Kwaxala
Financing forest regeneration under Indigenous stewardship
The Kwiakah First Nation co-founded Kwaxala with the operating team, including Alex. Chief Steven Dick leads the Nation and chairs Kwaxala, which is developing a way to fund forest regeneration from the value living forests generate while Indigenous partners retain majority ownership and direct stewardship.
The Kwiakah First Nation’s stewardship
On 24 May 2024, the Kwiakah First Nation announced its agreement with British Columbia and Interfor to establish the M̓ac̓inuxʷ Special Forest Management Area in the southern Great Bear Rainforest. The Nation’s Forest Keepers research, monitor and restore forests on Kwiakah territory, including areas damaged by logging.
Kwaxala identified the area as the starting point of its pilot. In its May 2024 update, Kwaxala said it was developing the investment mechanism.
How forest regeneration could pay for itself
Restoration takes years and needs money up front. Kwaxala proposes bringing in long-term capital to fund the early work. Investors would receive a share of profits from carbon and other ecosystem credit sales, or a share of the offsets themselves. The aim is for revenue from living forests to keep paying for their stewardship.
Under Kwaxala’s model, the local Indigenous partner holds majority ownership of its forest project and directs stewardship. Indigenous partners collectively hold majority ownership of Kwaxala, which coordinates investment, offset sales and shared services. Outside investors participate passively.
Alex’s work on the financing
Alex serves on Kwaxala’s founding team as Director of Regenerative Finance & Tokenization. He works on how to structure outside investment and represent an investor’s interest digitally, in service of the Kwiakah First Nation’s stewardship under Chief Steven Dick.
OpenAlpha, the company Alex runs, approaches financial access from the investor’s side. Its vault model gives investors a way to hold their own investment units and delegate defined powers to the manager. At Kwaxala, the same concern means giving Indigenous Nations a way to raise capital for regeneration on terms that preserve their authority.