Contracts

Savimbo values Trust. We are dedicated to being the go-to, how-to solution for ethical nature and climate markets. Our contracts are open source, Indigenous-led, Indigenous-friendly, climate credit and data contracts that can be used internationally, and cross-market. We are committed to continuous improvement and ongoing feedback on our legal innovation. These contracts are NOT ready to copy and reuse without legal advice. We have more work to do but we’re committed to doing it. 

Needless to say, Savimbo does not assume responsibility for the contents of, or the consequence of using, any version of these examples or any other document found on our website. Before using any of these forms, you should consult with a lawyer licensed in the country where your company was formed.

Grower information
For all Savimbo Growers and Indigenous Peoples around the world

Year
2025

Our contracts

  • Indigenous woman artisan in Panama Indigenous economics

    Biodiversity pilot contract

    Biodiversity pilots are no-strings-attached. We believe strongly that communities own their own data, and need an experiential trial period to assess project enrollment.

    See contracts
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Biodiversity pilot contracts

  • Our pilot contracts are meant to allow communities to try out our programs with no strings attached.

    No commitments, but giving clear permission for the implementation of pilot monitoring and data collection.

  • We think it’s important that communities can work with us anonymously at the beginning if they want to. This allows them to try out the relationship with less social risks.

  • It’s important to us that Growers retain rights to data generated on their land, and by their participation in the program. We have an unlimited license to use the data for ecological crediting, but the Grower retains ownership of the data.

    If a community decides to stop working with us, we agree to return all the data generated by a pilot.

  • We do a lot of fundraising for communities who want to run full projects. This is harder to do when the community remains anonymous, so we’re clear in advance about what kinds of fundraising we’d engage in, and give clear examples to make sure we have permission to raise catalytic capital funds on their behalf.

  • We are strong proponents of plain-language law. To the extent possible we’ve put a lot of time and attention into making good contracts that the average person can read and understand

LEGAL INNOVATIONS

Recoverable grant contracts

  • We’re committed to running a social enterprise. Blended finance isn’t easy to accomplish, especially in the international setting.

    We’ve worked hard to make these recoverable grant terms appealing to both Indigenous communities, donors, and safe for both the business arm and the charity arm.

  • Its difficult for communities to make informed decisions about climate projects. We think they need an initial investment of technology, tools, and education before they can really meet the “informed” part of free, prior, and informed consent.

    In our experience it’s about six months of investment of experience and training for a community to really understand what they are committing too. Recoverable grants are one way to derisk business investment and community partnerships.

  • We’re big on “win-win or no deal”. We think its really important before making an agreement with a community for them to have the freedom to leave, better off than when we started working for them. The intent of recoverable grants is for a community to feel empowered to say “no deal” and still be happy about the relationship they had with us.

  • Recoverable grants are a new type of public-private blended finance. They optimize they are used by Morgan Stanley Gift Foundation and a lot of other private donors to help spur innovation for communities while derisking funds deployment for investors and extending capital for donors who successfully fund autonomous revenue-generating businesses.

  • We are strong proponents of plain-language law. To the extent possible we’ve put a lot of time and attention into making good contracts that the average person can read and understand

  • These contracts are designed to be used through our charity arm, Empulsive Ink (a US 501(c)3 nonprofit, ein 88-1869344 )

    The difference between the charitable arm and the business arm of Savimbo is that the business can be selective about who it wants to work with, while the charity is open to the public. So the charity can take in recoverable grants for OTHER business partners that meet our quality check, and is also available to communities who have NO business interests with Savimbo as long as the community qualifies under the charity aims.

LEGAL INNOVATIONS

Ecological credits contract

four credits coins

  • The contract is meant to cover all the Savimbo ecological credit programs. General terms are at the top, and program-specific terms are at the bottom.

    Growers can enroll in one or more programs.

  • It’s important to us that Growers retain rights to data generated on their land, and by their participation in the program. We have an unlimited license to use the data for ecological crediting, but the Grower retains ownership of the data.

  • We intentionally removed financial penalties from participating Growers. This does increase our risk, but we balanced it against the population we work with, and their needs.

    We felt it was unfair to penalize people who are living at the forefront of climate change and economic instability for failure to complete a contract. As a result, we’re very selective about who we work with, they have to have already demonstrated a track record of strong grassroots conservation to be accepted in our programs.

  • When we can, we do our best to offer micropayments in advance of credit generation and sale. Economically this hasn’t always been feasible for us, but we are hopeful that with more financial success this will be a more reliable aspect of our programs.

  • Its important to us that our Programs offer gross revenue share. We believe it is easier for Growers to understand and track this kind of financial shareholdership in our Programs.

    The majority of our programs offer this revenue share when credits are sold and matched to Growers. But some programs like Tree credits are final sale based on initial micro-outcomes.

  • We are strong proponents of plain-language law. To the extent possible we’ve put a lot of time and attention into making good contracts that the average person can read and understand

LEGAL INNOVATIONS

Open feedback

We’re committed to open feedback and continuous improvement on our contrast. Open-source legal innovation that benefits Indigenous and local communities is a big part of Savimbo. We believe fair contracts = fair trade.