A complementary currency is an innovative alternative for the sustainable development of local economies, and complementary currency systems have shown to stimulate local economic and social development by increasing liquidity in the economy and encouraging the community to consume locally. The issuance of a currency that circulates in parallel with the national currency benefits all the community members participating in the system and strengthens social and economic relations.
Fundación Pachamama, committed to create an alternative and innovative development model for indigenous groups in the Amazon Region and Ecuadorian communities in general, is now supporting the implementation of complementary currencies projects in Ecuador. To help achieve this objective, Fundación Pachamama has sought out the specialized advisory capacities of STRO (Social Trade Organization), a Dutch nonprofit organization with more than 20 years of experience implementing complementary currency systems around the world, and STRO will provide support to help start the first feasibility studies for the implementation of at least three different complementary currencies projects in Ecuador.
To launch these innovative projects, Pachamama and STRO have brought in a local economics consultant, Javier Felix, who, as part of the Pachamama team, will be responsible for writing the feasibility studies, the administrative manuals, and the evaluation and monitoring of the projects. The local consultant will receive constant training and support from the technical advisor for the Andean Region of STRO and this training will then be filtered down to the local level in Ecuador. As part of this cooperation agreement, Javier attended a training workshop facilitated by STRO’s advisors in Costa Rica and El Salvador, where projects with diverse methodologies have been running for almost three years. The knowledge acquired and the diverse experiences and methodologies implemented by STRO projects in Latin American countries will provide important precedents in adapting the new complementary currencies systems to Ecuador’s reality.
Picking appropriate counterparts will be fundamental to the success of the Ecuadorian projects and for that reason, the STRO technical advisor and Pachamama consultant will be visiting cooperatives across the country to evaluate their potential according to their financial stability, social conditions, and administrative and credit capacity. One of the first of these strategic counterparts is RENAFIPSE (National Network of Financial Local Structures), an organization that brings together cooperatives and community banks from different regional networks, with whom Fundación Pachamama has just signed a cooperation agreement.
The Ecuadorian government, crucial to these initiatives, is about to approve an Economic Solidarity Law that is going to include regulations for complementary currencies. All the organizations participating in these ground-breaking projects are eagerly anticipating this law’s approval as it’s a critical element in the design and ultimate success of this initiative.
