Deconstructing Money – Reconstructing Mutual Aid

Will Ruddick went from being a student of physics to having a fascination with local exchange systems and local empowerment while being in the Peace Core in 2008. Ruddick read Bernard Lietaer and Elinor Ostrom as part of his complimentary currency studies. Ruddick thought he might introduce Banco Palmas (Brazil), the Wir (Switzerland), or Berkshares (United States) to a Kenyan community. However, he found they already had a basic exchange/reciprocity structure in the Mwethia. The Mwethia is a human grouping that goes beyond the family and serves as a mutual aid community. Ruddick studied this type of community in Kenya and then introduced a complimentary digital currency to mirror this human-social interaction.