Ecovillage workshop to explore the potential of a local currency

Published by Dave Brooks on

August 2nd, 2016

Ireland’s only ecovillage, Cloughjordan in Tipperary, is to be the venue of an exciting workshop exploring the potential of a cutting-edge local currency technology.

The innovative workshop -‘Blockchain and Sustainable Communities: Potential and Pitfalls’- co-organised by NUI Galway School of Law, FEASTA, and Cultivate, in partnership with Cloughjordan Ecovillage, and funded by the Irish Research Council, aims to explore the possible future applications of Blockchain technology – a digital, decentralised currency – in the development and coherence of sustainable communities.

This workshop seeks to explore a number of questions about the technology, including: Will transparent contract conditions in Blockchain assist community development and coherence or act as a barrier? How can we build bridges and meaningful relationships between the tech and sustainability communities? Will the emergence of new institutional structures have a deep effect on society?

The presentations and workshops will be informed by the implementation experience of the ‘Cloughpenny’ – a blockchain-based academic pilot project developed during 2016 in the Cloughjordan Eco-village and supported by the Irish Research Council. The project aims to construct a working demonstration of a local currency which supports local community decision-making, on-going activities, and accountability mechanisms. The overarching goals of the project are to create a resilient, locally-based, and cohesive economic system which transitions to a low-carbon society.

The workshop will take place in Cloughjordan’s WeCreate Centre from 10.00 to 16.30 on Friday the 28th of October.

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Dave Brooks

Dave works as Communication Assistant with the Environmental Pillar. His background is in psychology and he has a masters in Environmental Psychology from the University of Surrey.