Certificate Course in Community Currencies for Grassroots Development

The following wiki will be used to hold all of the support material for the Course in Community Currencies for Grassroots Development created by Grassroots Economics (GE). Through the course you will be able to learn from the experience of Will Ruddick and the various projects his organization has set up in Kenya.

http://grassrootseconomics.org/certificate-course

Overview

This course will immerse you into the world of Community Currencies as a tool for economic and community development. We will cover why and how Community Currencies have been implemented in marginalized communities as well as their history, set backs and future projections. After completing this course you will be have a strong foundation to design, customize and implement Community Currencies.

Topical Outline:

• Community Currency Theory: development economics, history of money, financial systems and debt, currency models, goals standards and ethics.
• Preparation & Development: community participation and ownership, system design, voucher creation, communications, partnerships, and legality.
• Setup & Launch: cooperative facilitation, collateral asset development, financial sustainability, and marketing.
• Long Term Care: long-term support, audits, Community Currency renewal.
• Management: system maintenance, legal reporting, accounting, currency circulation, administration, data collection, and personnel.
• Fieldwork: on-the-ground survey work and interviews; lessons learned from previous Community Currency models; taking part in community currency events and activities; economic resource mapping.

To register for the course do it directly through the GE page -http://grassrootseconomics.org/certificate-course

Below you will find relevant materials to fully understand the taxonomy of the currencies and support materials to be able to design and implement them.

Theory

What is Money?

Definition: According to the Bank of England, in a modern economy, money is a type of IOU, but one that is special because everyone in the economy trusts that it will be accepted by other people in exchange for goods and services.

Functions:

• Medium of exchange – Store of value
• Unit of Account

Characteristics:

• durability
• portability
• divisibility
• uniformity
• limited supply
• acceptability
• value

Topical Outline: