Commitment Pooling & Community Vouchers: A Field Guide¶

How to Use This Guide¶

This guide is designed to give communities a feel for how Community Asset Vouchers (CAVs) function within a Commitment Pooling ecosystem. It introduces key concepts of trust-based coordination and shows how communities can begin organizing local economies through promises, mutual care, and shared memory—not dependency on outside capital or centralized institutions.

You’ll gain a foundational understanding of: - What a CAV is as a promise of future contribution - How communities can seed and exchange these promises through a shared pool - What kind of community readiness and relational trust supports success

This guide does not cover technical implementation or long-term governance, but gives enough background to know whether your community is ready to take the next steps toward creating a local commitment pool.

If your community has already experimented with community vouchers, this guide can help reframe your experience into a metabolic system of commitments—supporting deeper adoption and mutual accountability.

Audience¶

This guide is intended for: - Community organizers, project managers, trainers, and trust stewards - Chamas, mutual aid circles, community councils, savings groups - Humanitarian field workers, facilitators, and peer educators - Local businesses, students, farmers, youth and women's groups

Participants should have some relationship with the local community and an interest in exploring how local value can be coordinated without relying solely on national currency. The ideal group size is 5–10 people to allow space for personal reflection and group learning.

This guide is particularly useful for communities where vouchers have been granted or where people have received airdropped credits and want to build toward a more regenerative system based on ongoing reciprocal contribution.

After completing this training, participants will: - Understand how promises and care can be tracked as credit - Be able to seed their own vouchers into a pool - Begin designing a local commitment system anchored in trust

Some participants may go on to facilitate new pools or train others in their community, forming the basis for a distributed network of economic stewardship.

Purpose of the Training¶

Communities using or creating local vouchers need to understand the benefits, obligations, and responsibilities of participating in a Commitment Pool. The process is not about issuing money—it is about organizing care, and recognizing that every member of a community has something to offer, regardless of their income or access to cash.

A Community Asset Voucher is a formalized promise—a unit of future contribution that can be shared, held, or fulfilled. When pooled together, these vouchers form a commons of commitment: a living ledger of mutual support.

This training focuses on experiential learning. Each session is rooted in real exchange, storytelling, and reflection. Participants will practice: - Making and recording promises - Swapping commitments in a shared pool - Redeeming vouchers through community service

Facilitators should understand the protocol and be prepared to explain how promises are tracked, how pools grow, and how communities self-regulate.

More in-depth material is available in the Commitment Pool FAQ.

Before You Start¶

Community Asset Vouchers are not just tools—they are expressions of community trust. Each CAV is a promise backed by a real good or service, and every pool is a memory system for those promises.

Before starting, ask: - Do we have unmet needs and underused skills or resources? - Are members willing to promise what they can offer—and fulfill what they owe? - Can we commit to tracking care and coordinating fairly?

Commitment pooling is not a top-down solution. It is a bottom-up invitation to remember: we already know how to care for one another.

This guide helps communities recover that memory, organize their promises, and begin weaving regenerative economies—one commitment at a time.

Why Commitment Pools and Community Vouchers?¶

Community Asset Vouchers (CAVs) within a Commitment Pool are a way for communities to organize trust, launch regenerative projects, activate dormant resources, and grow resilience without relying on external institutions.

Unlike national currency, which must be earned before it can be spent, CAVs are issued as formalized promises—commitments to contribute goods or services in the future. When these promises are pooled, they create a living system of mutual credit, enabling communities to coordinate care, labor, and value in the absence of cash.

Commitment Pools allow these vouchers to circulate in a way that mimics healthy ecological exchange: regenerative, reciprocal, and grounded in relationship. They create space for local initiative, while also opening possibilities for interaction with other economies through swap protocols and shared standards.

A Commitment Pool is not just a tool—it’s a commons of memory and care. It allows each promise to ripple outward, nourishing projects, livelihoods, and mutual trust.

What Commitment Pooling Can (and Can’t) Do¶

A Commitment Pool can:

Support local projects and mutual aid through pooled commitments
Expand community access to credit—without interest, banks, or collateral
Jump-start stalled economies where national currency is scarce
Encourage participation from the whole community—elders, youth, caretakers, farmers
Recognize and reward labor that traditional economies ignore (e.g. caregiving, reforestation)
Strengthen relationships between community members through ongoing mutual obligations
Allow swapping of one type of commitment for another
Reduce dependence on extractive financial systems
Redistribute credit fairly through redeemable social agreements
Anchor accountability and care through traceable fulfillment

A Commitment Pool cannot:

Operate without trust. Vouchers only work if people believe in—and fulfill—their promises.
Function without curation. Communities must take responsibility for who seeds the pool and under what conditions.
Work as a “free money” system. Commitment Pooling requires reciprocal contribution, not passive receipt.
Be maintained without memory. Each action must be recorded so that care is honored and the commons is preserved.

Starting a Pool¶

Rather than offering a pre-designed currency, Commitment Pools start by helping people make promises and see those promises fulfilled.

Instead of a token airdrop or external injection of funds, pools begin with a local circle of contributors willing to seed their own vouchers—representing time, food, care, repairs, or any redeemable good or service. These vouchers can then be swapped or withdrawn from the pool by others, creating circulation grounded in relationship.

This method ensures that all value in the system is rooted in actual capacity, not speculation.

Participants receive real experience: issuing, seeding, redeeming, and tracking commitments before formal launch. This helps the community develop strong governance and accountability practices before scaling.

Creating Community Vouchers (CAVs)¶

A Community Asset Voucher is not currency—it’s a promise of future value. CAVs are created by individuals or groups who agree to offer something of worth to others in the network. Each voucher must be backed 100% by the issuer’s real ability to provide the good or service it represents.

Through the Commitment Pooling protocol, these vouchers become part of a shared registry. They may be:

Seeded into a pool to build credit and trust
Swapped for other vouchers (e.g. labor exchanged for food)
Held by others and later redeemed by returning to the issuer

The circulation of vouchers maps the metabolism of the community: who is offering care, who is receiving it, and how trust flows over time.

Gathering the Participants¶

Every pool begins with a group of initial stewards: elders, producers, business owners, youth leaders, mutual aid groups. These are the people who will seed the first commitments, test the system, and encourage others to join through their example.

The wider the participation, the stronger the pool. Diversity of contribution builds redundancy and resilience.

Before launching, communities should ensure that: - Enough trusted members are ready to issue redeemable vouchers - There is clarity around how commitments are made and fulfilled - Someone is accountable for tracking and maintaining the memory of the pool

Being Willing to Play¶

This training is not theoretical. It is an invitation to experience the trust systems we are growing.

Participants will practice: - Defining their commitments - Seeding vouchers into a shared pool - Swapping and redeeming based on collective need

The exercises are designed to simulate a real commitment economy. Even if your community decides not to move forward, the act of mapping resources, offering promises, and fulfilling care is inherently valuable.

At the end of the process, your group will have enough experience to make an informed decision: Are we ready to grow a trust-based economy?

The answer begins with one promise.

Let the pools begin.

Course Implementation: Commitment Pooling for Community Economies¶

Focus¶

This course is rooted in the context of communities like those in Kenya, but it is adaptable to any place where people face economic exclusion and have unrecognized value to offer.

Participants are members of mutual aid groups, chamas, churches, SILCs, cooperatives, local businesses, or informal networks who are ready to make and fulfill promises to one another. These groups are well-positioned to become Commitment Pool originators—curating and seeding a shared registry of redeemable commitments, backed by real goods, services, or care work.

The focus is not on creating a “currency” but rather on enabling local groups to grow a relational trust economy, using Community Vouchers to coordinate value that already exists.

Goals¶

By the end of this training, groups will:

Be able to articulate clear commitments to the community—stating what they will offer and under what conditions.
Understand the process of seeding a voucher into a Commitment Pool and navigating the trust-based flows that follow.
Map out who their stakeholders are and how to invite wider participation while maintaining accountability.
Explore critical themes:
- The ethics of promise-making and fulfillment
- Trust as the foundation of value
- The function of trade balance and debt in pooled systems
- Reciprocity and care as economic infrastructure
- The group’s role in cultivating a regenerative local economy

Logistics¶

Scripted + Flexible: This training is available in multiple languages and designed to be facilitated by experienced organizers who understand Commitment Pooling principles. The guide includes structured exercises to simulate real trust economies.
Duration: Approximately 6 hours of facilitated sessions, including interactive simulations, reflection, and storytelling. Follow-up sessions are encouraged once participants begin designing or testing their own pools.
Facilitation:
- Minimum 1 facilitator with practical experience in pooled voucher systems.
- Local mediators or trusted elders are encouraged to participate in order to validate commitments and support fulfillment processes.
- Co-facilitators can help play specific roles during simulations: voucher issuers, pool stewards, redeemers, or swap partners.
Materials:
- Large writing surface (e.g., flipchart, blackboard)
- (Optional) Video examples or animations of Commitment Pooling in action
- Basic calculator or smartphone
- Game & Simulation Supplies:
  - Paper slips to simulate vouchers (labelled with issuer and type)
  - Tokens or beans as symbolic commitments (e.g. “10 Eggs,” “1 Hour of Repair”)
  - Coins or different color papers for national currency exchange reference
  - Mancala-style board or ground-based hole setup for visualizing trust flows (see example)
- For Participants:
  - Notebook and pencil
  - (Optional) Access to a demo version of the Sarafu.Network or a sample Commitment Pool interface via mobile or web

Course Summary¶

This course includes the following modules:

Local Economies as Living Systems
Mapping our unmet needs and underused capacities. Understanding where national currency fails—and where promises can fill the gap.
Community Voucher Creation & Pool Seeding
Designing a commitment: defining what you can promise, how much, and how to fulfill. Learning how to seed, swap, and redeem within a Commitment Pool.
Engagement & Memory
How to introduce the idea of pooled trust to others. Creating visibility, building accountability, and recording the memory of exchange.
Implementation Roadmap
Reflecting on readiness. Planning for first seedings, setting credit limits, and identifying support roles for governance and redemption.

At its heart, this course is about reclaiming economic authorship. It reminds participants:

You don’t need permission to care for one another.
You don’t need capital to build an economy of trust.
You only need your word—and someone who believes in it.

Let the pools begin.

Part 1. Local Economies¶

Introduction¶

A Community Voucher is not simply a new form of money—it is a promise, backed by the real capacity of the issuer. When pooled together, these promises form the foundation of a Commitment Pool, a shared registry of redeemable commitments that enables trade even when national currency is scarce.

Commitment Pooling is a protocol for community credit—a way to circulate trust, route care, and organize abundance. Used well, it supports livelihoods, anchors collective projects, and builds economic resilience.

Like any system of care, it requires maintenance. If promises go unfulfilled or memory breaks down, harm can occur. This guide models how such breakdowns happen—and how communities can prevent them by tending their pool with care.

History¶

Before coins, before states, before banks—there was trust.

The earliest writing in human history was a list of labor promises: payments due for grain and care. Communities have always invented means of remembering who promised what to whom. From Mesopotamian tokens to mutual aid networks in Latin America, to rotating savings clubs (ROSCAs) in Kenya—economic coordination has always emerged from relationship.

Community Vouchers and Commitment Pools are not new. They are a re-membering of forgotten methods—made visible again for today's challenges.

Why Pools?¶

The central insight of Commitment Pooling is this:

Communities often have more capacity than cash.

People can grow food, fix roofs, teach skills, or care for elders—but they cannot always exchange that value because the national currency is missing.

By issuing vouchers for real goods and services—and pooling those commitments—communities unlock that trapped potential. A voucher like “10 eggs” or “1 hour of childcare” can circulate before national currency arrives. The result: trade happens, needs are met, and value remains rooted locally.

Resource Mapping and Ecosystem Design¶

Let’s imagine a voucher system where someone seeds a promise for 100 chapatis—but only ever spends that credit on flour, which cycles back to chapatis. This creates a closed loop, which may be functional but limited.

Instead, we want to map a diverse metabolic network:
- What kinds of value can circulate?
- What goods and services are abundant?
- What leaks out (imports)?
- What can be redirected or reimagined?

This mapping helps communities shape trust routes and prepare for full-cycle redemption. It also reveals whether they can become self-reliant—not in isolation, but in interdependence.

Ask: - What does “local” mean in your context? - If everyone had work, what would they be doing? - What resources are wasted, overlooked, or underused?

Commitment Vouchers: Lecture & Dialogue (30 min)¶

Invite participants to reflect together:

“Shillings are issued by the state—but what if we created a trust ledger of our own? One where our word was enough to begin trade?”

A voucher is a promise: “I will provide X when you redeem this.”
It is not backed by money—but by commitment.
Pools allow these promises to be circulated and swapped.
Their strength comes from redemption and memory—not profit or enforcement.

Say:

“Today, we will experience a system where care is tracked, promises are fulfilled, and value is remembered. This is not charity. It is not aid. It is coordination.”

Then ask these questions to prompt discussion:

Have you ever thought about where money comes from?
What would it mean to create a credit system based on care?
Do businesses in the community experience cash flow problems?
How is a voucher different from national currency?
How do people currently borrow value—and at what cost?
Formal (banks, SACCOs, MFIs)?
Informal (friends, shop credit, shylocks)?
How long does it take to access credit?
What are the conditions or consequences?

Exercise: Mapping Our Promise Ecosystem¶

Materials¶

White Board or Flipchart
Markers
Slips of paper (white for needs, blue for offerings)
Beans or tokens to represent Community Vouchers (e.g. 10 CAV per bean)
Pens or pencils
Tape or wall for posting

Setup¶

Give each participant:

1 A4 sheet of paper
6 white slips (to write community needs)
10 beans (representing vouchers they may issue or receive)
A pencil or pen

Introduction¶

Say:

“To make a healthy Commitment Pool, we need to understand what value flows through our community. Who can offer what? Who needs what? This is not just about business—it includes care, joy, labor, and repair.”

“Most Community Vouchers today are digital—but for this session, we will simulate using beans and paper. This makes the entire trust system visible and traceable.”

Step 1: Mapping Needs¶

Ask:

“What are the unmet needs in your community? Think of goods like food and fuel, services like transport or repair, and care like grief support or elder care.”

Write 2–3 needs per person. Collect and post them on the board.

Mark repeated entries with stars. Ask:

Which of these needs require imports?
Which could be fulfilled locally?
Which are currently unpaid or underpaid?
Are there any circular flows—needs that could be met through internal trade?

Use metaphors to illustrate impact:

“What happens to a leaking bucket?”
“If we import more than we create, our wealth flows out. But if we promise, fulfill, and cycle trust internally—our bucket stays full.”

This first part prepares the ground for the next: issuing promises and simulating swaps. When you're ready, I’ll help rewrite Part 2 with swap exercises and Commitment Pool flow.

Step 2. What Can I Promise?¶

Say:

Now that we’ve explored what our community needs, let’s reflect on what each of us can offer. Not necessarily what you sell for money, but what you are willing to promise—your labor, your goods, your time, your care.

A commitment does not have to be something you currently have in your pocket. It can be something you’re able to produce, do, or give in the future. That’s the nature of a promise.

Each slip of paper represents a voucher—a formal promise you are making to your community. Write down one commitment per paper. Try to be realistic. What would you feel good about fulfilling if someone brought that paper back to you?

Instructions:

Give each person 4 slips of paper.
Have them write one offer per slip (e.g. “1 plate of food”, “1 hour tutoring”, “10 eggs”, “repair bike”, etc.).
These are their personal issued vouchers—which will later be part of their Own Held commitments.

Optional framing:

These slips are like IOUs—but shared in a system that remembers. When we pool them together, we create a shared memory of what care exists and who has promised it.

Step 3. Seeding and Swapping Commitments¶

In this activity, we will simulate how a Commitment Pool works. Participants will seed their promises into a shared pool and then use those pooled commitments to meet their needs.

Say:

In a real commitment pool, people seed their promises into a shared trust registry. This allows others to draw on those promises—not based on money, but on reciprocal care.

For today’s exercise, we’ll use beans to represent commitments that have been seeded into the pool. Each bean equals a promise worth 10 CAVs—a voucher denomination of your choosing. We are not “earning money”—we are routing trust.

Setup:

Give each participant 10 beans.
These represent 100 CAV worth of pooled credit.
Remind them: they are receiving this not as a gift, but as temporary access to the pool, based on mutual trust.

Pricing:

Now look at the vouchers you wrote earlier. On the back, write a price for each promise—in 10-CAV units (e.g. 10, 20, 30, etc.). Keep it small so your peers can afford multiple swaps.

When someone trades a bean for your voucher, they now hold your promise and may return it to you later for redemption.

Demonstration:

Hold up one of your own offers (e.g. “1 Boda ride”) and say:

“This is my promise. It costs 50 CAVs, or 5 beans. If someone gives me 5 beans, they receive this voucher—and can later return it to me to claim the ride.”

Instructions:

Now, you may walk around and make trades. Give someone beans to receive a voucher. Or offer your vouchers in exchange for beans.

You must make at least five trades. Try to meet your real needs based on what others are offering. This is not about profit—it’s about circulation and trust.

Once you've completed your trades, sit down and count your beans and vouchers. We’ll do a memory check together.

Debrief (after everyone finishes):

Gather participants and ask:

How many beans do you have left?
How many vouchers from others do you now hold?
How many of your own vouchers did others receive?
Who are you now in trust with?
How would you feel if someone brought your voucher back tomorrow to redeem?

Close with:

This is how a pool begins: promises are seeded, exchanged, and remembered. If you fulfill what you’ve promised, the cycle is sustained. If memory or redemption breaks down, so does trust. This is a metabolic economy—not a market.

Step 4. Community Trust Audit¶

Set up a chart on the board with everyone’s name. This is our trust memory for the session.

Say:

Let’s trace what happened in our trust flow. Each bean represented a pooled promise. Now we’ll see who has given more than they received, and who has received more than they gave.

Please count how many beans (pooled promises) you have. If you think you have the most, say the amount out loud. One by one, we’ll write the names and totals on the board, from most to least.

Write each participant’s final bean total next to their name on a large board or flipchart.

Group Reflection¶

Ask:

What do you notice about the distribution?
Who ended up with more pooled credit than they started with?
Who ended up with less?

Explain:

In this simulation, each person started with 10 beans, or 100 CAV worth of shared promise access. Someone who ends up with 15 beans now holds more pooled trust—they’ve contributed more than they’ve drawn.

Someone with 5 beans has drawn more from the pool than they’ve offered in return—this is not a failure, but a signal. It may reflect need, timing, or trust routing.

Ask:

What could the group do to support the people whose offers weren’t picked up?
What happens if someone consistently gives but doesn’t spend?
What if someone receives many promises but doesn’t fulfill their own?

Listen for responses like:

Broadening who’s invited into the pool
Changing what’s seeded into the pool
Supporting fulfillment capacity
Encouraging new trust ties

Trade Pattern Review¶

Next, tally what types of offers were fulfilled. This will help the group see the metabolic patterns of the ecosystem.

Ask participants to raise hands for what they received, or collect the redeemed vouchers.

Create a table like this on the board:

Offer Type	Total Traded (CAV)	# of Trades	External Input?
Boda Ride	200	2
Water	200	2
Chapati (Food)	400	4
Tomatoes	0	0
Petrol	200	2	Yes

Use a star (*) to mark anything that requires external resupply (like petrol).

Guided Questions:¶

What patterns do we see in what was traded?
What offers were never redeemed? Why might that be?
Which offers depend on external goods (Kenyan Shillings)?
Can this ecosystem sustain itself? What would help?

Then ask:

Were daily needs met through the pool?
What needs are missing from this exchange?
What challenges showed up during this exercise?

Facilitator notes:

Write down issues the group mentions—these often include:

Supply bottlenecks (especially for external goods)
Trust gaps or misunderstandings
Too few people in the pool
Changing prices without agreement
Over-concentration of CAV with a few participants
Limited redemption points or poor circulation
Seasonal gaps (e.g. harvest-dependent goods)

Final Prompt:

Remember: Commitment Pooling is a collective memory. It’s not just about how much we each gave or received, but whether our shared metabolism is thriving. If people are hoarding promises, losing track, or unable to fulfill—then we adjust the pool.

Trust doesn’t disappear—it just needs to be rerouted.

Part 2. Creating a Community Asset Voucher through Commitment Pooling¶

In the previous simulation, you may have wondered: What happens if I end up holding too many CAVs? These are important questions. Here are some you might hear:

“How will I restock my shop with goods that can only be bought with Kenyan Shillings?”
- 👉 Accept CAV in proportion to what you can redeem for in the pool.
- 👉 Accept as much as you’re comfortable holding as trust in your community.
“What if people spend CAV, then refuse to accept them back?”
- 👉 Those who issue vouchers must fulfill them. If not, mediation is required.

This section helps us practice the core principle of Commitment Pooling: No CAV exists without a real commitment behind it. Every voucher is backed by a specific person or group, promising goods or services.

Introducing a CAV isn’t just technical—it’s relational. Pooling our commitments is an act of trust and care. That trust must be continually refreshed and fulfilled.

Commitment Pooling: Lecture & Discussion (30 mins)¶

Facilitator notes: Provide pens and paper for notes.

Say:

Every CAV begins as a voucher of trust—a promise to offer something of real value to your neighbors. That promise is what we call a commitment.

In the simulation, each person was issued 100 CAV because they were backing it with 100 Ksh of actual value—vegetables, transport, tailoring, childcare.

If someone spent 100 CAV on tomatoes while promising shoe repair—they’re pre-selling their service for tomatoes. This is how reciprocal value flows.

Core Principles to Emphasize¶

Community Backing: > Every voucher must be redeemable. If you issue 2,000 CAV, you must be ready to redeem it with 2,000 Ksh worth of real goods or services.
Zero Trade Balance Target: > Over time, communities aim for each member’s CAV issued (debt) to match the CAV redeemed (fulfilled).
Reserve of Commitments: > Think of commitments like seeds in a seed bank. You deposit a promise, receive a voucher (like a share slip), and later, someone else redeems it.
Ongoing Care: > A CAV is not free money. It is a living memory of trust that must be nourished. If people issue but refuse to fulfill, the circulation stops. Resentment grows. The system fails.

🌱 Exercise: Community Commitment Pledging¶

This activity will help you map what your community can actually commit—in real time and value.

Participants will declare: - What they can offer - How much they are willing to redeem - What they expect to spend - What limits they want to set

🧰 Materials¶

4 white slips of paper per participant (to write voucher types)
Beans or slips to represent CAV (at least 25 per participant, = 2,500 Ksh of backing)
Pens or pencils
A4 paper for commitment summaries
Flipchart paper for public commitment board

🌀 Setup¶

Stay in the same groups from the previous round.
Distribute materials.
Choose roles:

👥 Roles¶

Chama Representative / Pool Steward:
Audit the commitments: Are they realistic? Do they reflect real capacity?
Allocate vouchers (CAV) based on the commitments.
Mediate disputes.
Enforce a 2% monthly holding fee (if used).

Naming Your CAV¶

Say:

Let’s choose a name and abbreviation for your community’s voucher. It can be playful, aspirational, or local. For example: “Wanoma” → “NOMA”.

Give each group 5 minutes to choose a name and abbreviation.
Share and vote for a favorite.
Write it prominently on the board. This becomes the unit of promise in your pool.

How Many CAVs to Create?¶

Each CAV must be backed 100% by actual, auditable commitments. This means:

Each participant writes up to 2,500 Ksh of realistic goods and services they are willing to redeem.
The pool steward checks: Does this reflect real monthly or seasonal capacity?
Sum all commitments. That’s the pool reserve.
Total CAV that can be issued = Pool Reserve.

Facilitator: Emphasize that no CAV is created from thin air. Only commitments generate CAV.

Community Creation Criteria¶

To form a live Commitment Pool:

Group must be at least 1 year old
Minimum 10 active members
At least 50,000 Ksh worth of verifiable backing
Participation in this training
Signed agreement, validated by elders and leaders

Say:

This is serious. A CAV is not a project. It’s a promise system. Like a child, it needs care and guidance. Communities that treat their promises with care can build long-term economic trust.

Discussion Prompts¶

Ask the group:

Did we reach the 50,000 Ksh mark?
Were the commitments balanced?
If not, who else might join to strengthen the pool?
Do you see potential for circular trade—where promises can fulfill each other locally?
What commitments felt easy to make? What felt risky?
Would seeing others’ numbers influence what you offered?
What would make this process more fair or effective?
How should this commitment agreement be enforced?
Who will mediate disputes or trust breakdowns?

🔍 Reflective Prompt¶

Say:

Think back to the earlier simulation. You held vouchers, you traded, you tracked value. Now ask yourself: What could you commit in the real world? Vegetables? Plumbing? A week of childcare?

Now, make those real. Write down up to 2,500 Ksh of actual services or goods you’d offer if your community launched this voucher tomorrow.

Remind them:

Your total CAV allocation = your total commitment. Don’t offer more than you’re willing to redeem.

Facilitator: Gather these cards and post the total pool capacity publicly.

By the end of this section, your group will have:

✅ A proposed CAV name
✅ A list of committed goods and services
✅ A total backing amount
✅ Roles assigned
✅ An understanding of what it means to seed, hold, and fulfill a commitment

This is the metabolic seed of your community economy.

🧷 Step 1: Naming Your Commitments¶

Facilitator: Remind the group of the previous CAV simulation.

Say:

Earlier, you committed goods or services in order to receive CAV. This is exactly how a voucher becomes valid—it must be backed by a real promise to fulfill something useful. Now, we’ll do this with actual commitments from each of you.

We’re going to simulate a real Commitment Pool: Each person will back 2,500 KSH worth of goods or services and receive 2,500 CAV. In a real launch, the group must reach at least 50,000 KSH in audited commitments, and no single person should commit more than 10% of their annual (or one month’s) business capacity.

So: What can you honestly promise to provide to your community—redeemable by anyone holding your voucher?

Give each participant 25 small slips of paper. Say:

Write one item or service per slip. If you’re offering chapati, write that on each slip. Write the value—e.g., “Chapati - 100 KSH” on each one. These slips represent your actual, redeemable commitments.

✅ Goal: Each participant ends with 2,500 KSH worth of committed goods or services, documented as 25 slips at 100 KSH each.

📊 Step 2: Fill in the Commitment Table¶

Facilitator: As participants complete their slips, transcribe each commitment into a Commitment Table on a flipchart or board.

Commitment Table Format:

Name	Product Committed	Commitment Value (KSH)	CAV Issued
Joyce	Water	400	400
Janet	Sugar	400	400
Jacob	Maize flour	400	400
Mwanaidi	Rice	400	400
Phred	Phone airtime	400	400
Amina	Firewood (Kuni)	400	400
Mbui	Maji	400	400
Vivian	Boda rides	400	400
Njambi	Greens (Mboga)	400	400
Nadzua	Water project	400	400
	Total	4,000	4,000

Say:

This is our Commitment Table. It shows who promised what—and how much CAV they will receive in return. Every voucher is a receipt of a promise, and this table is our collective memory.

For example, if Sally commits 2,500 KSH of chapatis, she will receive 2,500 CAV. Later, when someone redeems those vouchers, she will fulfill that promise.

Facilitator Tip: Emphasize that promises are traceable. No one can issue CAV anonymously.

Ask:

Any questions on this process?
Would someone like to act as the Pool Steward or Chama Rep—responsible for validating and maintaining this registry?

🎟️ Step 3: Issue Vouchers (CAVs)¶

Appoint the Pool Steward to audit and distribute.

Say:

Let’s issue vouchers into our shared trust pool. The Pool Steward will inspect each person’s commitments to ensure they are realistic. Once verified, that person will be issued 1 bean (or paper slip) per 100 KSH of value.

Example: A participant committing 2,500 KSH will receive 25 beans, each worth 100 CAV.

Calculate the group total:

With [N] participants × 2,500 KSH each, our total seeded commitment is: [N × 2,500] KSH.
We will issue [N × 2,500] CAV into circulation.

Facilitator:

We now have a functioning seed pool of commitments. Every voucher issued is matched by a promise that lives here, in this room.

✅ Next, we will simulate how those commitments flow, are swapped, and ultimately redeemed.

Up next: Step 4 – Redemption and Trust Maintenance, or let me know if you'd like to go deeper on enforcement and mediation!

🔁 Step 4: Trust Flow Simulation — Trading Rounds¶

Facilitator:

Now we’ll simulate a trust-flow environment. You’ve each seeded your commitments and received CAV vouchers. You’re now participants in a metabolically active pool—each transaction is a routing of trust.

Instructions:

Perform 5 rounds of mutual swaps using your vouchers.
The Pool Steward (Chama Rep) does not trade in this round—they observe and later collect the holding tax.

After trading, collect final voucher balances and build a summary table:

🧾 Voucher Balances After 5 Trades¶

Agent	Wanoma (CAV Held)
Mwanaidi	1000
Amina	800
Njambi	600
Jacob	600
Mbui	400
Janet	200
Nadzua	200
Phred	100
Joy	100
Viv	0
Total	4000

Discuss with the group:

What does this pattern tell us about how trust was routed in the community?
Which agents have surplus trust flows (high voucher holdings)?
Which agents are in trade deficit?
What might happen if these balances remained static over time?

✅ This is the metabolic pulse of the local economy: voucher surpluses reflect unreciprocated commitments; deficits reflect high fulfillment.

💸 Step 5: Holding Tax Simulation (Expiration Rate)¶

Facilitator:

To keep promises circulating and discourage hoarding, we apply a small holding tax—this prevents stagnation in the pool and funds community stewardship.

Instructions:

The Pool Steward collects 1 bean (100 CAV) for every 10 beans held.
This represents a 10% holding tax for the simulation (equal to ~2% per month over 6 months).
Round down when necessary.

🧾 Post-Tax Balances¶

Agent	CAV Held	Holding Tax (6 months)
Mwanaidi	1000	100
Amina	800	80
Njambi	600	60
Jacob	600	60
Mbui	400	40
Janet	200	20
Nadzua	200	20
Phred	100	10
Joy	100	10
Viv	0	0
Total	4000	400

🧠 Group Reflection:¶

What does this tax mechanism do to trust flow?
How could the Pool Steward use the 400 CAV collected?
Support village elders?
Fund community projects?
Maintain pool software or steward facilitation?
Does it feel fair?
What if the pool was 50,000 CAV and collected 1,000 per month in tax? Would that be sustainable?

🛠️ Optional Role-Based Simulations¶

If time allows, try adding roles for more complex simulation:

An elder with no ability to trade, but still given CAV.
A rogue actor trying to exit the pool with more than they offer.
An issuer who refuses redemption.
A project manager who misroutes resources.

After each round, reflect on:

What happened to trust in the pool?
Was it traceable?
How did the group respond?

🌍 Part 3: Introducing CAVs to the Community and Beyond¶

⚠️ Understanding the Risks¶

A CAV is not a store of value—it’s a living promise. If hoarded, it dies. If circulated, it feeds the system.

Example Risk: - A shopkeeper sells all her imported stock for CAV and can’t restock—why? No one backed those goods. - Solution: Limit CAV acceptance to what you can redeem locally.

📜 Commitments Are Obligations¶

Each voucher must be matched by trust and care. If people issue and then refuse redemption, the pool collapses.

Ask: - Who in your group do you deeply trust to fulfill? - Who might need community accountability? - How will the pool maintain memory of fulfillment or breach?

⚖️ Dispute Resolution (Redemption Enforcement)¶

Refusing redemption = breaking a promise. Your CAV Commitment Agreement must outline consequences.

Questions to guide discussion:

Who resolves disputes?
Are elders, stewards, or a mediation circle involved?
How will breach records be tracked?

🧯 Worst-Case Scenarios¶

Explore and discuss:

A vendor sells all stock for CAV but cannot restock (needed shillings).
A CAV is spent but not redeemed for months.
Someone manipulates the system to dump excess CAV on others.
A community backer spends their CAV in a different region.
Project funds are unfairly distributed by corrupt management.

Prompt the group: - What protection or fallback could we design?
- Would pooling or arbitration help?
- What commitments are needed to guard the commons of trust?

🧮 Balancing Inventory in a Commitment Pool¶

In a Commitment Pool system, every voucher represents a live promise to accept and fulfill. For businesses—especially those not issuing their own vouchers—the key question is:

“If I accept this voucher (CAV), where will I route it? Can I use it to restock, meet needs, or reduce my own expenses?”

For Issuers¶

You start with a bundle of promises (vouchers).
Your duty is to fulfill those promises when others return them to you.
Your freedom is that you can spend as long as you honor redemption.

Spend → Be Redeemed → Repeat

For Non-Issuers¶

Your trust is limited by what you know you can spend back into the network.
Accept only as much as you can route forward or offset in local expenses.

Guidelines for Inventory Balancing¶

Routeable Redemption
If you're asked to accept vouchers, ask:

Can I use this voucher to meet my needs?

If not, the issuer should show you where or how it can be spent—especially within the issuer’s own network.

Margin-Limited Acceptance
Accept vouchers in proportion to:
Your profit margin on goods requiring national currency to restock.
What you'd otherwise offer as informal store credit.
Network Enrichment

Invite your suppliers, landlords, or employees into the pool.
That expands where your received vouchers can flow.

🧪 Exercise: Metabolic Inventory Simulation¶

Roleplay a trader with goods that cannot be restocked in CAV (e.g., Coca-Cola):

Buy Price: KSh 20
Sell Price: KSh 40
Stock Frequency: Monthly
CAV Target: Save enough CAV to offset other purchases (like food)

Ask:¶

How many CAV can you use daily in the community?
How much CAV can you safely accept per bottle sold?
Would you price differently in vouchers vs. shillings?
What happens to local alternatives when voucher circulation grows?
Does this shift reduce dependency on imports?

Key Takeaway:¶

💡 Balancing means ensuring that every voucher accepted can offset a real expense or be rerouted to another trusted redemption point.

🌍 External Support in a Commitment Pool¶

In a Commitment Pool, vouchers (CAVs) can be pre-purchased and distributed—this is not a donation, but a prepayment of trust.

How Support Works:¶

Humanitarian actors or individuals can purchase CAVs from issuers.
These vouchers are then gifted to community members in need.
Because vouchers must be redeemable, the act strengthens local business instead of displacing it.

Why It’s Better:¶

Ensures local fulfillment: Only those promising services get pre-funding.
Creates a voucher multiplier: The same voucher can circulate many times before final redemption.

A pre-purchased voucher funds trust—not dependency.

Consider:¶

Which NGOs, government bodies, or programs align with your pool’s goals?
What external actors might prepay for local services as part of their mandate?

🪞 Reflections: Governance & Community Trust¶

Inspired by Elinor Ostrom’s Commons Principles, use these to discuss with your group:

Who is in the Pool?
Are the membership boundaries clear and inclusive?
Are Rules Local?
Do usage and issuance rules reflect your community’s reality?
Who Sets the Rules?
Can members participate in shaping policies?
Is the Pool Respected Externally?
Can authorities recognize your governance?
How is Trust Tracked?
Do you track fulfillment, redemption, and imbalances over time?
What Happens in Conflict?
Is there a shared process for resolving voucher disputes?
What’s the Governance Structure?
Do you have nested layers—from small groups to the broader ecosystem?

✅ Next Steps¶

Review the CAV FAQ & Quiz.
Ensure your Chama meets Commitment Pool criteria.
Finalize your CAV Commitment Agreement.
Email: info@grassecon.org
Phone: +254 757 628885
Once approved, begin seeding, swapping, redeeming—and tracking your pool’s metabolic flow.

📝 Appendix: Best Practices for Pool Design¶

Internal Trust Structures¶

Vision & Purpose: Does your group agree on why you exist?
Needs Mapping: What goods/services are most vital in your network?
Stakeholder Relations: Who are your suppliers, clients, and allies?
Issuance Logic: How is CAV distributed or loaned, and to whom?
Redemption Ethics: How are obligations enforced or tracked?
Cycle Management: Is there a reset or reconciliation period (monthly, quarterly)?
Market Days: When and where do trust flows get rebalanced communally?
Balance Caps: Are holding limits or swap eligibility tied to seeding history?

💧 Example: Water Project¶

Input: 5000 liters of water → Cost: KSh 3,000
Output: 250 jerricans → Sell for KSh 15 + 5 CAV

Revenue: KSh 3,750 + 1250 CAV
Cost: KSh 3,000
Net: 750 KSh profit + 1250 CAV to be rerouted or redeemed.

Wage Distribution Example:

Role	% Share	KSh	CAV
Quality Check (Sally)	20%	150	250
Worker (Mbui)	30%	225	375
Chama Fund	50%	375	625

🧱 Project-Backed Pools¶

Instead of individual commitments, a pool may be backed by a community project—e.g., a food kitchen, borehole, or public transport route.

⚠️ This requires more rigorous audit and long-term redemption planning.

Trust must be equally distributed between the issuing project and the people holding its promises.

🎯 Design Prompt for Group Work¶

In small groups, ask:

What are your community’s top unmet needs?
What projects could meet those needs?
How could these projects be trusted to fulfill CAV redemptions?

Conclude by surfacing the shared purpose of the pool and key projects to fund through issuance.

💬 “When we create a CAV, we aren’t just issuing currency—we are seeding trust.”

Last update: 2025-07-27