Ralf Becker

Will Ruddick: Grassroots Economics

Grassroots Economics unveils a revolutionary economic model rooted in nature and ancestral wisdom. Drawing from real-world community resilience, it explores how resource pooling—mirroring mycorrhizal and human social networks—creates sustainable abundance. A transformative guide for activists, ecosystem stewards, technologists, economists, and changemakers seeking decentralized, cooperative, and regenerative resource coordination for a thriving future. This book is not an answer, but an invitation by the author—an invitation to explore new (and old) ways of coordinating resources, restoring trust, and creating economies that serve the well-being of all.

About Will Ruddick

Will Ruddick is founder of Grassroots Economics Faoundation and an economist, who combines traditional practices and economic innovation. After graduate school in high-energy physics at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center and Economics at the University of Cape Town, his passion shifted to grassroots economics. As US-Citizen he opriginally came to Kenya with a peace corps. Since 2008, based in East Africa, he’s implemented successful programs in resource coordination with local groups across Kenya and engaged in activities such as ecosystem restoration, food and water security, connecting communities with their abundance, skills and talents. Founder of Grassroots Economics Foundation, he’s a pioneer on commitment pooling, an economic protocol inspired by ancestral wisdom. Globally, he consults on economics and collaborates with organizations like the World Food Program, the Red Cross, and the University of Cape Town’s Environmental Economics Policy Research Unit as well as with several community leaders around the world. He’s an associate scholar with the University of Cumbria’s Initiative.

Book Presentation by Will Ruddick Grassroots Economics Field Guide

from 29. April 2025 17:00 to 29. April 2025 18:30, Zoom

In his new book Will Ruddick describes different forms of resource coordination.

His Field Guide begins by looking at how fungal networks and social systems naturally coordinate resources in ways that are symbiotic and resilient. Will Ruddick explored e.g. in Kenya how “pools of commitments” can replace or complement money, uniting people around shared purpose. He recognized that each of us holds seeds of abundance that only bloom when placed in a common-pool—an open space that thrives on reciprocity and trust. He wants his book to be not an answer, but an invitation – an invitation to explore new (and old) ways of coordinating resources, restoring trust, and creating economies that serve the well-being of all.

We would like to discuss questions with him like:

  • How has his thinking evolved since launching the community currency Bangla Pesa to now implementing commitment pooling?
  • Which role play protocols? And can they be shared trough digital ledger systems?
  • What are the learnings for communities from grassroots economics?

The event will take place on Zoom. To participate, please register in advance by entering your name and email address in this form. The link to the event will then be sent to you automatically.

 

Ester Barinaga: Remaking money for a sustainable future

Cover Remaking money for a sustainable future

Money is central to capitalism and to our many sustainability crises. Could we remake money so as to advance sustainable economies and fair societies? A growing number of scholars, politicians and activists think we can, and they are doing it from the bottom up.

This book examines how grassroots groups, municipalities and radical crypto-entrepreneurs are remaking money by designing and organising complementary currencies. It argues that in their novel ideas and governance practices lie the key for building green and inclusive economies.

Engaging imaginatively with the future of money, this accessible book will appeal to anyone interested in constructing a more sustainable and just world.

 

About Ester Barinaga

Ester Barinaga is Professor of Social Entrepreneurship at Lund University (Sweden), and Professor (with special responsibilities) in the Department of Business Humanities and Law (BHL) at Copenhagen Business School (CBS, Denmark). Her research focuses on concepts, strategies, methods and practices social entrepreneurs use to advance social change. Currently, she focuses on complementary currencies as instruments to build sustainable economies, inclusive cities, and resilient communities. The methods she uses are interventionist, actively taking part in the entrepreneurial processes she also studies. Her research has been published in top tier academic journals including Urban Studies, Organization Studies, Geoforum, Human Relations, Urban Geography, Business Ethics Quarterly, and Journal of Social Entrepreneurship. Her latest book Remaking money for a sustainable future: Money Commons was published in April 2024 with Bristol University Press.

Event archive: Good Money Designs – 40 years from LETSystems to commons currencies

from 8. March 2025 to 8. March 2025

GOOD MONEY LAB 14

  • Speaker: Michal Linton (The original designer of LETS. He initiated LETSytem in Comox Valley on Vancouver Island, Canada in 1983.)
  • MC: Makoto Nishibe (Representative Director, Good Money Lab)
  • Moderator: Kenta otani (Researcher, Good Money Lab)
  • Date and time：11:00-13:00 on March 8th (Sat) 2025 (JST) / 18:00-20:00 on March 7th (Fri) 2025 (PST)

Mehr Informationen und der Link zur Anmeldung finden Sie hier.

Summer University “Alternative Economic and Monetary Systems (AEMS)

from 14. July 2025 to 1. August 2025

The interdisciplinary summer university (5 ECTS) focuses on alternatives to the economic status quo: International participants deal with limits of growth, as well as the instabilities of our financial system and learn why a drastic system change is necessary to stabilize the world climate. The program offers a holistic approach, with the participants learning about many possible alternatives and reform proposals: heterodox economics, ethical banking, degrowth, sovereign money and more!

 

Flyer 2025

AEMS is an academic summer university program with a global following and held in English.

Since 2014, the program counts more than 490 alumni of 81 nationalities.

 

The program will take place again in Vienna from 14 July to 01 August 2025!

Applications are open! – More information and application form can be found here.

 

Target group

The program is open to students and professionals from all fields who strive to create a more just and green future. Are you looking for a unique educational program with a holistic approach to the topic?

 

There is also a limited number of scholarship spots available – application deadline for scholarships: 30 April 2025

3rd Collaborative Finance Gathering

from 16. June 2025 to 20. June 2025, Commons Hub Austria - Hirschwang an der Rax

Building Deeper Collaboration

CoFi 3 brings together attendees from previous CoFi events and welcomes many new participants for a week-long gathering at the Commons Hub in Austria. The event is designed to nurture both intellectual and social connections, with a dynamic schedule that includes structured sessions in the morning, unconference-style discussions in the afternoon, and evenings dedicated to relaxation and community building. Participants can look forward to activities in the surrounding natural area, including hiking and swimming, as well as opportunities to gather around the fire or unwind in the hot tub. This holistic format is intended to foster a balance between deep collaboration and personal rejuvenation.

Expanding on its collaborative ethos, CoFi 3 will delve into the intricacies of alternative financial systems, covering topics like mutual credit, mesh credit, local voucher systems, and multilateral offset clearing. The mornings will feature focused discussions and presentations, while the afternoons will allow for organic exploration through working groups. These sessions aim to create space for participants to address specific challenges, share insights, and advance ongoing projects. The inclusive and open vibe of CoFi ensures a welcoming atmosphere for diverse voices and perspectives, encouraging meaningful exchanges that transcend geographical and cultural boundaries.

 

All information and the registration form can be found here.

Political Economy of Finance Summer School 2025

from 5. July 2025 to 7. July 2025, Brown University

Professors Ben Braun (LSE) and Mark Blyth (Brown) are organizing a new edition of the Political Economy of Finance Summer School, to be held between July 5 and 7 at Brown University in Providence, RI. The School is open to doctoral candidates, post-doctoral fellows, and early career scholars from a wide range of disciplines and applications are due March 1, 2025. More information, including eligibility and application details, available here.

 

From the organizers:

Who will finance the green transition? Are states too scared of the bond market? Why are private equity firms seemingly everywhere? Finance is at the heart of the political economy of capitalism, but studying it can be difficult. The good news: some of the brightest minds in the field are eager to share their expertise at the second annual political economy of finance summer school, organized by Ben Braun (LSE) and Mark Blyth (Brown).

 

Topics include:

  • Dollar Hegemony
  • Debt & Debt Relief in the U.S.
  • History of Financing Regimes
  • Institutional Capital Pools
  • Debt & Finance in the Global South
  • Rise of State Capital
  • Global Finance in the New Cold War
  • Finance & Decarbonization
  • Insurance & Climate Change
  • State Capital & Green Finance in China
  • Eligibility

 

The summer school is open to PhD candidates, post-doctoral fellows, and early career scholars from political science, sociology, financial history, economic geography, and economics.

 

Applications

Those interested in attending should submit a one-page cover letter, a writing sample (published article, working paper, dissertation chapter, etc.), and a CV as a single PDF via this link.

Application deadline: March 1st, 2025

Report: 7TH INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH-CONGRESS ON MONETARY DIVERSITY: ROME, NOVEMBER 2024

Kim Pusch, 11. November 2024

Kalina Magdzinska & Rebecca Klant, 11 November 2024

The report provides an overview of the conference highlighting the exploration of complementary currencies and monetary innovation and provides information on the RAMICS General Assembly. The guiding theme, The Future of Money – Democracy, Regionality, and Inclusion, served as a framework for discussing the evolving landscape of alternative monetary systems. This report also highlights the Climate Bonus presentation and key points from the RAMICS General Assembly.

Rebecca Klant, Niambi Njoroge, Kalina Magdzinska (from left to right)

 

Every two years, the Research Association on Monetary Innovation and Community and Complementary Currency Systems (RAMICS) hosts a conference bringing together experts, researchers, and practitioners to explore ideas, solutions, and innovations addressing current monetary challenges. RAMICS is a global research organisation focused on complementary currencies, a field of growing significance for promoting sustainability, social inclusion, and regional resilience.

More than 50 experts and practitioners in complementary currencies from around the world gathered at the RAMICS 2024 conference in Rome.

After the 2022 conference in Sofia, Bulgaria (see our report here: Report: 6th International Research Conference on Monetary Diversity: Sofia, Oct 2022 – Monneta), this year’s event took place in the historic city of Rome, Italy, welcoming participants from around the world. The conference fostered exchange of expertise and dialogue on recent developments and forward-looking trends. The guiding theme was The Future of Money: Democracy, Localism, and Inclusion.

This year’s programme covered a wide range of topics and offered insights into the diverse forms of monetary innovation worldwide. For example, studies on local currency systems as well as new digital complementary currencies, which are gaining importance in both urban and rural regions, were presented. The role of alternative currencies as tools for promoting social inclusion and economic resilience was also the subject of several presentations. One of them was the Hudson Valley Current, a regional complementary currency in the New York State. It highlighted how local monetary system can strengthen community-oriented economies and enhance regional economic resistance by reducing dependency on external financial flows.

Cash notes of the Hudson Valley Current, a local complementary currency in the New York State

Furthermore, controversial debates were held in particular on the topic of tokenisation and cryptocurrency. While some attendees saw potential for democratisation in blockchain technologies for modern complementary currencies, others argued that little added value was produced in pilot projects. Everyone agreed on one point: We still need space and time after RAMICS 2024 to discuss the various arguments in sufficient detail. Even after the congress, it will still be worth looking at the programme.

Kalina Magdzinska and Rebecca Klant, both representatives of monneta, presented their practical paper they have been working on with Christian Gelleri over the past few months:  Success Factors and Challenges of the Climate Bonus Flensburg: A Real-World Lab Analysis. The work examined the Climate Bonus project in the Flensburg region, analysing its first year of operation (Klimabonus Website). The study focused on the success factors and challenges encountered since the introduction of the Climate Bonus in Flensburg – a region without an existing complementary currency system. Both internal experiences of the operational team and external perspectives from various cooperation partners were taken into account and presented in a comprehensive SWOT analysis. This analysis served as the basis for identifying the potential and challenges of a sustainable complementary currency system at local level.

 

RAMICS Members Meeting

  1. The General Assembly was held with over 30 participants.
  2. Instead of the newsletter, it was decided to concentrate on the blog posts instead given the amount of work involved in meeting the deadlines. Subscribers will receive an email notification for each blog post.
  3. Membership numbers have developed well, particularly following the conference in Rome.
  4. Jerome Blanc told us about the financial situation of RAMICS and concluded: not bad, but fragile and very dependent on whether a conference takes place or not. The costs incurred mainly relate to the website, the bank account and the Best Paper Award.
  5. On the subject of the CC-Literature Databank, it was suggested that the scope of the bibliography should be limited to complementary currencies that have at least certain restrictions in terms of convertibility (the exchange fee of 5%, as we know it from the Climate Bonus or Chiemgauer, is sufficient for him as a restriction). With the boom in publications on complementary currencies, we would otherwise be unlikely to achieve the goal of getting our bibliography close to the scope with the resources available. One suggestion from the audience was to make the work more efficient by using an AI for the bibliography. People were open to this idea, although it would require a more expertise in the team.
  6. Regarding the International Journal of Community Currency Research (IJCCR), Jens Martignoni reported on the challenges facing the journal, which are related to the following factors:
  • Dependence on the RAMICS congresses
  • Delayed progress on the index issue
  • costs
  • Problems with the platform
  • Option to archive the journal and start a new one
  • New name
  • Another current challenge: to bring the many good, convincing papers that have now been submitted to a status that makes them publishable in other journals.

Event archive: 7th Law & Macroeconomics Conference

from 6. January 2025 to 7. January 2025, Michigan
 The 7th Conference on Law & Macroeconomics will be held on January 6-7, 2025 at the University of Michigan.

The Call for Papers is open to scholars from all relevant disciplines, including but not limited to law, macroeconomics, history, political science, and sociology.  Interested applicants should submit their papers for consideration on or before October 13, 2024 through this form.  Abstracts and introductions are welcome, but full drafts of accepted papers will be expected for distribution by December 22, 2024.  Questions can be directed to lawandmacro@umich.edu.

From the organizers:

Geopolitical tensions, inflation, and recurrent banking crises have exposed the fragilities of the international monetary system. At the same time, interventions by central banks and fiscal authorities have stoked optimism about the potential for a “soft landing” and sustainable economic expansion.

These developments reinforce the imperative of research at the intersection of law and macroeconomics, even as they recast and sharpen our understanding of the field. They form the background for the Seventh Conference on Law and Macroeconomics. The conference will be held on January 6-7, 2025, at the University of Michigan Law School and the University of Michigan Ross School of Business in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We welcome submissions of papers that address the following topics, among
others:

  1. Monetary policy, including comparative approaches to achieving price stability;
  2. Fiscal policy, including legal and regulatory tools to mitigate economic downturns;
  3. Financial regulatory policy, including its interactions with fiscal and monetary policies;
  4. Emergency lending authorities given to central bankers to backstop the broader economy;
  5. Industrial policy as means of promoting economic development or combating climate change;
  6. Increased use of sanctions against small and large, interconnected economies;
  7. The U.S. dollar and its status as the global reserve currency; and
  8. Sovereign debt vulnerabilities, including the role of international institutions like the IMF

For more information, including the full Call for Papers, please visit the conference website.

PAPER SUBMISSIONS DUE OCTOBER 13, 2024.

Event archive: Collaborative Finance #2 – Serving Local Communities

from 28. June 2024 to 2. July 2000, Banja LuKa, Bosnia

We need to re-organise work, wages, cooperation, food, community, procurement, health, education, even government. Financial innovation is a critical part of the solution, re-imagining investment, ownership, pensions, money, cooperation, supply chains and resilience.

There are too many ideas to process, it can be hard to look beyond our specialist bubbles and impossible to coordinate, to agree, to plan.

#CoFi is a space for meeting, knowing each other, building trust, cooperation and hopefully, building power. In our first gathering we showcased payment systems architectures, and how credit is created and circulates and extinguished within them.

But finance is just numbers if it doesn’t serve the real economy. This July, the Crypto Commons Association is proud to offer CoFi 2, where we will start to bridge alternative finance to other alternatives!  #CoFi isn’t intended to be super-geeky; grassroots building requires building broad alliances rather than competing for market niches.

If you are still reading, you’re invited to Banja Luka at the end of June. We want to see practitioners not only in payments tech, but in community building and community finance, food networks, barter networks, business networks and everything adjacent.

 

More information and registration here.