A Social ‘Bank’ is Needed
I like to inform you about Tree Credits Foundation latest progress in thinking and action. Our small group has been working on global solutions; how to cure both climate change as well as global poverty.
This might sound utopian, but trees and soils are recognized as best natural carbon sinks and the Tree Credits’ version how to reward agroforestry is being tested successfully and now with revolutionary social ‘banking’ software on the drawing board, realisation of massive global reforestation (and much more) to the benefit of the planet and the locals, looks within reach.
We are looking at a financial system which will be designed to benefit the poorest in the world, which helps to create value for people, planet and profit.
Tree Credits The starting point of the solution, we are working on, lies in making available a basic income to anyone who makes a positive, lasting contribution to the planet - think of people who plant and grow trees or do organic farming, etc. Basically, the climate can be restored, by a process to accumulate carbon, produced through photosynthesis into the ground. Trees and agroforestry have many more positive effects, which could help communities out of poverty.
The basic income for climate work might be distributed by a social bank. This could also provide a platform for all kinds of movements that aspire to international sustainability, can develop on.
A social bank could introduce its own (crypto-)currency to fill the gap between paid work and unpaid voluntary work. According to Prof. Bernard Lietaer such a inbetween currency might also play an important role to absorb the worst shocks in a future financial crisis.
A social bank with an alternative currency that focuses on its own value creation might be also needed for the food transition towards organics, for massive forestry (in order to save the last ancient forests) and could play its role in the necessary reform of the financial system.
The proposed social currency could have two functions:
as an international digital currency to reward volunteers
as a ready to use local currency to reduce poverty by generating income.
The revolution we spoke of in the introduction is enabled by the new Blockchain Technology and using the synergy of many other new developments, such as rural mobile banking, online crowd participation and mapping by satellite.
Blockchain based transactions can be done safely and without the need of a party in between. This software makes all types of cross-border transactions possible and is internationally applicable. The Blockchain Technology will form the basis for the social banking system. Safety and transparency are key.
Some might not like the loaded word (social) Bank, so it might be better talk about an online platform that can work to further sustainability and democracy. Within Tree Credits, we talk about a gamified platform or the Good Game.
How to implement such a grand (IT) scheme? It could be split in 4 projects:
Tree Credits: registration of trees, tree farmers and field agents, location data, payments to ‘climate workers’. We are halfway writing the necessary software.
Social Coin: cryptocurrency, mobile phone enabled, to stimulate marginal economies and to reward volunteers.
Social Banking: allows various levels of currencies, protocols and exchanges, retail and investment banking, to make the above possible.
Social Game Platform: allows players meaningful participation by helping with publicity of and fundraising for all kinds of cross border social and environmental projects; also help with management and monitoring of projects and even online project planning should be made possible. Players will get rewarded with points and levels for their contributions, and a share in the “new” economy.
We hereby kindly request you to consider to join our new initiative, an incubator to explore how to design and create a Social Coin and to research the potential of a Social Bank. This task force will work remotely and occasionally meet in Holland. Please send me a small reply and indicate your interests, expertise (we need input for software design, system design and transition economics, education, project finance and much more). Please indicate also how much time you might be able spare to participate in these projects (1 hour a week or more). Anybody is welcome!
No time, still want to help: in that case, on behalf of the Tree Credits Foundation I kindly invite you to become a patron, no strings attached and to help us in our quest to find the right entrepreneur, the next Elon Musk, to help to carry these projects along.
You could do so by donating any small amount* to our account**, mentioning “patron”; we will then contact you. Or send me a mail. Ferdinand Swart. srifer@gmail.com.
*) All these gifts will be fully used for our ongoing Trichy Tree Planting Project
**) IBAN NL13TRIO.............., name: Stichting Tree Credits Foundation
Also all other comments are very welcome, especially on the content of my first outline of the social bank and social coin which can be found in an other doc.
For more background, please consult the links shown:
https://twitter.com/treecredits
https://www.facebook.com/treecredits/