Fora do Eixo - Business Model

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Aspects of the Fora do Eixo business model are:

The Fora do Eixo Card

Source: * Paper: Fora do Eixo Card: The Brazilian System for the Solidarity Culture. By Bruno Poljokan, Lenissa Lenza et al. [1]

Bruno Poljokan, Lenissa Lenza et al:


"The establishment of the Cubo Card credit system tried to innovate on the internal relationships, providing a collective fund that equates the survival of the members of the Collective. The revenue generated is transformed into Cubo Card credit, which has an exchange rate of: 1 Cubo Card = Real. When you get a sponsorship, this investment could bein products or services, for example a restaurant can invest in a particular event, having in exchange an advertisement or other benefits, and instead of paying 500 Reais in cash / currency it pays in consumer credit, the Collective Cubo manages this credits and, instead of paying a salary to the employees involved, distributes credits for consumption and that goes for any commercial activity. Bars, restaurants, hairdressers, clothing stores, rental of DVD's,record stores, books, exchanges that do not involve the exchange of currency (Real). The system's advantages are many, because it facilitates transactions between customers and partners. The Municipal Secretary of Culture entered the system and to provide a cash benefit for a particular project, in return receives the value given in Cubo Card. The Secretary may use this credit for hiring shows from Espaço Cubo. This generates an economic activity, including interfaces with other cities, such as São Carlos(SP) and Uberlândia (MG), which have similar complementary currencies. The Cubo Card also develops direct exchanges, service per service or product per product,according to the needs of the groups involved, developing a Service Database. This transaction creates a new value for each product, depending on the needs of the group.

The system is also guided through hours worked, in which the valuation (in R$) of a service is based on how long it is done, characterizing in a bank of hours.With the experience of the Espaço Cubo in Cuiabá (MT), which organizes an exchange system, creating the complementary currency Cubo Card, the other collective in the network began implementing their own currencies, systematizing their exchange and thus matching the category of the Solidarity Economy. Today, there is already a physical circulation of the Cubo Card (Collective Espaço Cubo), Goma Card (Collective Goma), Marcianos Card (Collective Massa), Palafita Card (Collective Palafita) and the pilots of Lumoeda (Collective Lumo) and Patativa (redeco - CE). With the growth of the network both in number of agents, and volume of activities produced collaboratively, there is the need to create a system that organizes the production and trade in services, products, knowledge and technologies in a more organized way. Is then formed,within the network structure, the Solidarity “Fora do Eixo” Bank, coordinated by the sustainability axis of the network, the Fora do Eixo Card. This system organizes and accounts the workforce, products, goods and services invested by each Fora do Eixo Collective. It also acts as a catalyst for the development of the collectives in their territories, in order to amplify the sustainability of their economic activities and establish favorable conditions for the practice of solidarity, trust and cooperation, based on the cultural changes encouraged by these initiatives. In general, financial solidarity initiatives, of collaborative and associative nature, based on the principles of solidarity economy, can stimulate the creation and strengthening this network of production, consumption and trade, thus fostering the endogenous development of Fora do Eixo Circuit." (http://www.scribd.com/doc/59754560/The-Brazilian-System-for-the-Solidarity-Culture-Fora-Do-Eixo-Card)


The Fora do Eixo National Fund

Bruno Poljokan, Lenissa Lenza et al:

"To monitor and manage the financial transactions of the Fora do Eixo Circuit, and pursue actions that reduce local differences through investment strategies, the network created a National Fund. The objective of the Fund is to foster the development and structuring of the Fora do Eixo collectives, and pursue sustainability in the network. By building a national fund, the Fund seeks to meet the demands of projects carried out by the Circuit, and address special needs of individuals and collectives in the network.The methodology of the Fund, as well as in other actions of Fora do Eixo, is based on transversality and collective decision making. For this, two councils were structured, the Management Council and the Executive Council. The Management Council consists of all member of the sustainability management front , and one of each other management fronts. Thus, all decisions should be discussed by this Council and executed by the Executive Council.

The Fund’s revenues consists of official currency and complementary currency and comes from several sources: revenue from public and private contests, contribution from the collectives, donations, sponsorships, institutional projects, services exchanges and other Government funds. The collectives’ contribution is made with services rendered to the network, financial resources. Funds raised by Institutional projects are 100% converted to the National Fund. CFE’ s collectives and the management fronts can claim access for the National Fund’s resources. The collectives can access the Fund through loans, participation in contests,agreements, direct funding and services. Information on ways to access, terms, notices, sample forms, worksheets, results and meetings minutes are always available in the internet’s social network of the CFE. The management fronts may plead annual percentage of the National Fund, with the purpose to implement or develop institutional projects, approved by the Management Council. Another means of the collectives raising money is rendering services to institutional projects. Selection of which collective for rendering service evaluates criteria such as being in line with the Charter of Principles and Rules of Procedure of the CFE and financial and operational capacity." (http://www.scribd.com/doc/59754560/The-Brazilian-System-for-the-Solidarity-Culture-Fora-Do-Eixo-Card)

Source: * Paper: Fora do Eixo Card: The Brazilian System for the Solidarity Culture. By Bruno Poljokan, Lenissa Lenza et al. [2]


=Discussion

Bruno Poljokan, Lenissa Lenza et al:

"The trade offs and informal exchanges between groups and artists have always been productive forces guiding the independent music scene in Brazil. It is common for friends or partners to volunteer at events and other projects, and that force of solidarity work for years spun sector economy, still deeply marked by informality and lack of resources in kind. The system CFE Card main goal is to minimize the negative effects of fluctuations in the cash flow, by developing a cultural market based on services exchanges. The model is a replacement for the traditional scheme of "camaraderie" that happened when the exchanges were informal and unsystematic. The system depends on the credibility and quality of the services exchanged within the network, and the fact that all individuals involved are committed with the network. Because of this, a monitoring process of the network becomes very important. Where the management council must be constantly preoccupied with capacitating all collectives, as well as stimulating its users to exchange and use network as much as possible. Besides creating a network of services exchange, it creates a network of trust. Where trusting in each participant becomes the main stimulation to exchanges happen." (http://www.scribd.com/doc/59754560/The-Brazilian-System-for-the-Solidarity-Culture-Fora-Do-Eixo-Card)


More Information

See: The Brazilian System for the Solidarity Culture

Fora do Eixo