Eco-Pesa is the name of a

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

community currency A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

, used to reduce poverty and support environmental conservation in a slums areas inside the Kongowea Location,

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

District, Kenya. Pesa is a Swahili word for

money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...

. Eco-Pesa's was in circulation for one year and was considered the pilot that resulted in the more sustainable Bangla-Pesa model of community currencies that have been duplicated in five communities in Kenya and two in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

Issuance

Residents could obtain Eco-Pesa through being part of a business network or participating in community events (such as trash collection days) or through local sales and services.

Introduction

Eco-Pesa were introduced by William O. Ruddick, May 2010 to three slum villages (or informal settlements) inside the Kongowea Location in

County, namely: Kisimu Ndogo, Shauri Yako and Mnazi Mmoja. Once registered, local businesses become part of a business Network. Once in this network, businesses are allowed to exchange their Eco-Pesa

Voucher A voucher is a bond of the redeemable transaction type which is worth a certain monetary value and which may be spent only for specific reasons or on specific goods. Examples include housing, travel, and food vouchers. The term voucher is also ...

for

Kenyan shilling The shilling ( sw, shilingi; abbreviation: KSh; ISO code: KES) is the currency of Kenya. It is divided into 100 cents. Notation Prices in the Kenyan shilling are written in the form of , where x is the amount in shillings, while y is the ...

s backed by donor funds. They also receive business and environmental training.

Businesses Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separ ...

included but were not limited to general shops, pharmacies, health clinics, child care, haircuts, charcoal kiosks, produce sellers, poultry sellers, transportation providers, water sellers, and distributors. The Eco-Pesa themselves were security printed with several security features including: Visicoin printing, UV ink, security designed backgrounds and watermarked paper with UV fibers, as well as serial numbering. The Eco-Pesa vouchers were available in 5/ep, 10/ep, and 20/ep denominations and depict local landmarks such as the Kengelele Bell, Nyali Beach and the Nayli Bridge. The advantages of local currencies for the

empowerment Empowerment is the degree of autonomy and self-determination in people and in communities. This enables them to represent their interests in a responsible and self-determined way, acting on their own authority. It is the process of becoming strong ...

of women was demonstrated through this first phase of eco-pesa, as many women set up their own businesses with eco-pesa. The first experiments were run under supervision by Koru while Mr. Ruddick also served as director of Green World Campaign's Kenya chapter in Mombasa. Eco-Pesa wa
originally developed
with assistance from Green World Campaign and its founder and executive director, Marc Barasch.

Post Eco-Pesa Pilot Expansion

William O. Ruddick later founded Grassroots Economics Foundation and in 2013 developed the Bangla-Pesa model based on the results of Eco-Pesa, in the informal settlement of Bangladesh, Kenya. Grassroots Economics is working to employ mobile phone systems to trade community currency. The Bangla-Pesa uses a mutual credit model where there is no longer need for national currency or donor funds to keep it running. Other currencies in Kenya that follow the Bangla-Pesa model include: Gatina-Pesa in Kawangware, Kangemi-Pesa in Kangemi, Lindi-Pesa in Kibera, Ng'ombeni-Pesa in Mikindani. K'Mali in Kokstad South Africa as well as Berg-Rand or BRAND in Bergrivier South Africa also follow a similar model. All local currencies that emerged after the Eco-Pesa in Kenya (five in 2016) experience are now grouped under the label Sarafu-Credit, but they originally were issued under the supervision of an association named Koru Kenya, which does no longer exist.

Allegation of forgery and Indiegogo online petition

On 29 May 2013, Will Ruddick was arrested with five other members of Koru Kenya, under the suspicion of forgery and being linked to the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC). The link to the MRC was dropped first, but the

Central bank of Kenya The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) ( sw, Banki Kuu ya Kenya) is the monetary authority of Kenya. Its head office is located in Nairobi. CBK was founded by in 1966 after the dissolution of East African Currency Board (EACB). Dr. Patrick Ngugi Njoroge ...

filled in a charge for forgery. An Indiegogo online petition was issued to gain support and financial assistance to the 6 arrested members of Koru Kenya. The petition managed to raise a total of 8835 euros. The group was released very quickly and forgery but was released a few months later as the charges were never proved.

References

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External links

An brief Video about Eco-Pesa

An brief Video about Bangla-Pesa (Eco-Pesa's predecessor)
Local currencies Economy of Kenya