New currency funds wellbeing
A new currency being trialled in Porirua’s Cannons Creek is aimed at improving community wellbeing.
The brainchild of non-profit organisation The Wellbeing Protocol, Cannon Coin (CAN) is being trialled in a six-week pilot programme developed in partnership with Wesley Community Action.
The pilot has seen local participants issued 50 CAN to spend on fruit and vegetables at the Hauora Kai Co-op, use them to trade among themselves, or to put towards community initiatives they want to see realised, all using a digital wallet on their smartphone.
Community liaison Lisa Tagaloa said one of the most attractive aspects of the project was that all the money remained in the Cannons Creek community.
‘‘If we can keep having those personal interactions, as well as the shops and the big projects that the community fund, then that is exciting because the community get power over that. They get to say what happens to that money – they do, not somebody else,’’ Tagaloa said.
The app made it easier for people to keep track of their spending, a task more difficult when dealing solely with cash, she added.
Almost 30 people had signed up, with the goal being to attract 50 to the pilot programme.
At present, the co-operative is the only organisation selling products using the CAN. However, The Wellbeing Protocol developer Benjamin Alder hoped more local businesses would come on board to participate in the micro-economy.
‘‘The way we explain it to people is that if you take a note, and put it in your phone, it is essentially the same thing. It enables people to transact. The app is like trading cash to other people . . . It is similar to online shopping. You click on the shop and the item and then click ‘buy’,’’ Alder said.
Because it is built on a digital platform, the concept will be able to be replicated to other places at little cost. Interest has already been received from other Wellington communities, as well as Raglan.
For each CAN minted, NZ$1 is held in a bank account. Anyone who donates to the project through its crowdfunding page will see the same value minted in CAN (for example, NZ$100 equals CAN100).
‘‘The unique part about the app is that people outside the community are able to donate to our crowdfunding campaign to stimulate the economy, to give the community more resource to fund wellbeing projects,’’ Alder said.
A small group from the community will come together and award CANs from the community fund based on the most popular wellbeing projects. Those CANs can be used to make their projects come to life.
A local cycling project, a deep listening meditation support programme, and helping at a local rest home were among the list of projects being voted on, The Wellbeing Protocol founder Mark Pascall said.
He said there was ‘‘a general feeling of excitement about what this might become’’.