Beyond Welfare CBDC A Catalyst for Community Growth

Clearly the reset is upon us. The signs are there given the great and the greedy are pillaging and plundering what they can, while they can, on our planet of rapidly diminishing and finite resources. Once the Oligarchs have trousered what they want let us hope our stooge governments have enough about them to provide for a decent way of life within the new digital feudal matrix, for their citizens to have a sufficient illusion of choice to want to have families again.

The advent of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) presents a fantastic debt free opportunity for community and charitable groups to explore innovative proof-of-concept projects that directly benefit health and well-being. Unlike the current model for the creation of money we could pursue one based on faith backed by the real stakeholders, namely UK citizens. Sow Study Sustain has the vision of leveraging CBDCs to foster community engagement, intergenerational knowledge transfer and the revitalisation of traditional skills, particularly around growing healthy food. The Cartel may not like it but their rent-seeking wealth extraction is killing aspiration and innovation.

The voluntary sector is increasingly struggling with funding constraints. While the people at the top of these organisations enjoy an income, volunteers quickly realise they are being undervalued. Currently councils and gatekeeper funders get a bigger slice of the pie while the delivery partners are expected to do all of the work and be thankful for what they get, which is both feudal and futile. The direct deployment CBDC funding, linked to a Universal Basic Income (UBI) framework, could offer a supplementary income stream that empowers individuals to actively participate in community-building activities. This would reignite a sense of ownership and purpose, transforming passive recipients into active contributors. Government, citizens and even mainstream media would come to a positive consensus on this.

The Sow Study Sustain focus on growing healthy food is particularly relevant. It really addresses multiple needs simultaneously: promoting better nutrition, fostering outdoor activity and social interaction and of course creating opportunities for intergenerational learning. Imagine undervalued, forgotten, older community members sharing their gardening expertise and other trade skills with younger generations, passing down valuable traditional expertise while strengthening community bonds.

Beyond food production, the potential applications are vast. We can revitalise public spaces through painting the town, community arts and crafts, landscaping to create green spaces and fruit forests within the built environment. As communities we can support marginalised individuals and reduce the crimewave and knife crime within our communities, the positive possibilities are endless. CBDCs could easily facilitate payments to either not for profits or micro-payments to individuals for these activities, directly rewarding community involvement and making it more sustainable. Abuse the remit or the system and the money could be retired and it would not have to be to bigger organisations who tend to migrate the money to upper management.

Sow Study Sustain High five to consider in CBDC Community proof-of-concepts:

• Inclusivity: Ensuring that everyone, regardless of their literacy can participate. This might involve informal education based training and support, as well as offering alternative ways to access and use.
• Transparency and Accountability: Establishing clear guidelines for how CBDCs are earned and spent within the community projects. Transparency in financial transactions is crucial for building trust and preventing misuse of funds.
• Collaboration: Fostering collaboration between community groups, charities, local businesses, and government agencies to maximise the impact of these CBDC-funded projects. Think Partnerships, not only do they increase the funding but also bring in diverse expertise and resources.
• Measurable Outcomes: Defining clear metrics to track the success of the projects would trigger extended funding. This could include quantitative but also qualitive measures, such as community engagement, improvements in health and well-being, and the revitalisation of traditional skills.
• Scalability: Designing projects that can be scaled up and replicated in other communities if they prove successful.

By focusing on these five key aspects, community and charitable groups can leverage the potential of CBDCs to create a more vibrant, resilient, and equitable society. It's an opportunity to empower individuals, strengthen communities, and unlock the value of intergenerational knowledge transfer, achieving outcomes that traditional market-driven approaches often overlook.