks 142/180 on the 2021 world press freedom index. This means that the press is highly manipulated and there is no way of telling if the information you receive from your newspaper or television is the truth or not. All this while claiming to be the world’s largest democracy.
Demonetization - In Nov 2016 the government declared the Rs.500 bill and Rs.1000 bill invalid. This meant that people had only a few days to deposit all their cash in the bank and people who deposited large amounts of cash would be questioned as to how they got it. This also sets precedent for the government to demonetize further at their whim and fancy.
Inflation - The Indian rupee is one of the worst performing currencies in Asia. The prices of cooking oil and other everyday goods have almost doubled within the last 2 years. This has made it difficult for people to manage their day to day expenses.
There is no system of social security here and people's savings and gold/silver jewellery is really the only thing they have. Most people have sold/pawned their gold to be able to survive the first lockdown in 2020. We don't know how they will manage this time around. We feel that BCH will help level the playing field. A lot of people do not support funding an unjust, corrupt, and incompetent government but must do so anyway.
The Flipstarter
We have launched a Flipstarter campaign to create a snowball effect – it’s our way of helping small businesses and grow the BCH ecosystem in India at the same time. If you are reading this in May-June 2021 then you still have a chance to help us on this journey. Please consider donating as it would help a lot of people protect the fruit of their hard work.
A little bit about us
Hi, we are Lakshman and Vanessa from BeAnimal. We are both young entrepreneurs working in the field of sustainable food and hospitality. We started our company BeAnimal in 2018 to improve people’s understanding of themselves and the world around them. We have worked with school and college students in India as well as young professionals from Europe.
We planned to sustain our education efforts through the profits generated by our tour company – planting trees and providing education to the underprivileged. We tested this model out in 2019 and it was a grand success.
In January 2020, we started the BeAnimal Hostel in Bangalore, India. The hostel was to serve as our base for the tours as well as a home away from home for weary travellers. In April 2020, the pandemic hit India and many of our foreign guests were asked to head home by their governments. India entered a lockdown for many months during which many small and medium scale businesses went bankrupt.
We adapted to the new situation by creating a dessert brand called Pudducakes that makes the healthiest and tastiest cakes in the whole town. Another project of ours is called the ‘Vegan Brunch Club’ – it’s a weekly social event that brings people from all walks of life together to indulge in some of the best food they have ever eaten. And finally, our latest project – BeAnimal Gourmet – is a platform to promote sustainable food businesses started in April 2021.
Our projects:
BeAnimal Journey Foundation – It’s a registered non-profit that aims to provide people of all ages with holistic environmental education.
Tours (2018) – We organize tours of India for college students and young professionals. These tours focus on yoga, meditation, self-work, experiencing a new culture, and trying amazing food.
The Hostel (Jan 2020) – Our hostel in Bangalore provides travellers with a home away from home. We have 30 beds, 2 lovely terraces, co-working spaces, a library, and an in-house café.
BeAnimal Explains (June 2020) – It’s an encyclopedia of sustainability and modern life – something of a roadmap to make sense of all the knowledge that makes up the world that we live in. The first book covers food, nutrition, mental health, and physical wellbeing.
Pudducakes (Aug 2020) – It’s an artisanal dessert brand that we started in 2020. Our best-selling flavours are dark chocolate with salted caramel & pecan nut, rose and pistachio, and strawberry cheesecake!
Vegan brunch Club (Oct 2020) – The vegan brunch club is in its 25th iteration. It’s a community event that happens at the hostel every Sunday.
BeAnimal Gourmet (Apr 2021) – We are currently a collection of 10 brands working together to help the customer have easier access to our products. We sell everything from kombucha to vegan cheese!
You can find out more on our website:
www.beanimaljourney.com
